A good mystery is always a book which attracts my interest.
And any book with Medieval Japan as a backdrop draws me like the proverbial ninja moth to the flame.
So coming across Blade of the Samurai was a definite highlight for a reader like me.
The book flap had me hooked as it stated; "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 thw 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 overthrow the ruling Ashikaga clan. With Lord Oda's enemy forces approaching Kyoto, and the murderer poised to strike again, Hiro must use his assassin's skills to reveal the killer's identity and protect the shogun at any cost. Kazu, now trapped in the city, still refuses to explain his whereabouts at the time of the murder. But a suspicious shogunate maid, Saburo's wife, and the shogun's stable master also had reasons to want Saburo dead. With the shogun demanding the murderer's head before Lord Oda reaches the city, Hiro and Father Mateo must produce the killer in time … or die in his place."
The Shinobi 'detective' (Hiro), in the story is well written, although I will admit I wish he had used more swords and shurikens, but his detective skills are up there with the likes of the better heroes of the genre.
The Portuguese priest should have been a huge plus as a contrast to the 'Japanese' view of things, and at times he was, but author Susan Spann wrote him into the background for much of the book.
Still I was curious what drew Spann to mix Shinobi secrets with Catholic views in the first place, which really comes down to why the author did the book.
"I've always loved mystery novels, but never had the courage to write one," she said in an interview. "Then, while getting ready for work in March of 2011, I had the thought: 'Most ninjas commit murders, but Hiro Hattori solves them.' I knew immediately that this was a book (and a series) I had to write."
So did the setting require a lot of research in terms of the setting?
"Yes, and no," offered Spann. "I have an undergraduate degree in Asian Studies from Tufts University, where I studied Chinese and Japanese languages, history, and culture, so I already had a foundation to build on.
"However, I do a lot of 'detail research' for every new novel; focusing on the specific setting and cultural details I want to feature in that particular mystery."
But the idea of a book set against a medieval Japanese backdrop was more than Spann's education.
"My fascination with medieval Japan started with the Shogun miniseries in 1980," she said. "I found James Clavell's classic novel at the library the day after the miniseries aired, and I've loved medieval Japan ever since. I studied Japanese history and culture in college, love martial arts, and possess a deep and ever-growing love for medieval Japan."
Adding the Portuguese / Jesuit aspect was to aid readers, added Spann.
"Most readers don't know much about medieval Japan or the samurai culture, and the best way to introduce readers to this vibrant (but sometimes confusing) time and place was via a 'translator' with Western eyes," she said. "By pairing my ninja detective with a Portuguese Jesuit, I gave myself a built-in 'filter' for the unusual cultural details.
"I also wanted to feature a pair of detectives with opposing world views, forced together by circumstance and required to find common ground. In many ways, the series is as much about Hiro and Father Mateo's friendship as it is about solving crimes and catching killers."
Spann said the two main characters work as a duo in the tradition of many mystery solving pairs.
"Initially, I envisioned the relationship between Hiro and Father Mateo as a classic 'Holmes & Watson' pairing, with Hiro the primary detective and Father Mateo more of a sidekick. While writing Claws of the Cat, however, I quickly discovered that Father Mateo refused to take a secondary role, and that Hiro accepted him as an equal; most of the time, anyway," she said.
"I'm fascinated by the way these two very different men work together, and work through their differences, and the feedback I've gotten from readers suggests that it's one of the readers' favourite aspects of the series, too."
The Blade of the Samurai is the second in a series by Spann, the first book being Claws of the Cat, which I'll note right here is a book I want to read.
Spann said she had anticipated a series from the beginning.
"I knew from the outset that Hiro and Father Mateo had a larger story to tell, and that it would take far more than a single book to tell the "bigger story" about these characters, their pasts, and their lives moving forward. I hoped I'd have the chance to tell that story, as well as letting them solve a number of mysteries in different settings," she said.
"That said, I try to make each novel stand alone, so readers who pick up a later book in the series don't feel lost, and I also try very hard to keep spoilers out of the novels, so people who read out of order don't already know "whodunit" in previous volumes!"
The books are deservedly finding fans, and I am certainly among those.
"I've been fortunate to receive great reviews from Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and others, as well as wonderful reader feedback. I'm delighted, and honored, that readers seem to enjoy spending time with Hiro and Father Mateo as much as I do," said Spann.
And a new book is on its way.
Flask of the Drunken Master (Shinobi Mystery #3) will release in July of 2015.
"This time, Hiro and Father Mateo must solve a murder in Kyoto's brewery district," offered Spann. "When a rival artisan turns up dead outside their friend Ginjiro's brewery, Hiro and Father Mateo must find the killer before the magistrate executes Ginjiro, leaving his wife and daughter destitute. A missing merchant, a debt collector, and a moneylender join Ginjiro and the victim's spendthrift son on Hiro's suspect list, but with Kyoto on alert in the wake of the shogun's recent death, and a dangerous rival shinobi on the prowl, Ginjiro's is not the only life at risk."
Mark this as another book high on my 'want-to-read' list.
Blade of the Samurai has made me a fan, and I can only recommend it to mystery fans. Check it out at www.susanspann.com
