Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Ghost of the Bamboo Road Author: Susan Spann ISBN: 978-1-63388-550-9 Publisher: Seventh Street Books Part of a Series: Hiro Hattori Novels Type of book: Japan, samurai, mountains, fox, 1566, kitsune, entertainers, revenge, plans, mystery, yamabushi, Shinobi, crime, murder Year it was published: 2019 Summary: When a vengeful spirit terrorizes a mountain village in medieval Japan, a ninja and a Jesuit priest must reveal the truth and save the villagers from the phantom's wrath. January 1566: En route to Edo, Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo spend the night in a rural mountain village whose inhabitants live in terror of a legendary vengeful ghost. When the innkeeper's wife is murdered and Father Mateo's housekeeper, Ana, is blamed for a crime she did not commit, Hiro and Father Mateo are forced to investigate and reveal the truth. But when another woman turns up murdered in the snow, the detectives must face the...

Name of Book: Trial on Mount Koya Author: Susan Spann ISBN: 978-1-63388-415-1 Publisher: Seventh Street Books Part of a Series: Shinobi Mystery Type of book: 1565, mystery, Japan, Buddhist Temple, message, murder, Kings of Hell, ideologies, love, hope, anger Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Jesuit Father Mateo head up to Mount Koya, only to find themselves embroiled in yet another mystery, this time in a Shingon Buddhist temple atop one of Japan's most sacred peaks. November, 1565: Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo travel to a Buddhist temple at the summit of Mount Koya, carrying a secret message for an Iga spy posing as a priest on the sacred mountain. When a snowstorm strikes the peak, a killer begins murdering the temple's priests and posing them as Buddhist judges of the afterlife--the Kings of Hell. Hiro and Father Mateo must unravel the mystery before the remaining priests--including Fathe...

Name of Book: Betrayal at Iga Author: Susan Spann ISBN: 978-1-63388-277-5 Publisher: Seventh Street Books Part of a Series: Hiro Hattori Mysteries #5 Type of book: 1565. Shinobi clans, shinobi culture, Koga, Iga, deceit, murder, mystery, betrayal, believing not seeing, foreigner, religion, mute girl, family, high stakes, Japan, alliance, high stakes Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Autumn, 1565: After fleeing Kyoto, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo take refuge with Hiro s ninja clan in the mountains of Iga province. But when an ambassador from the rival Koga clan is murdered during peace negotiations, Hiro and Father Mateo must find the killer in time to prevent a war between the ninja clans. With every suspect a trained assassin, and the evidence incriminating not only Hiro s commander, the infamous ninja Hattori Hanz, but also Hiro s mother and his former lover, the detectives must struggle to find the truth in a village where ...

Name of Book: The Ninja's Daughter Author: Susan Spann ISBN: 978-1-63388-181-5 Publisher: Seventh Street Books Part of a Series: Shinobi Mysteries Type of book: Japan, 1565, Kyoto, samurai, mystery, murder, detective, priest, secrets, rivalry, siblings, clues, women's lives Year it was published: 2016 Summary: Autumn, 1565: When an actor's daughter is murdered on the banks of Kyoto's Kamo River, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo are the victim's only hope for justice. As political tensions rise in the wake of the shogun's recent death, and rival warlords threaten war, the Kyoto police forbid an investigation of the killing, to keep the peace--but Hiro has a personal connection to the girl, and must avenge her. The secret investigation leads Hiro and Father Mateo deep into the exclusive world of Kyoto's theater guilds, where they quickly learn that nothing, and no one, is as it seems. With only a mysterious go...

Name of Book: Flask of the Drunken Master Author: Susan Spann ISBN: 978-1-250-02706-1 Publisher: Minotaur Books Part of a Series: Shinobi Mystery #3 (Claws of the Cat and Blade of the Samurai are prequels) Type of book: Japan, mystery, 16th century, murder, Shinobi, hidden identity, underestimation, 1565, connections, missing person, risk of poverty, Kyoto Year it was published: 2015 Summary: Master ninja Hiro Hattori and his companion Father Mateo are once again pulled into a murder investigation when a rival artisan turns up dead outside of their friend Ginjiro’s sake brewery. They must find the killer before the magistrate executes Ginjiro, seizes the brewery, and renders his family destitute. All the evidence implicates the brewer, yet with Kyoto on alert in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, Ginjiro’s is not the only life at risk. As tensions rise, Hiro investigates a missing merchant, a vicious debt collector, a moneylender and the victim’s spendthrif...

Name of Book: Blade of the Samurai Author: Susan Spann ISBN: 978-1-250-02705-4 Publisher: Minotaur Books Part of a Series: A Shinobi Mystery Type of book: Japan, Shinobi, mystery, 1565, protection, travel, shogun, emperor, districts, loyalty, friendship, Japanese etiquette, samurai Year it was published: 2014 Summary: June, 1565: Master ninja Hiro Hattori receives a pre-dawn visit from Kazu, a fellow shinobi working undercover at the shogunate. Hours before, the shogun’'s cousin, Saburo, was stabbed to death in the shogun’s palace. The murder weapon: Kazu’s personal dagger. Kazu says he’s innocent, and begs for Hiro’s help, but his story gives Hiro reason to doubt the young shinobi’s claims. When the shogun summons Hiro and Father Mateo, the Portuguese Jesuit priest under Hiro’s protection, to find the killer, Hiro finds himself forced to choose between friendship and personal honor. The investigation reveals a plot to assassinate the shogun and overthro...