The Ronin's Mistress

This is the second book in Rowland's Sano Ichirō series that I have read. (The first, [b:The Cloud Pavilion|6429321|The Cloud Pavilion (Sano Ichiro, #14)|Laura Joh Rowland|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1317791840s/6429321.jpg|6618767], didn't make me a fan. I dislike mysteries where the crime is sexual assault. It somehow feels more voyeuristic to read those than murder mysteries, though I haven't analyzed my feelings on the subject.) It had been several years but I was able to remember the main characters and setting.

What worked for me:
The characters and relationships. Sano and his wife, Reiko, are a well-drawn couple. Reiko is quite modern in many ways in her concerns about poverty, women in distress, and desire to use her show more influence and means to make a positive difference. (In this way, she reminds me a bit of Hero Jarvis from [a:C.S. Harris|22067|C.S. Harris|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1283051864p2/22067.jpg]'s Sebastian St. Cyr series.)

I also like Sano's relationship with Hirata and the growing tension between the two. I'm not sure where they have been or where they are going in their loyalties to each other. But this book shows the internal conflict in Hirata between his loyalty to Sano and the samurai code of honor, and his intriguing new relationship with a mysterious group of men and his own curiosity about the mystical martial arts. At some point he will have to choose between the two.

The bitter rivalry between Sano and his powerful enemy Yanagisawa is chilling. Though Sano is an honorable man, Yanagisawa is not, and he currently has the ear of the not-too-bright emperor.

The historical setting and political intrigues.
Rowland does an excellent job of setting the story in 18th century feudal Japan. I'm not familiar with the feudal system of Japan during this time period, but the author shows it such that I understood what was at stake, who the political figures were, etc. And let's face it, politics is the same everywhere, during every time period: people battling for power. The consequences may be higher in certain eras (such as in a corrupt totalitarian system, where a fall from favor means prison or execution) or lower (such as in a democracy, where falling out of favor means not being re-elected and--I hope, maybe naively?--rarely results in death). But there's always the corrupt, the back-stabbers, the striving-to-be honorable, the favor-seeking, the powerful-in-name-only and the powers behind them, and the political pawns. It doesn't really matter if it's 18th century Japan, 20th century Soviet Union, or 21st century America; the reader will recognize the rivalries and political schemes.

What doesn't work for me:
The theological worldview. I'm unsure how to describe what I mean. I noticed this in the previous Sano Ichirō book that I read, too. There's no possibility of redemption. No grace, no forgiveness. People hold onto grudges and bitterness for their entire lives. I see this particularly in Sano and Yanagisawa's hatred for each other. There's no possibility for forgiveness for a betrayal. There's no possibility that a villain could change and become a more honorable person. There's no pardon for breaching the samurai code of honor. Things like ritual suicide, duty to avenge another's death, etc., reflect that society's ideology. Despite the tenderness and loyalty in certain relationships, the lack of grace/redemption gives the book a distinctly hopeless feeling to me.

This is more about me as a western reader, deeply immersed in traditional Christian theology, than with Rowland as a writer. It reflects an entirely different worldview than I'm used to. It's good to be exposed to different cultural worldviews. But this one leaves me rather depressed. While I liked the book, I can't honestly give it 5 stars. show less

LJR outdoes herself (again!) in terms of political machinations, plot twists, and a stunning climax. "One's son deserved vengeance even more than one's lord did," thinks Sano, and this book deftly explores the ties between a father and his son, as well the "true" meaning of courage.

My other favorite line:
"Sano thought, We can handle our enemies, but the gods save us from incompetence!"

This was an interesting and rather compelling treatment of the "47 Samurai" legend, involving Rowland's familiar set of characters from this series. She wove the whole together in a nice way. I particularly liked the various contradictory stories and how they worked out. Also I enjoyed the little side plot involving 11 year-old Masahiro (Sano's son).

I’m still a loyal reader of Sano Ichiro novels. I love them. I love the mystery, the political intrigue and how Sano is always dangling by the thread but manages to save the day but there’s always something looming around the corner where he’ll be dangling by a thread again.

This one was good, loyal readers will enjoy this and new readers will also like this. Background information on the 47 ronin helps a bit but not necessary. The title is a bit misleading, the Mistress is mentioned, but she doesn’t really play such a huge role in the book nevertheless. The plot was pretty good. Lots of twists and turns, and when you get towards the ending that’s where everything is so skillfully packed in you’ll feel like rereading it show more again just in case you missed something important. It’s always the last third of the book that gets you in the gut!

The only gripe I have, and I’ve been ranting about this for the past few novels now is the mystical Hirata issue. Please stop. It’s getting ridiculous and I’m finding when Hirata is featured, I’m starting to dread it. He used to be a personal favorite. Now he’s become this annoying mystical pest and I don’t care if he can feel auras of other people and can meditate in pretzel format (no, he doesn’t do this, but you know what I mean). He’s starting to become something I don’t want to read about. Please stop before you go further. This series DOES NOT need anything supernatural. Keep it real. Please.

Loyal fans will like this, newbies will too. A great historical read (and not many features in medieval Japan!) give it a go! show less

Really enjoyed this one, especially the tie in with the 47 Ronin legend. Ms. Rowland does a great job of researching the time period and this novel is no exception.