50 books...
30) Red Chrysanthemum - Laura Joh Rowland
I had completely forgotten about this series - mysteries aren't usually my thing, and I'd read (and enjoyed) the first few of them years ago...
It was a delight to rediscover Rowland's version of late 1600's Japan, with all of its trappings of propriety, and Sano Ichiro's keen mind. I did find with this one that the "twist" wasn't much of a surprise, but I may have had a bit of an inside scoop. I don't want to say too much and give it away though. Regardless, the characters are well-written, and the pace keeps up quite nicely. Great "summer fare" in a book!
31) The Snow Empress - Laura Joh Rowland
This one did keep me guessing - so many suspects, all with such reasonable motives!
Rowland pulls us out of the familiar streets of Edo, and into the strange world of Ezogashima for this adventure of Sano Ichiro and friends. She does a good job of capturing the mental journey that her protagonist must undergo, which mirrors his physical one, as Sano realizes that no, he doesn't understand the culture he is in, and that yes, he has made some assumptions that lead to errors in his own judgement.
My one criticism: I'm not sure how much I like the turn that is being taken with the character of Hirata. I had been quite enjoying that Sano and his team were solving crimes in ways that may have been unorthodox for his time, but that seemed true to the period in terms of the knowledge and understanding that was being used. No fancy gimmicks, just straight-forward collection of evidence, information, and deduction. Hirata seems to be pushing the boundaries into the quasi-mystical - perhaps still in keeping with the time period and beliefs of culture, but it's all a bit too convenient for me: after years of struggle and being blocked in his spiritual journey, his "powers" suddenly blossom just when they are needed. To be fair, this began in "Red Chrysanthemum", however I had hoped that the next "bump-up" in his abilities would take mor effort on his part than a fortunate journey north.
I had completely forgotten about this series - mysteries aren't usually my thing, and I'd read (and enjoyed) the first few of them years ago...
It was a delight to rediscover Rowland's version of late 1600's Japan, with all of its trappings of propriety, and Sano Ichiro's keen mind. I did find with this one that the "twist" wasn't much of a surprise, but I may have had a bit of an inside scoop. I don't want to say too much and give it away though. Regardless, the characters are well-written, and the pace keeps up quite nicely. Great "summer fare" in a book!
31) The Snow Empress - Laura Joh Rowland
This one did keep me guessing - so many suspects, all with such reasonable motives!
Rowland pulls us out of the familiar streets of Edo, and into the strange world of Ezogashima for this adventure of Sano Ichiro and friends. She does a good job of capturing the mental journey that her protagonist must undergo, which mirrors his physical one, as Sano realizes that no, he doesn't understand the culture he is in, and that yes, he has made some assumptions that lead to errors in his own judgement.
My one criticism: I'm not sure how much I like the turn that is being taken with the character of Hirata. I had been quite enjoying that Sano and his team were solving crimes in ways that may have been unorthodox for his time, but that seemed true to the period in terms of the knowledge and understanding that was being used. No fancy gimmicks, just straight-forward collection of evidence, information, and deduction. Hirata seems to be pushing the boundaries into the quasi-mystical - perhaps still in keeping with the time period and beliefs of culture, but it's all a bit too convenient for me: after years of struggle and being blocked in his spiritual journey, his "powers" suddenly blossom just when they are needed. To be fair, this began in "Red Chrysanthemum", however I had hoped that the next "bump-up" in his abilities would take mor effort on his part than a fortunate journey north.