Laura Joh Rowland, Author Random House (NY) $21 (367p) ISBN 978-0-679-43422-1
Seventeenth-century Tokyo is the setting for Rowland's debut novel, a murder mystery starring the Senior Police Commander in the district of Edo. Sano Ichiro, a samurai whose academic background puts him at odds with most of his peers, discovers two
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Laura Joh Rowland. Crooked Lane, $26.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-68331-447-9
In Rowland’s The Ripper’s Shadow, London photographer Sarah Bain, with the aid of such friends as Lord Hugh Staunton, “solved the Jack the Ripper case via a combination of mishaps, wild ideas, and luck.” In this so-so sequel, Sarah and Hugh, an...
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Laura Joh Rowland. Minotaur, $25.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-04706-9
Rowland's 18th and final mystery set in feudal Japan showcases the series' strengths and weaknesses. In 1709, four years after the events of 2013's The Shogun's Daughter, Sano Ichiro is grappling with the repercussions of yet another reversal of...
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Laura Joh Rowland. Minotaur, $25.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-02861-7
The death from smallpox of Tsuruhime, the shogun’s daughter, spells trouble for Sano Ichiro in Rowland’s outstanding 17th novel of feudal Japan (after 2012’s The Incense Game). Faced with picking an official heir, the shogun passes over his nephew,...
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Laura Joh Rowland. Minotaur, $25.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-312-65853-3
A natural disaster serves as the focal point for Rowland’s stellar 16th whodunit set in feudal Japan (after 2011’s The Ronin’s Mistress). In 1703, an earthquake devastates the city of Edo, claiming thousands of lives and causing major structural...
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Laura Joh Rowland. Minotaur, $24.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-312-65852-6
At the outset of Rowland's tense 15th Japanese historical featuring Sano Ichiro (after 2010's The Cloud Pavilion), 47 ronin (samurai without a master) enter the estate of Kira Yoshinaka, the shogun's master of ceremonies, and one of their number...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author Minotaur Books $24.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-312-26872-5
The complexities of Buddhist temple society challenge detective Sano Ichiro and his wife and helpmate, Reiko, in the latest installment in Rowland's (The Samurai's Wife) outstanding series set in Shogun-era Japan. In this round Sano has to look into
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author Thomas Dunne Books $23.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0-312-20325-2
With her fifth mystery set in 17th-century Japan, Rowland (The Concubine's Tattoo, Bundori, etc.) offers a rich historical that is equal parts police procedural and political thriller. The shogun sends his Most Honorable Investigator of Events,...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author Villard Books $23 (0p) ISBN 978-0-679-43423-8
Brutal murders linked to an ancient betrayal send late 17th-century Tokyo into a panic. They also spell big trouble for the Shogun's special investigator, Sano Ichiro, in this sequel to Rowland's well-received first novel, Shinju. The killings are...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author Villard Books $24 (320p) ISBN 978-0-679-44900-3
In the port of Nagasaki in the year 1690, the prosperous Japanese power elite is doing quite well from trade, although the arrival of the Dutch makes everyone nervous. To diminish the possibility of attack, the Dutch are confined to a small section...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author St. Martin's Press $23.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-312-19252-5
Rowland once again delivers a mystery laden with details of period and place, with strong portrayals of palace intrigue in 17th-century Japan. Sano Ichiro has risen to the rank of Most Honorable Investigator for the shogun in 1690 Japan. As his...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author . St. Martin's Minotaur $24.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-312-28262-2
Delicate prose and a plot full of the overtones and undercurrents that shade real life push Rowland's latest historical beyond the standard whodunit. In 17th-century Japan, Sano Ichiro—the shogun's "Most Honorable Investigator of...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author Overlook Press $24.95 (378p) ISBN 978-1-59020-033-9
The author of Jane Eyre plays sleuth in this enchanting historical from Rowland, acclaimed for her mystery series set in 17th-century Japan (The Snow Empress, etc.). After the instant success of Jane Eyre and the lesser success of her two sisters\x92
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author . Overlook $24.95 (349p) ISBN 978-1-59020-271-5
Set in 1851, three years after the events in The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë
, Rowland's fast-paced second Charlotte Brontë adventure continues to transform the shy author of Jane Eyre
into an action heroine. Still pining...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author . Minotaur $24.99 (295p) ISBN 978-0-312-37949-0
In Rowland's masterful 14th historical to feature Sano Ichiro, a year has passed since the events chronicled in 2008's The Fire Kimono
, but the calm that has prevailed since the shogun made Sano and his archrival, Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, co-
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author . St. Martin's Minotaur $24.95 (297p) ISBN 978-0-312-37948-3
Set in 1700, Rowland's outstanding 13th Sano Ichiro mystery (after 2007's The Snow Empress
) finds Sano, whom the shogun raised to the rank of chamberlain several books back, waging a fierce struggle with his chief rival, Lord Matsudaira....
