Laura Joh Rowlandová Knihy

Napínavý príbeh zo starého Japonska, ktorý nesie všetky známky kvalitného moderného trileru. Samurajský detektív Sano Ičiró neúnavne pátra po vrahovi nešťastných milencov, ktorí údajne spáchali šindžú - rituálnu dvojitú samovraždu. Vyšetrovanie ho privedie na stopu sprisahania ohrozujúceho základy šógunovského štátu.

Málo známe a tajomstvom opradené príbehy samurajov z čias šógunov v Japonsku približujú romány americkej spisovateľky s kórejsko-čínskymi koreňmi, ktoré preslávil ich hlavný hrdina v kimone a s mečom za pásom – detektív Sano Ičiró. Tentoraz zavedie čitateľa do obdobia na konci feudalizmu do hlavného mesta vtedajšieho Eda (dnešné Tokio), na dvor šóguna. Sano Ičiró tam pôsobí ako kancelár a záhadne sa mu stratí syn Masahiro. Pátranie je bezvýsledné a nijaký únosca nežiada výkupné. K trápeniu sa pridružilo aj nemilé rozhodnutie šóguna, aby Sano odcestoval do vzdialenej severnej provincie na ostrove Egozašima (dnes Hokkaidó). V tom čase sa Sano dozvedel, že malý Masahiro je práve na Egozašime, preto urýchlene odcestoval so sprievodom na nevľúdny sever. Lenže ich loď stroskotala a zachránila sa len hŕstka cestovateľov, ktorých zadržali ako rukojemníkov na tamojšom hrade. Po záhadnej smrti milenky vládcu Macumaeho mu Sano ponúka, že vypátra vraha jeho zbožňovanej Tekare. Krok za krokom rozplieta so svojimi vernými zamotané udalosti, prekonáva nebezpečenstvá, pričom využíva svoje skúsenosti, predvídavosť, majstrovstvo. Zároveň s odhaľovaním pravdy autorka odhaľuje tajomné, dávnoveké Japonsko s jeho zvykmi, tradíciami, dobrom i zlom.

Japan, im März 1700. In der Nähe des Shinto-Schreins legt ein Orkan die Überreste eines menschlichen Skeletts frei. Bald stellt sich heraus: Es handelt sich um einen Verwandten des Shoguns. Als der Shogun seinen Kammerherrn Sano Ichiro mit den Ermittlungen beauftragt, stellt dieser bald fest, dass seine eigene Mutter zu den Verdächtigen gehört und ihm bislang die Wahrheit über ihre Herkunft verschwiegen hat. Auch jetzt weigert sie sich, darüber zu sprechen. Doch der Shogun gibt Sano nur drei Tage, um den Namen seiner Mutter reinzuwaschen und ihre Unschuld zu beweisen. Gelingt ihm das nicht, verliert Sano nicht nur seine herausgehobene Stellung am Hofe, sondern er verwirkt auch das Leben seiner Familie ...

A compelling murder mystery set in seventeenth-century Japan, filled with finely drawn characters and suspenseful plot twists, Laura Joh Rowland's The Samurai's Wife is a novel as complex, vivid, and artful as the glorious, lost world it portrays. Far from the Shogun's court at Edo, Most Honorable Investigator Sano Ichiro begins the most challenging case of his career. Upon the insistence of his strong-willed and beautiful wife Reiko, Sano arrives with her at the emperor's palace to unmask the murderer--who possesses the secret of kiai, "the spirit city," a powerful scream that can kill instantly. A high Kyoto official is the victim. Treading carefully through a web of spies, political intrigue, forbidden passions, and intricate plots, Sano and Reiko must struggle to stay ahead of the palace storm--and outwit a cunning killer. But as they soon discover, solving the case means more than their survival. For if they fail, Japan could be consumed in the bloodiest war it has ever seen...

The Ronin's Mistress is a brilliant new twist on the fabled tale of the 47 Ronin, from Laura Joh Rowland--an author with "a painter's eye for the minutiae of court life [and] a politician's ear for intrigue." (The New York Times) Japan, 1703. On a snowy night, 47 warriors murder the man at the center of the scandal that turned them from samurai into masterless ronin two years before. Clearly this was an act of revenge--but why did they wait so long? And is there any reason they should not immediately be ordered to commit ritual suicide? Sano Ichiro, demoted from Chamberlain to his old post as Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, has mere days to solve the greatest mystery of samurai legend--while his own fortunes hang in the balance.

In 1690 Nagasaki, Samurai detective Sano Ichiro investigates the murder of a Dutch trader, a case that could lead Japan to war. Framed for treason, Sano must uncover the killer to clear his name before facing execution.

In the wake of a terrifying earthquake, Sano Ichir No races to solve a crime that could bring down the shogun's regimeJapan, 1703. A devastating earthquake has left the city of Edo in shambles - even the shogun's carefully regulated court is teetering on the brink of chaos. This is no time for a murder investigation.

"In the sequel to Shinju, Rowland's highly acclaimed first novel, samurai detective Sana Ichiro is at it again as he tracks a serial killer." The year: 1689. The place: Edo, Japan's feudal capital. An all-powerful shogun controls the state, surrounded by bitter machinations and political intrigues. A young samurai and ex-policeman, Sano tries valiantly to follow "Bushido-" the way of the warrior-in a society whose ancient, noble ways have been all but forgotten. Suddenly, a "bundori" appears-a severed head, nailed to a plank, offered for public display. Another "bundori" appears, and then another Detective Sano must risk everything he's learned as samurai to bring the killer to justice.

Riveting and richly imagined, with a magnificent sense of time and place, The Iris Fan is the triumphant conclusion to Laura Joh Rowland's brilliant series of thrillers set in feudal Japan. Japan, 1709. The shogun is old and ailing. Amid the ever-treacherous intrigue in the court, Sano Ichiro has been demoted from chamberlain to a lowly patrol guard. His relationship with his wife Reiko is in tatters, and a bizarre new alliance between his two enemies Yanagisawa and Lord Ienobu has left him puzzled and wary. Sano's onetime friend Hirata is a reluctant conspirator in a plot against the ruling regime. Yet, Sano's dedication to the Way of the Warrior—the samurai code of honor—is undiminished. Then a harrowing, almost inconceivable crime takes place. In his own palace, the shogun is stabbed with a fan made of painted silk with sharp-pointed iron ribs. Sano is restored to the rank of chief investigator to find the culprit. This is the most significant, and most dangerous, investigation of his career. If the shogun's heir is displeased, he will have Sano and his family put to death without waiting for the shogun's permission, then worry about the consequences later. And Sano has enemies of his own, as well as unexpected allies. As the previously unimaginable death of the shogun seems ever more possible, Sano finds himself at the center of warring forces that threaten not only his own family but Japan itself.

In September 1693, Sano Ichiro investigates a triple murder linked to a fire at the Black Lotus Temple, where the victims were found dead, but not from the blaze. His search for the killer puts him at odds with his wife, Reiko.