Kill the Shogun (Samurai Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Dale Furutani (Author)

Book Description

Series: Samurai Mysteries | Publication Date: August 2000

In Kill the Shogun, award winning mystery writer Dale Furutani presents the latest in his popular samurai mystery series. He returns to the journey of Matsuyama Kaze, the masterless warrior destined to travel the seventeenth-century Japanese countryside until he fulfills the dying wish of his murdered lord's wife.Until now, Kaze's quick wit and samurai skills have enabled him to solve crimes, untangled himself from deadly schemes, and protect the innocent, all the while keeping his sense of justice and honor. But the danger now facing Kaze, from enemies known and unknown, is greater than ever.

Kaze is the closest he's ever come to fulfilling his quest to rescue his lord's kidnapped daughter. Following a trail of clues, he is led to Edo, the bustling new capital of Japan. Treading in unfamiliar territory , Kaze is the object of a deadly manhunt when an attempt on the Shogun's life fails. He must dodge his lord's rivals, even as he learns that the young girl has been sold into prostitution. In his quest to save her, Kaze teams up with an eccentric cast of local characters who bring feudal Japan to life. The samurai must clear his name and rescue the child as the odds against him grow.

With his sensitivity and stength, Matsuyama Kaze has been described by Publishers Weekly as embodying "both compassion and ruthlessness." Furutani deftly combines Kaze's compelling spirit,a complex plot, and an acute sense of historical detail to produce an exciting tale of one warrior's noble quest.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dale Furutani's Samurai Mystery Trilogy concludes with Kill the Shogun. In this book Matsuyama Kaze takes up his unfinished business from the previous adventures (Death at the Crossroads, Jade Palace Vendetta)--finding the daughter of his former patrons, his lord and lady who were massacred in the intrigues that attended an earlier change in the fortunes of Japan's 17th-century ruling class. Journeying to the capital of the new Japan, Edo, Kaze is catapulted once again into political intrigue when he is mistakenly identified as the would-be assassin of Tokugawa Iesyasu, the new Shogun.

As adept at disguise as he is at swordplay and as clever a reader of the mysteries of his enemies' minds as he is a private seeker of an ennobled spirituality, Kaze is a superhero who defeats the forces ranged against him by employing not only his own extraordinary physical and mental abilities, but the strength of his opponents as well. There's plenty of swordplay, including a fight with a band of ninjas, contract killers for one of the Shogun's rivals. There's also lots of palace intrigue and nicely rendered secondary characters, including a pair of peasants with theatrical ambitions, a young woman who's smitten by the Samurai, and, of course, the object of Kaze's quest, whom he manages to extricate from a brothel in the nick of time. Furutani makes a rarely evoked period come alive, with its distinctive mores, society, and class structure. If you haven't read the earlier books in this series, you'll probably want to when you've finished the concluding volume. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

Anthony and Macavity award winner Furutani manages a fluid mix of cultural history and swashbuckling adventureAthe swordplay conjures memories of SabatiniAin this concluding volume of the Samurai Mystery Trilogy (Death at the Crossroads; Jade Palace Vendetta), set in early 17th-century Japan. Samurai Matsuyama Kaze's solitary quest to find the young daughter of his slain Lord and Lady, who figure in the previous two books, brings him to Edo (Old Tokyo), the bustling new capital of Japan, where fortune has made Tokugawa Ieyasu the new Shogun (ruler). Tokugawa is rebuilding and expanding Edo, recently ravaged by fire, at a feverish pace. Kaze's search for the young girl, who's been sold into slavery as a child prostitute, is difficult enough in the large city, but when he's mistakenly identified as the unsuccessful assassin who fired a shot at the Shogun, it becomes dangerous too. Single-mindedly pursuing his goal, Kaze adopts various disguises and eventually locates the brothel where the girl is likely kept. He then has to plot to extricate her while at the same time figuring out how to prove himself innocent of attempted assassination. A memorable cast of warriors, gamblers, merchants and craftsmen adds dimension to the proceedings. Kaze's subtle humor, supreme sword skills and calm spirituality are appealing, as Furutani succeeds in making this final volume stand alone as a complete and entertaining period mystery. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company; 1st edition (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688158196
• ISBN-13: 978-0688158194
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 3.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,186,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kill the Shogun, September 5, 2000

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kill the Shogun (Samurai Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is a truly brilliant trilogy. I've enjoyed all three books in the series immensely, and I think that these books-- "Death At The Crossroads", "Jade Palace Vendetta"; and "Kill the Shogun" should be on every serious mystery lover's list as a 'must read'. I sincerely hope that there is a series in the wings for Kaze, the wandering samurai.

