The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria (Sano Ichiro Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Laura Joh Rowland (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sano Ichiro Mysteries | Publication Date: April 14, 2003

In feudal Japan, passion and secrets lead to murder. . .

From A Remote, Exotic World. . .
Sano Ichiro, Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, awakens from a turbulent dream into a real-life nightmare. Lord Matsudaira Mitsuyoshi, the shogun's cousin and heir, has been murdered after a night of debauchery in the city's pleasure quarter...

Comes A Danger All Too Close To Home. . .
The matter requires Sano's personal attention-more personal than Sano at first imagines. For he soon discovers that Mitsuyoshi's companion for the evening was none other than the alluring Lady Wisteria, a woman whom Sano himself once knew intimately before he was married to his beloved wife, Reiko. But the memory of Wisteria still stirs him, and it is with both dismay and relief that he learns she has vanished along with her pillow book, a diary that may contain valuable clues. The circumstances trouble him, as does the possibility that he and Wisteria might meet again with dangerous consequences. . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Samurai sleuth Sano Ichiro has a very personal motive in determining who killed the shogun's heir apparent with a hairpin: he's trying to save himself from being executed for the crime.

The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria introduces readers into Yoshiwara, the well-ordered but cruel pleasure quarter of 17th-century Edo (Tokyo), where the corpse of Lord Mitsuyoshi is found sprawled on a bed. The woman with whom he'd spent his final hours, a top-ranking courtesan known as Lady Wisteria, has disappeared, along with her private journal, which might supply clues to her complicity in this slaying. In the absence of both, and with the capricious old shogun ordering that Mitsuyoshi's family not be quizzed about his death, Sano is left to look for assassins among the courtesan's attendants and prominent clients. Meanwhile, Sano's enemies vie for credit in solving the murder (even if they must pin it on Sano), a woman's headless body is found wearing Wisteria's kimono, and Sano's amateur investigator wife, Reiko, threatens to discover the link between her samurai and the enigmatic prostitute.

Laura Joh Rowland cooks up wonderfully knotty plots. Yet it's her renderings of Sano's world--with its Machiavellian politics, exotic fashions, and hierarchical communities--that make her series particularly interesting. Although this seventh installment lacks the cinematic violence of its immediate predecessor, Black Lotus, it still makes you glad to be observing shogunate Japan from afar. --J. Kingston Pierce --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Delicate prose and a plot full of the overtones and undercurrents that shade real life push Rowland's latest historical beyond the standard whodunit. In 17th-century Japan, Sano Ichiro the shogun's "Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People" has had little time to recover from the disturbing events recounted in Black Lotus (2001) when he's called on to solve a murder of deep political consequence. The shogun's cousin and probable heir has been slain in the bedchamber of Lady Wisteria, a high-priced courtesan, who has gone missing. Every step Sano takes brings the possibility of personal ruin, as the shogun's favor is fickle and Sano has powerful, sly political enemies. Self-doubt and mistrust of others are souvenirs of the insidious black lotus case, which continually plagues Sano and those close to him; he doesn't have all of his emotional strength and his enemies are beginning to act more openly. When the murder case stalls, more subtle mysteries capture the reader's attention. How will Sano regain the upper hand against his enemies, or at least hold his ground? How will he get back in the shogun's good graces when all his suspects are being put to death for other crimes? Will he and his wife regain their trust of each other and themselves? All the animosity and fear in this seamless work is put forth in demure language that perfectly suits the culture Rowland portrays. This character- and atmosphere-driven work is sure to expand Rowland's already large fan base.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; 1st edition (April 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312983786
• ISBN-13: 978-0312983789
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

L AURA JOH ROWL AND, the author of thirteen previous Sano Ichiro mysteries 'demonstrating an impressive level of sustained excellence' (Publishers Weekly), lives in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous seventeenth century Japanese who-done-it, March 30, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria (St. Martin's Minotaur mystery) (Hardcover)

In a classy Yoshiwara brothel, someone murders the shogun's heir, Lord Matsudaira Mitsuyoshi in the boudoir of Lady Wisteria, who has since vanished. Anyone with ambition or even remote connections in Edo decides to solve the homicide in order to gain favor with the shogun. Though still recuperating from his harrowing previous case, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People Samurai Sano Ichiro knows he must investigate because of the importance of the victim.

