Customer Reviews

Red Chrysanthemum: A Thriller (Historical Fiction)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have been a long-time fan of this series and own all the books. I eagerly await each new Sano Ichiro release. The great cover on this latest installment had me all pumped up to read it . . .and I came away quite disappointed. Great cover or no, this is the first book in the series that I won't be purchasing. Rowland's period detail is, as always, spot-on, but I felt that both the action and the character development suffered this time around. This outing feels very rushed, almost like a Cliffs Notes version of a more well-rounded Rowland thriller. I think the author has painted herself into a corner with Sano's promotion to Chamberlain. Compared to his former post of Sosokan-sama, Sano finds himself with very little to do except tedious court appearances, and it's a real stretch to get him involved in cases with anything like his old verve. Reiko-san, too, has suffered in her elevation to esteemed court matron. Most of her spunk and seemingly all of her intelligence has disappeared. Sano was never a very warm or accessible character, but his deeply-felt relationships with his wife and with his loyal retainer, Hirata, gave him some humanity. The relationship Sano had with Hirata was the centerpiece of past books; now with Sano's promotion and Hirata occupying his master's former post, they hardly see one another. A subplot involving Hirata's secret study of a deadly, mystical martial-arts form is vague and uninvolving. Rowland seems to hint, with one brief chapter, that things will get shaken up in the next book, with the escape from his island prison of the nefarious Yanagisawa. But the chapter dedicated to him in this book reads more like an outline of the more fully fleshed-out chapter she should have written. It's pretty insulting to the readers' intelligence, and I'm hoping against hope that Rowland is not pulling a Patricia Cornwell on us, and letting the air go out of a long-established series because she's tired and/or under deadline pressure. This is definitively not up to the high standard of her previous books. I would rather see Sano commit seppuku than to go out with a whimper. Let's hope Rowland finds the means to re-enegize this series with her next effort.

I've reached what you might think of as a crisis point with this series. I've given Rowland a lot of five star reviews for these books. About 10, I believe. They have continued to fascinate me as mysteries and for their insight into the politics and life of medieval Japan. A time when barbaric cruelty and oppressive social customs combine with exquisite artwork, literature, and craftsmanship. It was a time of great conflict and Rowland seems to have mastered its complexities.

Sano Ichiro is a wonderful character. Staying true to his ethical standards he has solved crimes, kept the shogunate from crumbling he gradually rises to one of the most powerful positions in the country. In many ways he is a samurai's samurai -- and a rag's to riches story as well. But most of his successes are due more to his ability to recover from his wife Reiko's mistakes. Up to a point the plot device of the stubborn, well-meaning samurai wife is digestible. But Reiko seems unable to understand that getting involved in the deadly politics of the capital will inevitably put Sano at risk.

This habit reaches a peak in Red Chrysanthemum, in which Reiko decides to investigate a missing child on her own and finds herself naked, in the bedroom of the man she was investigating, with the killing dagger clutched in her hand. She is accused of murder and Ichiro's enemies arrange things to that he may very well have to execute her if he is to save face, and the lives of his son and himself. Sano barely manages to get permission from the Shogun to investigate on his own and the race is on. His long time enemy Hoshina sets traps everywhere, and the powerful Lord Matsudaira suspects Ichiro of plotting treason.

One can't complain too much about Reiko's lapses, without her Rowlands series would never happen. I just wish she displayed just enough more sense so that the continued use of her as a plot device didn't rankle so much. But outside of this weakness, Rowland as written another complex tale of Japan, once again revealing a society which differs in many ways from our western concept of it. There is a part of me that wishes that this was all real history, and I keep looking in history books hoping to find Sano Ichiro and Yanagisawa, but no such luck. Rowland has once again produced one of the better mysteries of the year.

Red Chrysanthemum is the first book I've read in the Sano Ichiro series. Obviously, a lot happened leading up to this book but it was reasonably easy to catch onto the book's main context. So if you haven't read any other books in the series, you can feel comfortable starting with this one.

This book almost defies genre because there are both mystery and thriller elements, and the book is set in 1698 Japan. The historical and national perspectives strongly permeate the book.

If you don't know the series, Sano Ichiro is a very clever fellow . . . a samurai who has been a detective. His success in that role has brought him to heights of power. The Shogun normally rules in name only and Sano is his chamberlain, a sort of prime minister. Lord Matsudaira actually wields power and is Sano's primary patron. But powerful figures seek all that power for themselves.

Sano's wife, Reiko, is pregnant with their second child but continues to seek ways to help women in need and to solve mysteries. That activity leads both Sano and Reiko into dangerous peril in this action-filled thriller.

As the book opens, Reiko is discovered nude and covered with blood in the bed chamber of the dead Lord Mori who lies castrated beside her. She cannot remember how she got there. The clamor immediately begins for her execution for the murder of Lord Mori. Mori's wife stoutly contends that Mori and Reiko had been lovers.

Sano begins his investigation and quickly finds that the price of his own survival may be the death of his wife and unborn child. As the investigation continues, his political enemies see their chance to take him down. Before long, both Sano and Reiko are in mortal peril from the Shogun and Lord Matsudaira.

In the investigation we learn that Reiko had been approached by a poor woman, Lily, who had sold her son, Jiro, to Lord Mori for a night of pleasure. When Lily came to pick Jiro up the next day, the guards sent her away. Reiko agreed to help and became friends with Lady Mori so she could check out what was going on. On the night of the murder, she had sneaked away to spy on Lord Mori when she passed out . . . only to awaken in a death chamber.

