A respectable counselor is murdered while enjoying his new concubine. The unlikely group of detectives that must solve the mystery has first to go through a series of erotic interludes.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
"The Erotic Equivalent of Shogun" Puts On Its Deerstalker,
By fredtownward "The Analytical Mind; Have Brain... (Mocksville, North Carolina, United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)
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This review is from: Women of Gion: The Legendary Age (Paperback)
This direct sequel to Women of the Mountain, Warriors of the Town and, so far at least, last book in the series also focuses on characters other than those of the "quar-ple" formed in the first book: Goemon, whose real name is Konosuke Matsudaira, the governor of Miyako, Rosamund, his shipwrecked English prisoner/mistress, Jiro Miura, the giant half-English masterless samurai or ronin turned teacher of swordsmanship, and his wife Okiku, the ninja. Again, in a presumed attempt to keep things fresh this novel focuses on four new characters:
Sugiyama Tamasaburo the samurai, is cast out of his clan as a dangerous anachronism because his talent for brawling and fencing is no longer an asset to a family that wants no more trouble with the ruling Tokugawa. Isei the forester, has just finished burying his woman and his last child and finds himself driven by his nightmares to travel to Miyako. Momoe the weaver's daughter, seduced out of her virginity and abandoned by her lover, spirals down the rigid societal hierarchy, facing fresh degradation at every turn. Ito Shinichi, retired retainer of an important samurai clan, spends his days happily, uh, reenacting ancient battles, but he has recently stumbled on something he knows had better be reported to the authorities. The question is WHICH authorities, and after considerable thought he decides that telling the local governor might be his least bad option, the least likely to result in his having to end his days with his belly ripped out. To the increasing frustration of the governor, Miyako is experiencing something of a crime wave. Counterfeit coins are being passed; there have been a series of armed robberies; and there appears to be a gang kidnapping women into sexual slavery. In addition bodies are beginning to pile up. An unidentified craftsman is murdered and dumped in a canal, but robbery is not the motive. A samurai is killed in a duel, which is acceptable, but then his widow is raped, which is not. Finally after sending word he has something to tell the governor and shortly after said governor proceeding cautiously has placed a spy in his household, Ito Shinichi is murdered in a rather spectacular way. Finally Goemon asks his friends to help him deal with the exploding situation. Jiro is asked to find the rogue samurai, who matches the description of the man who recently attacked the bodyservant of the previous novel's heroine, and dispose of him quietly because arresting a samurai always leads to trouble. Okiku is asked to investigate the gang of kidnappers whose existence was discovered only because they made the partially fatal mistake of attacking her. Rosamund is asked to stay out of it, which she obeys in her usual way... which is to say not at all. Osei-Midori, Satsuki's friend and protege who befriended her during the previous novel, rounds out the squad as the planted spy. Once again the attempt to provide some variety is to be applauded but the result is only partially successful because of the four new characters whose activities we follow only Isei is very interesting or likable, especially after he "picks up" a nun who determines to instruct him in her sect's arcane knowledge of sex (seriously, what OTHER knowledge would a nun teach in this sort of book?) whether he wants to learn or not! Sugiyama is too arrogant and cruel; Momoe is too whiny and stupid; and Ito is too weak and vacillating and perverted (and when a character in THIS series is "too perverted"...) for the reader to care much for. When this is combined with the effort required to lay out the various plot complications, the result is a novel that drags through the first half but really picks up steam in the second half as Goemon, Jiro, and Okiku begin to unravel the intricate plots, and the iron-willed Rosamund inserts herself into the process with chaotic results. Lots of twists and surprises accompany the wrapping up of all the loose ends, and Namban even manages to further develop the four main characters to a greater extent than in any book since the first, and once again the sex scenes materially advance the plot. Note: This book was reprinted under the title of The New Concubine. Note: Akahige Namban is also the author of an erotic series set in modern Japan: Tokyo Story and Yakuza Perfume.
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