The antics of police Commissioner Hoshida, lover of the second-highest shogunate official and Sano's enemy, pressures Sano to quickly solve the murder. Still, Sano rejects the pat solution as too convenient and believes the evidence suggests a myriad of suspects with motives and opportunity to kill the shogun's dashing cousin. Reluctantly, especially after her involvement in his previous case, Sano turns to his wife Reiko for help in separating the facts from misinformation and disinformation.

THE PILLOW BOOK OF LADY WISTERIA is a fabulous seventeenth century Japanese who-done-it that will spellbind readers with its insightfully vivid descriptions of the Shogun era in historical Edo (Tokyo). The lead couple remains a wonderfully charming duo who escorts the audience on a sightseeing trip inside a unique police procedural as only this series does. Laura Joh Rowland provides another winning tale by tastefully and cleverly incorporating it into the powerful plot. The pleasure palaces of Yoshiwara though might require a bit of a warning label.

Harriet Klausner

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an engaging and suspenseful read, April 19, 2002

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria (St. Martin's Minotaur mystery) (Hardcover)

Be prepared to find yourself totally immersed in the goings on of the 17th century Tokugawa court! When the shogun's heir presumptive, Lord Mitsuyoshi, is found murdered in Yoshiwara (Edo's pleasure quarter), Sano Ichiro, the shogun's Most Honourable Investigator of Events, Situations and People, is called in to investigate and to apprehend the murderer.

Unfortunately, Sano has not yet fully recovered from his last dangerous mission ("Black Lotus"), and is still having horrific nightmares about it. And it is beginning to look as if this current investigation is about to unleash more bad memories for Sano to deal with, as the courtesan whose bed Lord Mitsuyoshi was found dead in is none other than that of Lady Wisteria, a woman that Sano himself was entangled with in the very first book in this series, "Shinju." Lady Wisteria is now mysteriously missing, and Sano is sure that she holds the key to solving this murder. Working against time, esp since Edo's new Chief Police Commissioner Hoshina (and enemy of Sano's, previously featured in "The Samurai's Wife") will do anything to solve the case before him, Sano and his trusty aide, Hirata, begin scouring the byways of the pleasure sector, hoping to find clues and the elusive Lady Wisteria. But too many people have far too much to hide. Will Sano be able to discover who Lord Mitsuyoshi's murderer is? Or will Hoshina beat him to the punch?

I love this series. You can always count on Laura Joh Rowland to provide readers (and fans) with a plot that is intricate, full of twists and turns, red herring suspects, and a mystery novel that is steeped in historical fact and ambiance. Another thing I liked about this mystery in particular was the manner in which Reiko, Sano's plucky wife, figured into the plot. In previous books, Reiko's desire to be a full partner in Sano's investigation has been a sore point of contention between them. But events in the "Black Lotus" had shaken and tested not only Sano, but Reiko as well, to the extent that Reiko is no longer as confident and as sure of her abilities and judgement as she would like to be. In "The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria," we see how the events of "Black Lotus" have indeed taken it's toll on Reiko, but how, in spite of everything she still strives to help and counsel Sano, and that, this time around, he does accept her help.

"The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria" is a fascinating and tantalizing read, ad one that should not be missed, esp if you are a historical mystery buff.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sano's Back, May 20, 2002

By 

C. C. Lee (Las Vegas, NV USA!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria (St. Martin's Minotaur mystery) (Hardcover)

I just finished this book at the DMV, and almost missed my turn! I was down to the last few pages, and was still fascinated. Ms. Rowland returns to her form with this latest Sano adventure. Everytime I had a free moment, I was thrown back into 1600's Japan. Her images and words really came to life and made me feel like I was watching a movie while reading the book. If you have some time and enjoy good writing, please try this book.