A Shinobi Mystery Novel/Guest Post: Fires of Edo by Susan Spann

 Shinobi Mystery Series #8

Fires of Edo by Susan Spann

Seventh Street Books (February 15, 2022)

Book Beginning:

  "Fire!"

  The cry rang out from atop a nearby tower.

  "Fire! Fire!" Other voices echoed the alarm.

On the tower a bell began to toll. 

  "Where is it?" Father Matheo craned his neck to search the roofs of the wooden buildings that lined both sides of the narrow street. "Can you see it?"

  Master ninja Hattori Hiro searched for signs of any smoke or flames,...

My comments: This is the eighth in the Shinobi Mystery Series by the author, who has set her books in Japan in the 16th Century, when the shogun ruler allowed and even welcomed Christian priests into the country. The main character, Hiro Hattori, is a ronin, or rogue samurai without a master, who serves the priest Father Mateo while the priest is living in Japan, but Hiro is secretly a samurai of the Iga ryu ninja clan who has been charged with protecting Father Mateo and looking for dangerous spies from an enemy clan. In Fires of Edo, Hiro and Mateo solve a crime in the town of Edo. Two book shop fires have resulted in the deaths of the book seller owners, deemed accidents. The third fire, subject of this book, seems very suspicious as the body of a samurai has been found in the ashes. The owner of the shop, Ishii, and his 10-year-old apprentice, Kintaro, become suspects in the fire and death and face swift execution. Hiro  then risks his life several times, in action-packed, suspenseful scenes, to find the truth behind the rash of fires, all the while on the lookout for hostile rival shinobi/ninja assassins.  Descriptions of fire fighting techniques and methods, and details of city life immerse us in the culture of Edo and the officials who oversee them. The rules and rights that both govern and protect the samurai class apply. The priest's servant Ana and their cat Gato accompany Hiro and Mateo on their journeys and add some lightness to the plot. I really enjoyed the suspense in the novel as well as the village setting, the food and hospitality of the inns, the rituals used in a public bath house, and other aspects of the life of those times.  I am very impressed with the historical research that the author has done for this and other books in the series. Page 56 excerpt:   "I have experience with investigations," Hiyoshi told the magistrate. " I understand fires and how they start...."                                            Edo Period Fire Pump   Edo Period Bookshop (model)  Guest post by Susan Spann The Tiny Spark That Ignited Fires of Edo  Inspiration is like fire: it often starts with a tiny, random spark, which smolders quietly for a while before bursting into flame. That’s definitely true of my newest Hiro Hattori mystery, Fires of Edo, which owes its initial, early inspiration to a humble artifact I saw in a small museum, several years before I set the first words on the page. In November 2016, while hiking part of an ancient travel road through Japan’s mountainous Kiso Valley as research for an entirely different book, I spent two nights in the preserved, historical post town of Magome, in Gifu Prefecture. The town consists of a single, steeply-sloping street that winds up the side of a mountain; traditional inns (called ryokan) and shops line both sides of the narrow, stone-paved road. In its heyday, Magome was one of the major stopping points on the Kiso-kaido, later known as the Nakasendo, a mountainous route that connected the ancient capital of Kyoto with the growing city of Edo—now called Tokyo. The special inn where high-ranking samurai once spent the night in Magome is now a small museum filled with artifacts that relate to the history of the town and the Kiso Road. Most of the displays relate to domestic life or business: a woman’s cosmetic case, a portable scale, and an early clock that used burning incense to mark the passing hours. Tucked away in a corner, a small, glass case held a display dedicated to the victims of one of Magome’s many fires; near the front, a simple, wooden device was labeled “龍吐水” (Dragon Spout) and “Water Pump” in English and Japanese. Bilingual text on the display identified the object as an Edo Period (1603-1868) fire extinguisher, a surprising and much-welcome technological advancement over the water buckets Japanese people had used to fight fires for centuries before. As a long-time student of Japanese history, architecture, and culture, I was well aware of the devastating impact fire on Japan. In fact, if you visit (or read about) almost any major historical or religious site in Japan, you’re likely to see a reference to it burning down or being rebuilt after being destroyed by fire. However, this fire extinguisher, and particularly the text—which said nothing about how it was used, but instead discussed the surprise and joy with which it was received—started me thinking about the impact of fire, and firefighting, on the lives of ordinary Japanese people in the past. After all, it wasn’t only historical sites that burned; the fires that swept through Edo and other towns impacted common people too. Three years later, when I finally began outlining the book in which my ninja detective, Hiro Hattori, and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick Father Mateo, arrived in Edo, that fire extinguisher instantly sprang to mind. Books played an important role in Edo’s history, and I knew I wanted to set the story in the world of the men and women who made and sold books in Edo—which was then little more than a fishing town ruled by samurai. Normally, once I decide the cultural setting in which a book takes place, I spend a little time considering how a murder might take place there. With this book, for the first time ever, I already knew. It was time for the spark ignited by the simple fire extinguisher in Magome to become a flame. The story, which involves a suspicious murder-by-arson in a book binder’s shop, also features the fledgling fire brigade (sadly, still working sans extinguishers) who tried to keep the city safe from its many fires, which were so common that residents called them “the blossoms of Edo.” In fact, Blossoms of Edo was the original working title, which eventually changed to Fires of Edo—although I did manage to sneak the original saying into the story. Keep an eye out for it when you read the book! Susan  Spann スザン  スパン Author of CLIMB (2020)  & the Hiro Hattori (Shinobi) Mysteries   2015 RMFW Writer of the Year http://www.susanspann.com           Magome at Sunset Susan Spann is the award-winning, bestselling author of FIRES OF EDO and seven other books in the Hiro Hattori mystery series, as well as CLIMB: Leaving Save and Finding Strength on 100 Summits in Japan. She lives and writes in Tokyo, and is always looking for her next adventure; she shares stories and photographs from Japan at www.susanspann.com and on Facebook at /SusanSpannAuthor.

