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Book Description
Crime, murder and treason in the third thrilling mystery set in feudal Japan featuring Sano Ichiro, samurai detective.
Product Description
Nagasaki, 1690. An exotic, volatile city where a corrupt government fears foreign invasion like the plague and rules with an iron fist. Spies lurk in every corner waiting to accuse anyone of following the way of the traitor – a crime punishable by death. It’s the last place Sano Ichiro, the Shogun’s Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People, wants to be sent. But when the mutilated body of a Dutch trader washes up on Nagasaki shore, the Samuri detective finds himself leading a murder investigation that could thrust Japan into war. Framed for treason, Sano must find the killer to prove his own innocence… before his head dishonourably decorates the town square.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you love Japan then this book is for you. Well the whole Sano Ichiro series. Rowland describes medieval Japan in a way that makes the reader able to see, feel and smell what the characters do. A must read.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book obviously styles itself on James Clavell and his novels on Japan, especially the epic Shogun, and in comparison it appears to fall short of such a high standard. The plot is is finely structured , but I never felt involved and ultimately felt unsatisfied having read a book which just retreads old ground
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
16 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A Pretty Good Shogun-esq Mystery Series
16 Mar 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
These series of novels are all pretty good. I have read three of the books all on the airplane. The mystery is usually pretty good and the time period and characters are great. If you like Feudal Japanese history, these books are for you. Again, not the greatest but certainly enjoyable
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
East Meets West...Unwillingly
19 Nov 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This novel picks up where Rowland's last Sano Ichiro novel left off: once again, Sano is the victor in the battle against crime, but loser of the war that rages within the Shogun's household. And, once again, his enemy is the Shogun's favorite, Yanagisawa. Sano finds himself essentially exiled to Nagasaki, the only port in which Japan allows foreigners -- closely watched, of course. A Dutch trader is murdered, and Sano offers to unearth the murderer, a seemingly impossible, and politically suicidal, task. Will Sano persevere? Since this is a series of novels, it's pretty obvious he will solve the case. However, I don't think I can take much more of Sano and his associates constantly beaten, wounded, and almost assassinated! The most interesting part of the book, in my opinion, is the picture of foreigners Rowland paints in the book: they are, to Sano and other Japanese, dirty, smelly, and almost completely uncivilized. The fact that Sano needs one of the Dutch delegation's help challenges his detective and physical senses to the extreme. Rowland is historically accurate in her depiction of the xenophobia present in Japan, and the fears that foreigners will somehow pollute the purity of Japanese culture, something that James Clavell did so well in 'Shogun'.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
More Character Development
27 Oct 2005
Format:Mass Market Paperback
As the third book featuring Sano Ichiro, I was anxious to read it once I picked it up. The politics in Bundori whetted my appetite, and I was ready for more.
The story takes place a year-and-a-half after Bundori. Sano has not yet married, still mourning the loss of his love. He has also found that there is little he can do to change the corrupt administration of the government and is despondent about the corruption. Strangely enough, Hirata, Sano's chief retainer, is despondent over his service to Sano as he does not seem to want to be protected and takes unnecessary risks. If Way of the Traitor does anything, it solidifies the relationship between Sano and Hirata, setting up their companionship for the later books.
Sano is sent to Nagasaki where he has to unravel the mystery behind the murder of the head of the Dutch East India Company. As the story progresses, the stakes increase, and Sano takes more risks, putting his life and reputation at stake. Through the course of the story, he uncovers corruption in the administration of Nagasaki, develops camaraderie with the Dutch doctor and is convicted of treason himself.
In the end, Sano lives, and he returns to Edo (the series would be very different if he did not). However, it is the lessons he learns that makes the story important in the development of the character. For that is the purpose of the book in the overall series, developing Sano to deal with the challenges in the later books.
Now my complaint is since the story takes place in Nagasaki, I have the feeling that I will not see most of these characters ever again. As such, the politics were less pressing. I like the world Rowland is developing, and Nagasaki is on the edge of this world. Now, I hope I am wrong, but I will not know until I push farther into series.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read the previous ones. I am less likely to recommend this book on its own since it builds so much upon the events of Bundori.
The story takes place a year-and-a-half after Bundori. Sano has not yet married, still mourning the loss of his love. He has also found that there is little he can do to change the corrupt administration of the government and is despondent about the corruption. Strangely enough, Hirata, Sano's chief retainer, is despondent over his service to Sano as he does not seem to want to be protected and takes unnecessary risks. If Way of the Traitor does anything, it solidifies the relationship between Sano and Hirata, setting up their companionship for the later books.
Sano is sent to Nagasaki where he has to unravel the mystery behind the murder of the head of the Dutch East India Company. As the story progresses, the stakes increase, and Sano takes more risks, putting his life and reputation at stake. Through the course of the story, he uncovers corruption in the administration of Nagasaki, develops camaraderie with the Dutch doctor and is convicted of treason himself.
In the end, Sano lives, and he returns to Edo (the series would be very different if he did not). However, it is the lessons he learns that makes the story important in the development of the character. For that is the purpose of the book in the overall series, developing Sano to deal with the challenges in the later books.
Now my complaint is since the story takes place in Nagasaki, I have the feeling that I will not see most of these characters ever again. As such, the politics were less pressing. I like the world Rowland is developing, and Nagasaki is on the edge of this world. Now, I hope I am wrong, but I will not know until I push farther into series.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read the previous ones. I am less likely to recommend this book on its own since it builds so much upon the events of Bundori.
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