Monday, September 30, 2013

HF Tours Review: The Shogun's Daughter by Laura Joh Rowland

Title: The Shogun's Daughter
Author: Laura Joh Rowland
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publish Date: September 17, 2013
Source: HF Virtual Book Tours






Why You're Reading This Book:

  • You're a historical fiction fan.
  • You like mysteries.
  • You like exotic settings.
 What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Japan, 1704.  In an elegant mansion a young woman named Tsuruhime lies on her deathbed, attended by her nurse.  Smallpox pustules cover her face.  Incense burns, to banish the evil spirits of disease. After Tsuruhime takes her last breath, the old woman watching from the doorway says, “Who’s going to tell the Shogun his daughter is dead?”

The death of the Shogun's daughter has immediate consequences on his regime. There will be no grandchild to leave the kingdom. Faced with his own mortality and beset by troubles caused by the recent earthquake, he names as his heir Yoshisato, the seventeen-year-old son he only recently discovered was his. Until five months ago, Yoshisato was raised as the illegitimate son of Yanagisawa, the shogun's favorite advisor. Yanagisawa is also the longtime enemy of Sano Ichiro.

Sano doubts that Yoshisato is really the Shogun's son, believing it's more likely a power-play by Yanagisawa. When Sano learns that Tsuruhime's death may have been a murder, he sets off on a dangerous investigation that leads to more death and destruction as he struggles to keep his pregnant wife, Reiko, and his son safe. Instead, he and his family become the accused. And this time, they may not survive the day."


My Two Cents: 


"The Shogun's Daughter" is a historical mystery that centers around a potential murder in early 1700s Japan. When the story opens, Tsuruhime, the Shogun's Daughter, is on her deathbed with a horrible case of smallpox. Her ultimate death starts a investigation into what happened and it's quickly discovered that due to some of the political forces at play, her death may not have been all that natural. It's up to Sano Ichiro to investigate what happened, which may put his own family at risk. It's an interesting tale with an exotic setting.

This book is the 17th (seriously!) book in the Sano Ichiro series. I have not read any of these books. While "The Shogun's Daughter" is a standalone book, I could not help but to feel that I was missing some of the back story of some of the main characters, namely Sano. I feel like I had a lot of questions about his background and while some detail comes out in flashbacks within the story, I found myself wanting more.

The story itself was interesting. I don't read a lot of historical mysteries but this one made me wonder why I don't read more. Even though this book is quite long, it's a page turner and makes the time go by quickly. I really enjoyed putting together all of the pieces of the puzzle with Sano. There is also a really interesting story line about the trouble his own family is in because of his investigation, which I enjoyed.

The setting in this book was probably my favorite. You all know that I love exotic settings and this setting was truly special. 1700s Japan isn't a place that I have visited too much in my reading so this book was truly a treat in that regard.

Overall, I enjoyed this book for its fast pace and awesome setting.


Follow the Rest of the Tour:

Monday, September 16
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Tuesday, September 17
Review at Let Them Read Books
Wednesday, September 18
Guest Post at The True Book Addict
Guest Post & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books
Thursday, September 19
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Friday, September 20
Review at The True Book Addict
Interview at Flashlight Commentary
Monday, September 23
Review at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Tuesday, September 24
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews
Wednesday, September 25
Review at Impressions in Ink
Interview at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Thursday, September 26
Review & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick
Friday, September 27
Review at Jenny Loves to Read
Monday, September 30
Review at A Bookish Affair
Interview at Unabridged Chick
Tuesday, October 1
Guest Post & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair
Wednesday, October 2
Review at The Maiden’s Court
Review at Just One More Chapter
Thursday, October 3
Review at WTF Are You Reading?
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee
Friday, October 4
Review at Book Dilettante

Post Tour

Monday, October 7
Review & Interview at A Bookish Libraria
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1 comment:

  1. I love historical fiction novels set in Japan and that cover is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

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