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Mailbox Monday, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves

Claws of the Cat by Susan Spann: Shinobi Mystery #1

Claws of the Cat (Shinobi Mystery #1) by author  Susan Spann is being re-released by Seventh Street Books; Reprint edition (April 23, 2019)

Claws of the Cat

My review:

An unlikely pair of collaborators in 16th century Kyoto risk their lives to solve the murder of a samurai who died from claw and stab wounds in a local tea house. The fatal wounds were made by neko-te or "cat's claws," a type of weapon used mostly be female fighters. But did a female murder the samurai?

Father Mateo, a Portuguese Jesuit priest who is protected and sponsored by the shogun, and his official protector, the ninja Hiro, must prove that Mateo's convert to Christianity, the tea house entertainer Sayuri, is innocent of the crime. The son of the dead samurai threatens to kill both Mateo and Sayuri unless another person is found responsible for the murder.

An engrossing mystery in an intriguing historical setting, with likable and well developed main characters, Claws of the Cat is also an entertaining and well researched novel about the samurai, their code of conduct, and their manner of fighting. I recommend the book for those who enjoy a good mystery and are curious about the old samurai culture of Japan.

Blade of the Samurai

The next in the series, Blade of the Samurai,  originally published July 15, 2014, is also in reprint with a new cover by Seventh Street Books.  Here is my review of the first edition.

See my reviews of the other books in the series:
The Ninja's Daughter
Flask of the Drunken Master
Trial on Mount Koya
Betrayal at Iga

There are six novels in the mystery series so far, all being reprinted in paperback by Seventh Street Books, with a seventh book, Ghost of the Bamboo Road to be released November 2019. I have enjoyed all the books, and am looking forward to the seventh book!

Susan Spann is the award-winning author of the Hiro Hattori mystery novels, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo. She has a degree in Asian Studies, as well as a lifelong love of Japanese history, food and culture. She currently lives in Tokyo, where she is working on an upcoming nonfiction book about mountain climbing in Japan as well as the next installment in the Hiro Hattori mystery series.Visit her 

website

Trial at Mount Koya by Susan Spann: Book Review

Trial on Mount Koya by Susan Spann continues the travels of Hiro Hattori, a samurai and Shinobi assassin who is the bodyguard for Portuguese Jesuit priest, Fr. Mateo in Japan. The historical novel is set in 1565 in Japan,

Samurai spy and assassin, Hiro Hattori, accompanied by Fr. Mateo, travel to a Buddhist temple on Mount Koya, to warn another samurai spy from his clan of future danger and to send him to alert other samurai in their group.