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author . St. Martin’s Minotaur $24.95 (293p) ISBN 978-0-312-36542-4
Demonstrating an impressive level of sustained excellence, Rowland’s mysteries set in 17th-century Japan form one of the best recent series in the genre. The 12th episode (after 2006’s Red Chrysanthemum
) delves deeper into the politics...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author . St. Martin's Minotaur $24.95 (298p) ISBN 978-0-312-35532-6
Rowland's 11th 17th-century Japanese historical (after 2005's The Assassin's Touch
) is even more of a page-turner than its predecessors. Sano Ichiro has risen through the ranks from his position as the shogun's special investigator...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author . St. Martin's Minotaur $24.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-31900-7
At the start of Rowland's assured 10th historical set in 17th-century Japan (after 2004's The Perfumed Sleeve
), Sano Ichiro, now the shogun's chamberlain and second-in-command, returns to his previous role of criminal investigator after
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author . St. Martin's Minotaur $24.95 (326p) ISBN 978-0-312-31889-5
In Rowland's ninth absorbing historical set in 17th-century Japan (after 2003's The Dragon King's Palace
), Sano Ichiro, the shogun's special criminal investigator, must once again navigate treacherous political waters to solve a...
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Laura Joh Rowland, Author . St. Martin's Minotaur $24.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-312-28266-0
In Rowland's eighth engrossing 17th-century Japanese mystery (after 2002's The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria), Sano Ichiro, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People, is roused in the middle of the night...
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Laura Joh Rowland. Crooked Lane, $26.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-68331-902-3
Rowland finally hits her stride in her third mystery featuring photographer Sarah Bain (after 2018’s A Mortal Likeness). In 1890, Sarah is working for a tabloid, the Daily World, along with her two partners in investigation, Hugh Staunton, a lord,...
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Laura Joh Rowland. Crooked Lane, $26.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-64385-241-6
At the start of Rowland’s clever fourth Victorian mystery (after 2019’s The Hangman’s Secret), Sarah Bain, a London newspaper crime scene photographer, is assigned to take pictures of the corpse of a naked woman with a mutilated face. But as she...
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Laura Joh Rowland. Crooked Lane, $26.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-64385-472-4
Rowland’s well-crafted fifth Victorian mystery (after 2020’s The Woman in the Veil) finds London newspaper crime photographer Sarah Bain and her fiancé, Det. Sgt. Thomas Barrett, about to get married—but are they prepared to confront the concept of...
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Laura Joh Rowland. Crooked Lane, $26.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-64385-794-7
At the start of Rowland’s convoluted sixth Victorian mystery (after 2021’s Portrait of Peril), crime scene photographer Sarah Bain and her new husband, Det. Sgt. Thomas Barrett, are riding the London underground in November 1890 when their train...
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Laura Joh Rowland. Crooked Lane, $28.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-63910-151-1
Set in 1891 London, Rowland’s disappointing seventh Victorian mystery (after 2022’s Garden of Sins) depends on an improbable premise: Sarah Bain Barrett and two colleagues who are “crime photographers and reporters for the Daily World newspaper,...
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