The story has several strengths. You'll learn a lot about medieval Japan and especially the relations between classes. That strangeness makes the story fresh and allows for surprises that a contemporary thriller could not accomplish as easily. Ms. Rowland has a wonderful sense of pace. She knows how to create tension in the reader by moving the plot along rapidly with new perils. I also thought that her portrayals of Sano, Reiko, and Hirata were interesting. These are fresh and original characters.

The book has some weaknesses, too. The solutions often seem to be just a little too fortuitously timed. I would have enjoyed the book more if the "miracles" had been a little more realistic. For example, the martial arts description in a major scene felt over the top to me. All but the three characters are pretty thin which makes the book a lot less interesting than it might have been. There's also a lot of blood and child abuse; you'll need a strong stomach to enjoy the book.

But if you want to take an unconventional and fast-paced walk in old Edo, you could do a lot worse than Red Chrysanthemum.

If you like the Sano Ichiro series, as I do, you will like this book. It keeps to the storyline of her previous books. Holds your interest. Written in the same style I have become accustomed to. Not her greatest work but a good read.

It is over all too quickly. That's how I feel when I put down another one of Laura Joh Rowland's Sano Ichiro mysteries. I look forward from one book to the next as Sano's adventures and travails unfold. In the Red Chrysanthemum, Reiko gets into a seemingly insolvable situation and Sano's many political enemies join in the fray, trying to destroy the Chamberlain. Through out the book, Sano, Reiko and Hirata are confounded at every turn, yet Rowland skillfully finds inventive and believable solutions for her detective. As always, a page turner that has a tease of perils to come for Sano in the next book.

By 1698 in Edo, Japan, former Special Investigator to the Shogun, Sano Ichiro, has been the chamberlain for three years. However, his rise to power though deserved has left him with many enemies, who would do almost anything to ruin him. In fact his influence adversely impacts his family who are now considered legitimate targets of his adversaries. The latter bothers Ichiro because his beloved wife Reiko is pregnant and should not be harassed.

However, Ichiro suddenly faces his greatest power struggle with the hideous death of Lord Mori, whose mutilated corpse was found next to a naked except for blood Reiko. Her explanation rings false even to Ichiro who wants to believe her. While his foes demand his resignation, Ichiro and his best friend, the current Special Investigator to the Shogun, Hirata investigate the homicide though both fear that Reiku's alibi will prove false.

Besides the usual terrific look into late seventeenth century Samurai Japan, RED CHRYSANTHEMUM provides a fascinating twist as the principled Ichiro fears that what he will find will force him to choose between his beloved and his honor. His dilemma adds depth to the powerful insightful story line as this is the first time he doubts the veracity of his wife. Fans of the historical mystery series will treasure the eleventh entry in this top notch series that seems to get better as the "years" go by.

Harriet Klausner

Reader, be prepared to be jerked around by the writer. This is the first (and will be the last) book in the series I've read. I like thrillers with exotic (for me) settings, but this one was way over the top. There were unfortunate lapses into contemporary English vernacular (like "Hey!" coming from one of Sano's subordinates). Stage machinery was way too evident, and the "acting" by the principles, by Lady Mori and her servant, was overwrought and operatic. Perhaps, as other reviewers have noted, the writer was forced into getting the book to the publisher before it was ready. (I'm surprised she even found a publisher.)

Laura Joh Rowland's "Red Chrysanthemum" takes place in 1698 in Edo, Japan. Sano Ichiro has risen to the exalted position of second-in-command to the shogun in the Tokugawa regime. Sano's wife of eight years, Lady Reiko, is expecting their second child, but instead of keeping a low profile, she continues her sideline of assisting women in trouble. One day, Reiko receives a disturbing letter from someone named Lily, who claims that her five-year-old son, Jiro, was stolen from her. Lily tells Reiko that a decadent samurai named Lord Mori took Jiro to satisfy his perverted carnal desires, but Reiko can find no one to corroborate Lily's story.

In order to learn more, Reiko befriends Lord Mori's wife and wangles frequent invitations to the Mori estate. Unfortunately, her efforts end in disaster. One evening, Reiko is found barely conscious next to the slain and mutilated body of Lord Mori, and she becomes the chief suspect in his murder. In addition, Sano Ichiro's enemies have hatched a plan to make it appear that he is trying to overthrow the powerful Lord Matsudaira, who rules Japan through his incompetent cousin, the shogun. Both Sano and Reiko face execution if they cannot prove their innocence.

The strength of this eleventh installment in Rowland's samurai detective series lies in the author's atmospheric depiction of seventeenth-century Edo (now Tokyo), with its rigid class system, political corruption, and oppression of women and the lower classes. Sano and Reiko are attractive heroes with integrity and courage, who quickly gain the reader's sympathy and admiration. However, Rowland's writing lacks subtlety, the plot is convoluted and far-fetched, and the dialogue is too often forced and stilted. Some of the characters speak in a modern vernacular that is inappropriate for the time period.

Although the protagonists are nicely drawn, the secondary characters lack shading: they are either noble and loyal or vicious and scheming. There are some clever twists and turns (including a Rashomon-type sequence in which various characters describe the same event from different perspectives) and an exciting confrontation in which one of the fighters utilizes his knowledge of the mystical martial arts. "Red Chrysanthemum" does provide its share of thrills as well as a fascinating look at life in feudal Japan, but it does not quite measure up to the high standards set by Rowland in her earlier novels.

I was worried after the last novel that Sano Ichiro was done for. This novel, with its varied perspectives on the murder make it a true who-done-it.

I have read every book in the Sano Ichiro series and this is one of the best. The author is very good at introducing new plot lines and keeping the series fresh. The ending made me anxious to read the next book in the series.