Hiro and Fr. Mateo and the spy become trapped at the temple by horrendous snow storms. When sudden murder follows upon murder, Hiro fears for the life of Fr. Mateo and is determined to protect the priest from the unknown killer. The author says the murder situation, with an isolated setting, was inspired by one of Agatha Christie's well known novels.

The mystery gets the reader involved in the world of samurai codes of conduct and behavior, Buddhist principles and their similarities and differences with Christian beliefs, Buddhist temples and their priests and ceremonies of those days. One of the customs that stand out is the attitudes towards women, who were barred from entering the grounds of certain temples and holy places.

Follow Susan Spann on Facebook as she climbs Japan's mountains and tells about the mountain temples she is barred from entering, even today.

I was intrigued not only by Buddhist doctrine in Hiro's day, and the discussion of Fr. Mateo with Mount Koya priests, but also by the samurai codes and conduct that seem very real and plausible for those historical times.

The well planned plot of the book, the identity of the culprit is almost impossible to guess, plus well developed characters and good writing, come together for  a very enjoyable and enlightening mystery novel. I'm looking forward to the next of Hiro's adventures.

For more reviews on this tour, see the review schedule. Also see the author's guest post on visiting the temples for her book. 

Susan Spann

Susan's Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for a review copy of this book. 

Book beginning:

"I question your judgement, Hiro." Father Mateo looked at the sky, which should have burned with the fiery colors of a mountain sunset.  

Instead, a menacing wall of greenish thunderclouds churned overhead. 

"We can beat the storm to the temple." Hiro Hattori increased his pace and tried to ignore the angry meow that arose from the basket in his arms. 

 "That's not what I meant and you know it."

Meme: visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader 

Review: Betrayal at Iga by Susan Spann

Betrayal at Iga by Susan Spann, July 11, 2017 by Seventh Street Books.
Setting: Kyoto, Japan in the 16th century
Genre: historical mystery
Source: book tour
Rating: 5/5

This is the fifth in the Shinobi mystery series set in 16th century Kyoto, Japan, and featuring the ninja/shinobi Hiro Hattori and the Portuguese Jesuit priest, Father Mateo.

About the book: The mystery novel shows the danger and tension between different samurai clans, their perilous way of life as warriors, and the violence that could erupt between and among them at any time. Hiro has to navigate in this setting and climate, carefully leading his charge, the Portuguese priest, around traps and keeping Fr. Mateo from making life threatening mistakes of protocol in his action or speech.

The plot: In Betrayal at Iga, Hiro takes Fr. Mateo to refuge in Hiro's home village with his clan in the mountains, Iga province. But there is no certain safety here, as a rival clan has arrived for peace talks with Hiro's clan. When the visitor clan's leader is found murdered, tensions and suspicions ratchet up and no one is safe, including Hiro himself, his mother, or even his former lover.

Hiro and Fr. Mateo, through interviews, detection, and observation, are hard pressed to solve the murder or risk the loss of innocent lives.

My review: This is one of the best in the series. The book has a compelling plot, in addition to the intriguing characters and the unusual setting of time and place.

I enjoyed learning about samurai culture, its dangers and its uniqueness in history. The author is able to immerse us in the culture, while giving us a suspenseful murder mystery that keeps us on edge.

Her love of the historical subject is evident in her writing and meticulous research into the time and place. I highly recommend the book, which can be read as a stand-alone novel, as well as the preceding ones, and look forward to the next in the series.

Book beginning: Autumn 1565

Hiro Hattori leaned into the wind that swept down the hill and across his face. He pulled his kimono tighter and glanced at the Portuguese priest beside him. "Remember you must eat everything set before you -."
"- because leaving food on the plate offends the host," Fr. Mateo smiled. " I have attended Japanese feasts before." 

Susan Spann is a transactional publishing attorney and the author of the Shinobi Mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. Her debut novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, 2013), was named a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month. 