In "Kill The Shogun", Kaze closes in on the whereabouts of his dead overlord's daughter. He has finally tracked her to a brothel, The Little Flower, that caters to paedophiles. However before he can affect a rescue, he is accused of an attempt on the Shogun's life.

This is a tautly written and very exciting book. There are several brilliantly described sword fights as Kaze faces off against the Shogun's soldiers and a group of mysterious ninjas. Kaze literally faces danger at every corner, and there seems to be a lack of people that he can trust.

An added bonus to lovers of history are the carefully sketched in glimpses of life and culture in early seventeenth century Japan. A little more of Kaze's history is also fleshed out so that we get to appreciate all over again his sense of honour and integrity as well as the great sorrow he carries with him.

I really like this series. And I heartily recommend all three books. I only hope that Dale Furutani writes more adventures for Kaze.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kill The Shogun brings 17th century Japan to glorious life!, August 18, 2000

By 

Margaret Chittenden (Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kill the Shogun (Samurai Mysteries) (Hardcover)

If you haven't read any of Furutani's wonderful Samurai trilogy (And why haven't you?) be sure to do so. Each book can stand alone, but if you possibly can, then read them in order as one long marvelously rich novel. #1 DEATH AT THE CROSSROADS, #2 JADE PALACE VENDETTA. #3KILL THE SHOGUN. Each book deals with a different class--Crossroads with the peasant class, Vendetta with the merchant class, and Shogun with the upper class and street entertainers.

Protagonist Matsuyama Kaze is a wandering samurai--a ronin--experiencing a variety of adventures, some good, some life-threatening, while he searches for the kidnapped daughter of his former Lord and Lady, both of whom were killed at the time of the battle of Sekigahara, following which Tokugawa Ieyasu became Shogun of Japan.

In this book Kaze is hunted as well as hunting--accused of the attempted assassination of the Shogun.

The story takes place in Edo, (which later became Tokyo--which means Eastern Capital.)

"From a sleepy fishing village, Edo was being transformed into the new capital of Japan. Now an Edokko, a child of Edo, was expected to have a free-spending view of life, with a love of luxury and pleasure. It didn't matter if the person was not born in Edo, because being an Edokko was a state of mind, and within months most new citizens of Edo were caught up in the ebullient spirit that seemed to pervade the very air."

At first, Kaze, one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, seemed darker to me in this particular story--and who could blame him after all he had gone through during his quest? All the same, I missed his great sense of humor--until I came upon a performance of Kabuki theater--a hilarious scene that is no less funny for walking a sword's edge between its own wit and a background of suspense and danger.

I loved this book, as I loved its predecessors. The writing alone is worth reading for, the plot is engrossing, the characterizations intriguing and masterful. Furutani brings early 17th century Japan to glorious life and does it with grace, humor and obvious affection.

I felt sad nearing the ending of Kill the Shogun. This series is a trilogy and this was the third book. I'm hoping Wm Morrow will insist that the trilogy should become a series--there's a place at the end that seems to leave that door open. Kaze is so wonderfully realized he could surely star in many more stories.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Please, Mr. Furutani, write another Samurai Mystery!, March 2, 2003

By 

H. S. Wedekind "Mr. Weekend" (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kill the Shogun (Samurai Mysteries) (Hardcover)

...Matsuyama Kaze ("Pine Mountain Wind") is a ronin (masterless samurai) on the run. He is being hunted by a boyhood enemy, the ambitious and ruthless Lord Okubo, who wants Kaze's head, literally, for besting him in a wooden sword match that severely injured one of Okubo's legs. Adding insult to that crippling injury, Kaze was awarded the top prize by Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu himself. This event took place years before the historic battle of Skigahara in 1600 which led to the forces of Tokugawa defeating those loyal to the late Lord Hideyoshi. Japan was finally united under the rule of Tokugawa. Kaze's Lord was on the wrong side in the battle and, true to the Warrior's Code (bushido), chose to die in battle rather than be captured and lose his honor. Kaze was ordered by his master to guard the Lord's Lady and young daughter, so he was not present at the battle. This caused him much anguish, as his home is destroyed and his wife and children die because of Kaze's loyalty to his Lord and Lady. Much is told about honor, duty, and loyalty by the author, so I'll not go into that here. Suffice it to say, Kaze rescues the dying Lady from her captors and promises to search for his mistress's daughter no matter how long it takes. It takes several years and three novels.

The search begins in the first book DEATH AT THE CROSSROADS and continues through JADE PALACE VENDETTA and KILL THE SHOGUN. I found the trilogy entertaining and informative. As the author said, the reader will recognize similarities in each book to the films of Akira Kurosawa. There is humor to be found in these books, also, so don't fear they will be weighty, historical tracts. They're supposed to be light and fun. The best part is that they also inform. I learned much about medieval Japan that I didn't know...