Synopses & Reviews
DEADLY SECRETIt is a lost art, passed down by the ancients in great secrecy: Dim-mak. It is death, by the lightest touch of a finger. Sano Ichiro, tenuous in the new regime as the shogun's second-in-command, does not have the luxury of skepticism?another senior official is dead, a fingerprint lightly glazed into his skin.
DEADLY CRIMESano's wife Reiko has an investigation of her own: a beautiful, proud, and hopelessly poor woman has confessed to murdering her family. Yet the pieces do not fit, and as Reiko looks deeper into the woman's life as a hinin?a moral outcast, shunned by the world?inexplicable connections appear between her investigation and Sano's.
DEADLY TOUCHAs Reiko's questions spiral her further into the squalor of life as a hinin, Sano and Hirata?his most loyal samurai?pursure their prey, uncovering an intricate tapestry of betrayal woven into the highest levels of the new regime. But they are no match for the one who has mastered dim-mak, a warrior who will strike all those who cross him or his path?even Reiko.
"Sano may carry a sword and wear a kimono, but you'll immediately recognize him as an ancestor of Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade."
--The Denver Post
Review
“Sano may carry a sword and wear a kimono, but youll immediately recognize him as an ancestor of Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade.” —
The Denver Post
Praise for Laura Joh Rowland
The Perfumed Sleeve“Readers who enjoy a deep, insightful examination of a bygone period will want to read Perfumed Sleeve and the previous novels of this solid series.” —Midwest Book Review
“In its careful, beautiful portrayal of a dangerous time in Japanese history, this ninth in a popular detective series is every bit as satisfying as the preceding eight. . . . Rowland has created a compelling and lively series.” —Dallas Morning News
“Defty combining a classic whodunit with vivid period detail, Rowland raises the stakes for her next book with an unexpected twist at the end that promises to present her dogged but fallible hero with even more difficulties in the future.” —Publishers Weekly
The Dragon Kings Palace“Rowland uses her fine eye for detail to portray the intricate surface and roiling underbelly of life in a tightly structured, controlled society. Her Japan is a mix of Kabuki theater-like stylized formality, palace intrigue, and physical action that would do a martial arts movie proud.” —The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
“A lively dissection of the samurai code of honor, sexual dishonor, palace infighting, and ancient Japanese mores.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Rowland is one of the best mystery writers around. You owe it to yourself to check out the best suspense series youve never heard of.” —The Flint [Michigan] Journal
Review
“Sano may carry a sword and wear a kimono, but youll immediately recognize him as an ancestor of Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade.”
—The Denver Post “Evocative detail and suspense...Rowlands characters remain fresh.”—Publishers Weekly
“A welcome breath of fresh air.”—Booklist
“Elegantly told and interspersed with delicious bits of history.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Rowland delivers an unforgettable portrayal of the Edo of 400 years ago…. [T]he action is worthy of a beautiful Asian martial-arts movie…graceful, angry, and unbound.”—The Times Picayune
“[A] tough-minded, edgy, intelligent, and literate thriller.” —Flint Journal
Review
“Sano may carry a sword and wear a kimono, but youll immediately recognize him as an ancestor of Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade.”
—The Denver Post “Evocative detail and suspense...Rowlands characters remain fresh.”—Publishers Weekly
“A welcome breath of fresh air.”—Booklist
“Elegantly told and interspersed with delicious bits of history.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Rowland delivers an unforgettable portrayal of the Edo of 400 years ago…. [T]he action is worthy of a beautiful Asian martial-arts movie…graceful, angry, and unbound.”—The Times Picayune
“[A] tough-minded, edgy, intelligent, and literate thriller.” —Flint Journal
Synopsis
A single fingerprint and an unexpected connection to Sano's wife, Reiko, puts Sano on the trail of an underground movement to overthrow the regime, and in the path of an assassin with a deadly touch.
Synopsis
In Rowland's tenth mystery featuring Sano Inchiro, the shogun's special criminal investigator in 17th-century Japan, a single fingerprint and an unexpected connection to his wife, Reiko, puts Sano on the trail of an underground movement to overthrow the regime.
Synopsis
May 1695. During a horse race at Edo Castle the chief of the shoguns intelligence service, Ejima Senzaemon, drops dead as his horse gallops across the finish line—the fourth in a recent series of sudden deaths of high-ranking officials. Sano Ichiro is ordered to investigate, despite his recent promotion to chamberlain and his new duties as the shoguns second-in-command.
Meanwhile, Sanos wife, Reiko, is invited to attend the trial of Yugao, a beautiful young woman accused of stabbing her parents and sister to death. The woman has confessed, but the magistrate believes there is more to this case than meets the eye. He delays his verdict and asks Reiko to prove Yugaos guilt or innocence.
As their investigations continue, both Sano and Reiko come to realize that the man he is trying to hunt and the woman she is desperate to save are somehow connected. A single fingerprint on Ejimas temple puts Sano on the trail of an underground movement to overthrow the regime, and in the path of an assassin with a deadly touch.
Synopsis
It is a lost art, passed down by the ancients in great secrecy:
Dim-mak. It is death, by the lightest touch of a finger
. Sano Ichiro, tenuous in the new regime as the shogun's second-in-command, does not have the luxury of skepticism?another senior official is dead, a fingerprint lightly glazed into his skin.
Sano's wife Reiko has an investigation of her own: a beautiful, proud, and hopelessly poor woman has confessed to murdering her family. Yet the pieces do not fit, and as Reiko looks deeper into the woman's life as a hinin?a moral outcast, shunned by the world?inexplicable connections appear between her investigation and Sano's.
As Reiko's questions spiral her further into the squalor of life as a hinin, Sano and Hirata?his most loyal samurai?pursure their prey, uncovering an intricate tapestry of betrayal woven into the highest levels of the new regime. But they are no match for the one who has mastered dim-mak, a warrior who will strike all those who cross him or his path?even Reiko.
Synopsis
It is a lost art, passed down by the ancients in great secrecy:
Dim-mak. It is death, by the lightest touch of a finger
. Sano Ichiro, tenuous in the new regime as the shoguns second-in-command, does not have the luxury of skepticism?another senior official is dead, a fingerprint lightly glazed into his skin.
Sanos wife Reiko has an investigation of her own: a beautiful, proud, and hopelessly poor woman has confessed to murdering her family. Yet the pieces do not fit, and as Reiko looks deeper into the womans life as a hinin?a moral outcast, shunned by the world?inexplicable connections appear between her investigation and Sanos.
As Reikos questions spiral her further into the squalor of life as a hinin, Sano and Hirata?his most loyal samurai?pursure their prey, uncovering an intricate tapestry of betrayal woven into the highest levels of the new regime. But they are no match for the one who has mastered dim-mak, a warrior who will strike all those who cross him or his path--even Reiko. “Elegantly told and interspersed with delicious bits of history” (Kirkus Reviews), Laura Joh Rowland's The Assassin's Touch is a mystery you won't want to miss.
About the Author
Laura Joh Rowland, the granddaughter of Chinese and Korean immigrants, was educated at the University of Michigan and now lives in New Orleans with her husband
. The Assassins Touch is the tenth book in her widely acclaimed series featuring Sano Ichiro.