Susan has a degree in Asian Studies from Tufts University, where she studied Chinese and Japanese language, history, and culture. Her hobbies include cooking, traditional archery, martial arts, and horseback riding. She lives in northern California with her husband, son, two cats, and an aquarium full of seahorses.

Connect with Susan: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the author for a review copy of this novel. For other reviews of the book see the tour schedule. 

Meme: visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

Author Susan Spann, the Hiro Hattori Mysteries: Guest Post

Swords & Crosses: Jesuit Missionaries in Japan

by Susan Spann 

Many people became aware of the Jesuits (the Society of Jesus) in 2013, when Pope Francis became the very first Jesuit Pope. However, the Jesuit order was founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola (along with six other university students) in 1534, and since the 16^th century, the Jesuits have among the most active Christian religious and missionary groups.

The Jesuits first arrived in Japan on August 15,1549, when Saint Francis Xavier (then Father Francis Xavier) landed at Kagoshima. By the end of September, Xavier had obtained official permission to share the Christian religion in Japan—an astonishing feat, considering that Japan was almost completely closed to foreigners at that time.

Father Xavier traveled extensively in Japan, meeting with various daimyō (Samurai lords) and attempting to teach Christianity despite the significant language barrier. He is also responsible for the first translation of the Catholic catechism into Japanese.

Unlike many missionaries, who tried to covert native populations without respecting (or trying to learn) the local language and customs, Jesuit priests attempted to learn local languages and often lived according to local customs (at least to the extent the customs did not directly conflict with their vows or the Christian faith). For example, many Jesuits dressed in Japanese clothing and learned to appreciate Japanese food, art, and culture. Understandably, this flexibility had a positive impact on their ability to obtain permission to travel throughout Japan and share the gospel with Japanese people.

During the 16^th century, Japan was nominally ruled by an emperor, but day-to-day power resided in the hands of the shogun and the daimyō who ruled the provinces. (The country would not be officially unified until Tokugawa Ieyasu conquered the other daimyō and seized the Shogunate in 1603.) Foreigners could not travel freely in Japan, and foreign trade was severely limited. The Jesuits’ greater freedom of movement allowed them to act as brokers for the Portuguese traders who hoped to expand their markets into Japan, and in return these merchants financed some of the Jesuits’ missionary activities.

As it happens, the 16^th century was also the height of ninja activity in Japan, with the strongest ninja (shinobi) clans operating in the mountainous provinces of Iga and Koga.

When I decided to write a mystery series featuring a ninja detective, I wanted to give my protagonist a Western sidekick, to act as the reader’s “cultural filter” and to offer a different perspective on medieval Japan. Historically speaking, a Jesuit was the perfect choice to fill this role.

Although I originally planned for Father Mateo to act as a “Watson” to my primary detective, master ninja Hiro Hattori, the characters quickly developed a life—and a relationship—of their own. By the end of the first Hiro Hattori (Shinobi) Mystery, Claws of the Cat, the men had become true partners in crime-solving, using their complementary skills to find and identify the killer. Their developing friendship, and good-natured banter, makes the Hiro Hattori mysteries fun to write and hopefully, fun to read as well!

Thanks to the author for this guest post 

Susan Spann is a transactional publishing attorney and the author of the Shinobi Mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. Her debut novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, 2013), was named a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month. Susan has a degree in Asian Studies from Tufts University, where she studied Chinese and Japanese language, history, and culture. Her hobbies include cooking, traditional archery, martial arts, and horseback riding. She lives in northern California with her husband, son, two cats, and an aquarium full of seahorses. 

Today is release day for the fourth in the mystery series.

The Ninja's Daughter:
 A Hiro Hattori Mystery

The Rope and the Sword: Medieval Japanese Justice, an article by Susan Spann

Justice Play

THE ROPE AND THE SWORD: Medieval Japanese Justice

article and photos by Susan Spann

Today, I’d like to take you on a whirlwind tour of Medieval Japanese justice—a topic close to my heart, and one I explore in the newest Shinobi Mystery, Flask of the Drunken Master.

