The Samurai's Wife

This review was originally written for a graduate level Adult Literature course during the Fall of 2005, and then edited for inclusion here.

Set in late 17th century Japan, this historical mystery immediately jumps into the thick of things. The left minister of the Imperial Court is murdered – his insides liquefied and his bones shattered to dust. Anxious to prove himself after being setup for defeat by a local rival, Sano Ichiro, the shogun’s Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, is more than willing to travel the distance to Miyako to head up the case.

However, the victim seems to have met his end via an ancient martial arts technique known as kiai, a scream with the power to kill, which most believe to be show more superstitious nonsense. Even with the help of his outspoken wife, Reiko, and some grudging clues from his long-time rival, Yanigasawa, Sano may be in over his head because everyone seems to have a motive and no one in the Imperial Palace has much to say about the night in question. It seems the entire court has secrets to keep and every question brings nothing but more of the same. Soon, both Sano and his wife are embroiled not only in a vicious murder, but also a plot to overthrow the entire Tokugawa régime.

Since I already had a lot of interest in Japanese history and culture before picking this book up, the settings and background information alone were enough to make this an amiable read, but I still enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. So much so, that after finishing it I immediately hopped online and ordered three more in the series from bookcloseouts.com. I especially liked how Rowland did her best to define the terms and explain some of the historical information that she used instead of simply assuming her readers would know what she was talking about.

Still, the plot was far from perfect. I had the murderer pegged from the first few chapters, but kept reading because although I was fairly sure I knew who it was I had no clue how they’d done it or why. Beyond that, the characters were all the things the author needed and/or wanted them to be, although I admit that my favorite was Sano’s rival, Yanagisawa, a man hell-bent on stripping Sano of his honor no matter the cost. His background story and especially his maturation throughout the book made him much more fun to read about. Not that the other characters weren’t interesting, but right from his introduction in the first chapter Yanagisawa really caught my interest.

Another small flaw is that the novel forces you to suspend your disbelief a bit regarding the relationship of Sano and his highly-spirited wife, Reiko. While I suppose it’s possible that a husband in that era would have allowed his wife to act as she does, it’s highly improbable and could make for some strained reading if that kind of historical anachronism bothers you. However, despite this novel’s several minor flaws, I immensely enjoyed my introduction to feudal Japan and the mystical, murderous world of Sano Ichiro. show less

The Samurai’s Wife by Laura Joh Rowland is the fifth book in her series about Sano Ichiro, Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People for the Tokugawa Shogun that is set in seventeenth century feudal Japan. This story is a combination detective and political thriller using the rich history of this period to set the stage. Sano, with the assistance of his wife, Reiko, embarks on a death defying mission to hunt down a murderer that uses the secret of “kiai”, a powerful scream that kills instantly. Together they travel to the royal city of Kyoto and maneuver their way through the Imperial Court with the knowledge that someone close to the Emperor is a deadly killer. Unbeknownst to them, Sano’s rival and enemy, show more Chamberlain Yanagisawa, has also travelled to Kyoto with a plan to ensure Sano’s failure and eventual disgrace.

Although the period detail is intriguing, there were a number of things that I felt took away from the book’s authenticity. First and foremost, the relationship between Sano and his wife was too modern and would never had existed in feudal Japan. Although I have enjoyed this series in the past, I struggled with this particular book. The story didn’t seem to flow easily, the writing felt rather choppy and the plot itself was a little far-fetched.

At this point I really have no desire to continue on with this series. show less

Far from the shogun’s court at Edo, Investigator Sano Ichiro begins the most challenging case of his career. Upon the insistence of his strong willed and beautiful wife, Sano arrive with her at the emperor’s palace to unmask the murder—who possess the secret kiai or spirit cry, a power scream that can kill instantly. Treading through a web of spies, political plots, forbidden passions, Sano and Reiko must struggle to stay ahead of the palace storms and outwit a cunning killer. But as they soon discover, solving the case could mean more than their survival. For if they fail, Japan could be consumed by the bloodiest war it has ever seen… The author has done her research on basic etiquette, bushido and late Tokugawa era Japan. To a show more point. They book is okay and would be good as a piece of fiction on the internet but is basically a murder mystery of mediocre ilk wrapped in a kimono. The story losses power about 1/3 of the way through and the reader keeps hoping that Rowland will just wrap it up after that. The last part of the book, the battle between the rebels and Tokugawa samurai is somewhat ludicrous as is the awakening of the samurai spirit of the main characters. The strong-willed wife Reiko is clearly the author’s favorite and is nothing more than a way to inject modern misguided feminism and the author’s own ideal personality into a time and place where it doesn’t belong. The fact that this is one in a series is somewhat sad. For an author of Korean and Chinese descent to leap and try to present an intimate knowledge of Japanese sensibilities, while not impossible, is in this case extreme. show less

This was a random find at the library book sale. I had heard of this series before, but never read it. I hate starting in the middle of the series, but for some reason I just jumped right in.

Sano works for a shogun, but his rival has engineered an embarrassing situations that puts him out of favor. He gets a chance to recover face by investigating a mysterious death of a member of the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He takes his new wife Reiko with him and they set off to discover the truth.

The investigation is a political landmine. His suspects - the emperor, his cousin, his mother, his father, and his consort. The weapon - kiai, a martial art that uses the voice as a weapon that can break bones and crush the heart. As if that weren't going show more to make the case tricky enough, his rival Yanigisawa shows up, Sano finds himself attracted to the former wife of the murder victim, and the emperor has definitely put Sano on the Do Not Invite list.

As a historical novel, this one was really interesting. I know very little about the history of Japan, and I found the political drama to be intriguing. But as a believable story, it was lacking. The characters didn't really seem true to the time, and the story itself didn't proceed in a very probable manner. The whole thing was just a bit far-fetched. show less

More in the series set in Shogun's Kyoto. I'm beginning to like more and more the way ancient Japan is brought to life. It's underbelly is shown just as clearly as its beauty. I hate the social hierarchy and caste systems, but like the way this couple works around it. I quite enjoy the fact that the "real" detective (in my eyes) is the secondary protagonist (the wife of the Most Honorable Investigator). I think this one has more of the ugly politics than others I've read, but I'd still recommend it.

Review can be found here - http://nofeet.booklikes.com/post/2070689/the-samurai-s-wife-sano-ichiro-5-laura-...