Review:
"Parker's remarkable command of 11th-century Japanese history... makes for an excellent whodunit." ---"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
"Parker has created a wonderful protagonist... . With her steady, mature narrative, [Parker] puts us at ease in a Japan of 1,000 years ago." ---"Boston Globe"" ""Terrifically imaginative." ---"The Wall Street Journal"
"Parker's remarkable command of 11th-century Japanese history...makes for an excellent whodunit." ---"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
"Parker has created a wonderful protagonist.... With her steady, mature narrative, [Parker] puts us at ease in a Japan of 1,000 years ago." ---"Boston Globe"" ""Terrifically imaginative." ---"The Wall Street Journal"
aFascinating historical detail and well-drawn characters distinguish Shamus-winner Parker's second Japanese mystery (after 2002's well-received "Rashomon Gate"). On his way back to the capital city of Heian Kyo (now Kyoto), Lord Sugawara Akitada, a government official with a knack for stumbling into crime, stops at a monastery to shake off the cold and get a few hours sleep. Other guests of the Buddhist monks include a well-dressed woman and her companion, a troupe of actors and a renowned artist. After Akitada views the artist's work- in-progress, aptly called the "Hell Screen," his sleep is filled with nightmarish images and a bloodcurdling scream. Not sure whether he was dreaming, Akitada wanders around the monastery but finds nothing amiss. After an early morning departure, Akitada arrives at his ancestral home to visit his dying mother and soon learns of a heinous murder. Realizing the crime took place at the monastery where he slept, Akitada can't resist investigating. Many complications and subplots ensue, all rendered in expertly evocative prose. Parker's remarkable command of 11th-century Japanese history-from the rituals of the royal court to the minutia of daily life within Japan's often rigid caste system-makes for an excellent whodunit. Readers will be enchanted by Akitada, an honorable sleuth who proves more progressive than his time.a
a"Publishers Weekly" (Starred)
aParker has crafted another exotic and compelling mystery set in eleventh- century Japan and featuring government official and sometime detective Akitada Sugawara. Journeying home to attend to his dying mother, Akitada seeks shelter at a monastic temple during a storm. Exhausted and disoriented, he isinextricably drawn to an artistically rendered, yet horrifically realistic, hell screen depicting a variety of gruesome death scenes. When a young woman is murdered during the night, Akitada becomes embroiledB in a complex investigation that involves members of his own family. Exposing the brazen theft of an identity, the wily Akitada is able to untangle the strands of a cleverly plotted series of murders. This intriguing combination of history and suspense is distinguished by a wealth of authentic cultural detail.a
a"Booklist"
"Parker has created a wonderful protagonista]. With her steady, mature narrative, [Parker] puts us at ease in a Japan of 1,000 years ago."
a"Boston Globe"
"Terrifically imaginative."
a"The Wall Street Journa"
Fascinating historical detail and well-drawn characters distinguish Shamus-winner Parker's second Japanese mystery (after 2002's well-received "Rashomon Gate"). On his way back to the capital city of Heian Kyo (now Kyoto), Lord Sugawara Akitada, a government official with a knack for stumbling into crime, stops at a monastery to shake off the cold and get a few hours sleep. Other guests of the Buddhist monks include a well-dressed woman and her companion, a troupe of actors and a renowned artist. After Akitada views the artist's work- in-progress, aptly called the "Hell Screen," his sleep is filled with nightmarish images and a bloodcurdling scream. Not sure whether he was dreaming, Akitada wanders around the monastery but finds nothing amiss. After an early morning departure, Akitada arrives at his ancestral home to visit his dying mother and soon learns of a heinous murder. Realizing the crime took place at the monastery where he slept, Akitada can't resist investigating. Many compli
?Fascinating historical detail and well-drawn characters distinguish Shamus-winner Parker's second Japanese mystery (after 2002's well-received "Rashomon Gate"). On his way back to the capital city of Heian Kyo (now Kyoto), Lord Sugawara Akitada, a government official with a knack for stumbling into crime, stops at a monastery to shake off the cold and get a few hours sleep. Other guests of the Buddhist monks include a well-dressed woman and her companion, a troupe of actors and a renowned artist. After Akitada views the artist's work- in-progress, aptly called the "Hell Screen," his sleep is filled with nightmarish images and a bloodcurdling scream. Not sure whether he was dreaming, Akitada wanders around the monastery but finds nothing amiss. After an early morning departure, Akitada arrives at his ancestral home to visit his dying mother and soon learns of a heinous murder. Realizing the crime took place at the monastery where he slept, Akitada can't resist investigating. Many compl
About the Author:
I. J. Parker, winner of a Shamus Award for “Akitada’s First Case,” a short story published in 1999, lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This is the second novel featuring Akitada Sugawara.
I. J. Parker, winner of a Shamus Award for “Akitada’s First Case,” a short story published in 1999, lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This is the second novel featuring Akitada Sugawara.
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