Medieval Japanese justice actually followed two different, but parallel systems: one for commoners, and the other for the samurai nobles who sat at the top of the social ladder.

By the 16th century—the era when my Shinobi Mysteries take place—Japan had a highly developed system of courts and law enforcement.

Magistrates presided over the courts in every major city (and many towns), resolving disputes and conducting the trials of commoners accused of crimes. Although the magistrates themselves were members of the ruling samurai class, their jurisdiction extended mostly to commoners. By law, the samurai had the right to resolve their legal disputes without the magistrate’s intervention (although samurai could agree to submit their problems to magistrates for review).

Beneath the magistrates, a handful of yoriki (“assistant magistrates”) conducted investigations and acted as supervisors for the medieval Japanese version of “beat cops” (called dōshin) who patrolled the cities and arrested commoners accused of crimes. Dōshin were easy to recognize, because they carried a forked truncheon, called a jitte, in addition to a sword:

Like magistrates, yoriki and dōshin were always members of the samurai class. However, policemen usually came from low-ranked samurai families, whereas magistrates almost always belonged to powerful, influential clans.

Despite the fact that their social group controlled and composed the police force, samurai rarely used the justice system to resolve their own disputes. Samurai families generally resolved their minor issues through negotiation, and where that failed, they delivered their justice on the edge of a sword. For the most part, the official justice system existed to manage the lower classes.

Like the justice system itself, the punishments meted out to criminals often depended on the social class or rank of the convicted (or condemned).

Sengakuji

As the highest-ranking social group, samurai had special privileges with regard to punishment. For serious crimes, samurai often had the right (and sometimes the obligation) to commit seppuku – a form of ritual suicide in which the offending samurai disemboweled himself with a dagger. During my recent trip to Japan, I visited Sengakuji, a temple in Tokyo where the famous “47 Ronin” are buried. These famous samurai, whose adventure is memorialized in the famous epic Chushingura, avenged their master and then committed seppuku en masse. Here’s a photograph of that temple:

The "self-determining" samurai was usually allowed a “second,” called the kaishakunin, who ended the samurai’s life with a merciful strike to the neck as soon as the fatal stomach cut was completed. A skillful kaishakunin didn’t sever the head completely; instead, his skillful stroke resulted in a head that hung from the owner’s body by only a narrow strip of skin. The thinner the strip, the more respect the kaishakukin—and the now-deceased samurai atoning for a crime--received.

Ritual suicide by seppuku restored a samurai’s honor, and that of his family, preventing the need for a feud between the wrongdoer’s clan and the clan of his victim. However, only samurai were allowed the option of seppuku (and the “honor” was not extended to every samurai who committed a crime.)

Among commoners, the sentence for serious crimes was generally death by hanging. In contrast to seppuku, which restored a condemned man’s honor, hanging was a degrading and defiling form of death. It shamed not only the convict, but his (or her) family as well. Hangings often took place in public, sometimes followed by decapitation and display of the criminal’s head as a warning to the population at large.

In an ironically “modern” twist, the Japanese justice system treated female criminals as equals of their male counterparts where punishment was concerned. Females went to the gallows alongside male criminals, and female samurai who committed crimes were often allowed the option of suicide (usually by poison but occasionally by seppuku).

Doshin-style truncheon

My first two Shinobi Mysteries, Claws of the Cat and Blade of the Samurai, involved medieval Japanese ideas of crime and punishment—ideas which the Japanese considered inseparable from the larger ideals of honor, respect, and social class—but the plots of those novels didn’t give me the chance to show a criminal on trial. Flask of the Drunken Master shifts the investigation to a crime against a commoner, which gave me an opportunity to explore the issues of justice—and punishment—from a significantly different point of view. The trial scene at the end of the book is one of my favorites in the entire series.

Sandaime Onoe Kikugoro no Oboshi Yuranosuke

Regardless of the criminal’s social status, major crimes like murder were considered unforgivable not only in their own right but also because they demonstrated disrespect for the Japanese social order. A major crime created a debt that could only be “repaid” with the criminal’s life—a truth that transcended even the sharp class lines that pervaded medieval Japanese culture--and one that my ninja detective, Hiro Hattori, understands all too well. 

Thanks to Susan Spann, author of the three Shinobi mysteries, Claws of the Cat, Blade of the Samurai, and Flask of the Drunken Master, for this guest post.

See my review of The Flask of the Drunken Master.

For other reviews/guest posts/giveaways of the Flask of the Drunken Master, visit the tour schedule at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.  

Book Review: Flask of the Drunken Master by Susan Spann

First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted weekly by Bibliophile by the Sea. Share the first paragraph of your current read. Also visit Teaser Tuesdays meme hosted by Jenn

Flask of the Drunken Master: A Shinobi Mystery #3 by Susan Spann
Published July 14, 2015; Minotaur Books
Genre: historical mystery, 16th century Japan

Opening paragraphs:

"Halt!" The armored samurai stepped forward to block the bridge. "No one crosses the Kamo River without identification. State our names and your business in Kyoto."

Hattori Hiro gestured to the Jesuit at his side. "Father Mateo Avila de Santos, a priest of the foreign god, from Portugal . I am Matsui Hiro, his interpreter and scribe." 

My comments: And so begins the third book in the Shinobi Mystery series, featuring Hiro, a samurai in disguise as an interpreter, whose job is to guard the Jesuit priest, Father Mateo, in Japan. The two have solved murders before, and continue to do so in this book. Hiro is the main crime solver, with Father Mateo as his sidekick or helper.

Samurai and Japanese codes of conduct are very much in the forefront, and Hiro must steer Father Mateo clear of any offence the Jesuit might make in speech, manner, or conduct while they interrogate people and make inquiries regarding the crime they are determined to solve. The two make an interesting pair of sleuths and their complimentary characters add to the interest of the novel. 

The author brings Japanese history, its customs and politics, to life in this series and in this book, as we enjoy detecting from an unlikely pair of sleuths. I highly recommend it for history and mystery buffs alike. 

The plot: "August 1565: When a rival artisan turns up dead outside Ginjiro’s brewery, and all the evidence implicates the brewer, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo must find the killer before the magistrate executes Ginjiro and seizes the brewery, leaving his wife and daughter destitute....

But with Kyoto on alert in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, a rival shinobi on the prowl, and samurai threatening Hiro and Father Mateo at every turn, Ginjiro’s life is not the only one in danger."  (publisher)

Powells | Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Susan Spann is a transactional publishing attorney and the author of the Shinobi Mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. Her debut novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, 2013), was named a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month. Susan has a degree in Asian Studies from Tufts University, where she studied Chinese and Japanese language, history, and culture. Her hobbies include cooking, traditional archery, martial arts, and horseback riding. She lives in northern California with her husband, son, two cats, and an aquarium full of seahorses.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the author for a review copy of this book. For other reviews of this and other books in the mystery series, for giveaways, and author posts, visit the tour schedule.

BOOK GIVEAWAY: 

A hard copy of Flask of the Drunken Master to a resident of the U.S. or Canada. To enter the contest, please email me at harvee44@yahoo.com with the email heading, FLASK CONTEST. The contest will run now through July 27. A winner will be notified by email on July 28 and will have two days to respond with a mailing address. TLC Book Tours will arrange for the mailing of the book to the winner. Good luck!

UPDATE: The winner, chosen at random, is Kay Stewart. Congratulations, and thanks to all who entered the contest. 

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Book Review: Blade of the Samurai by Susan Spann

Blade of the Samurai

Blade of the Samurai: A Shinobi Mystery by Susan Spann
Published July 15, 2014; Minotaur
Genre: historical mystery

When they had almost reached the end of the block Hiro asked, "Did you think I wouldn't reveal you as the murderer? Or did you just think yourself too smart to be caught?"

"I did not kill Saburo," Kazu muttered through clenched teeth. "I swear it on my honor." (ch. 25)

The second book in the series, a stand alone mystery novel, begins much as the first, Claws of the Cat. Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Father Mateo, the Portuguese priest he is sworn to protect, in sixteenth century Kyoto, are called on by the shogun to solve a murder, which they must do or forfeit their own lives.

In Blade of the Samurai, Hiro suspects his own kinsman, Kazu, of the death of Saburo, who was killed with Kazu's own sword in the shogun's palace. Politics is heavily involved, Hiro surmises, as there are opposing clans and groups plotting to overthrow the shogun. But who exactly are the guilty parties in this case, among so many potential suspects?

I enjoyed this second book as much as the first - the unusual main characters - a ninja (shinobi) investigator and a Portuguese Jesuit priest, the historical setting, the involved customs and politics of sixteenth century Japan, the role of women, and the code of the samurai and the ninja. Also intriguing are how Hiro and Father Mateo go about their investigation, the people they interview, and the clues they put together to arrive at the surprising conclusion. Well written and plotted, this is an exciting new series for me!

Susan Spann is a transactional publishing attorney and the author of the Shinobi Mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. CLAWS OF THE CAT was named a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month. Susan has a degree in Asian Studies and her hobbies include cooking, traditional archery, martial arts, and horseback riding. She lives in northern California with her husband, son, two cats, and an aquarium full of seahorses. Visit her website.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the author for a review copy of this book.
 For other reviews, check the book tour schedule.

GIVEAWAY: The publisher is offering an ebook or a hardcover copy of The Blade of the Samurai. Please leave a comment here or via email to harvee44@yahoo.com Winner will be chosen at random on August 16 and notified by email. U.S. and Canada only, please.

UPDATE: Congrats to Barbara Z, the winner of the giveaway. 

Book Review: Claws of the Cat by Susan Spann

Claws of the Cat

An unlikely pair of collaborators in 16th century Kyoto risk their lives to solve the murder of a samurai who died from claw and stab wounds in a local tea house. The fatal wounds were made by neko-te or "cat's claws," a type of weapon used mostly be female fighters. But did a female murder the samurai?

Father Mateo, a Portuguese Jesuit priest who is protected and sponsored by the shogun, and his official protector, the ninja Hiro, must prove that Mateo's convert to Christianity, the tea house entertainer Sayuri, is innocent of the crime. The son of the dead samurai threatens to kill both Mateo and Sayuri unless another person is found responsible for the murder.

An engrossing mystery in an intriguing historical setting, with likable and well developed main characters, Claws of the Cat is also an entertaining and well researched novel about the samurai, their code of conduct, and their manner of fighting. I recommend the book for those who enjoy a good mystery and are curious about the old samurai culture of Japan.

Thanks to the author for a complimentary review copy of this book. The next in the series, Blade of the Samurai, was published July 15, 2014. Here is my review.

Claws of the Cat by Susan Spann

Friday 56 Rules:

 *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader  *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. *Post it. *Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice Also Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader.

Claws of the Cat

Claws of the Cat (Shinobi Mystery #1), published July 16, 2013 by Minotaur Books, is an historical mystery set in 16th century Japan. It is the first in a new series featuring Father Mateo, a Portuguese Jesuit priest, and his protector, the ninja warrior Hiro.

Book beginning:

Father Mateo strolled through the narrow yard, hands folded and face cast down in meditation. His shoulders bent against the predawn chill. The first two days of May had been warm in Kyoto, but this morning the switch to his summer kimono seemed just a bit premature. 

At the other end of the garden, a shadow snaked over the wall and into a cherry tree with no more sound than a spring wind rustling leaves. 

The priest walked on, unaware. 

Page 56:

Umeha looked from Hiro to the priest. She clasped her hands at her waist, the universal gesture of teahouse women trying to keep still. "I don't understand." 

"Nobuhide's father is dead."

Book description:
When a samurai is brutally murdered in a Kyoto teahouse, master ninja Hiro Hattori has just three days to find the killer before the dead man’s vengeful son kills both the beautiful geisha accused of the crime and Father Mateo, the Jesuit priest that Hiro has pledged his own life to protect. The investigation plunges Hiro and Father Mateo into the dangerous waters of Kyoto’s floating world, where they quickly learn that everyone from an elusive teahouse owner to the dead man’s dishonored brother has a motive to keep the samurai’s death a mystery.

Thanks to the author for a complimentary review copy of this book. The next in the series, Blade of the Samurai, will be published July 15, 2014.