The two unlikely sleuths (The Ninja’s Daughter, 2016, etc.) once again solve a difficult crime, this one with the extra kick...
A return to his home is a painful experience for a shinobi assassin.
Now that Hiro Hattori and the man he was hired to protect, Portuguese priest Father Mateo, have heeded a warning and left the dangers of Kyoto behind, they face new ones in Hiro’s home territory of Iga. The leader of Iga, Hiro’s cousin Hattori Hanzō, has invited them to attend a feast for the delegation from Koga, another shinobi stronghold, who have come to discuss an alliance that could be advantageous in the perilous times they face as the ruthless samurai warlord Oda Nabunaga tries to take over as shogun. The delegation includes Koga Yajiro, Koga Fuyu, Koga Toshi, and Kogo Kiku, a woman who appears to be concealing high status. Unfortunately, Yajiro dies at the table, a victim of poison, and the other Kogas immediately accuse someone from Iga of murder. Other people with access to the food are Neko, the lifelong love who betrayed Hiro; Hiro’s mother, Midori, who cooked the meal; his grandmother Akiko; and her apprentice, Tane, who helped serve it. Knowing the reputation of Hiro and Father Mateo as crime solvers, Hanzō guarantees that they will deliver the murderer within three days. Since Midori had personally prepared mild food that wouldn’t disguise the taste of a quick-acting poison, Hiro must look for another way that someone could have poisoned Yajiro. The members of the Koga delegation are at each other’s throats over the questions of what to do about a treaty and who killed their companion. Hiro finds the whole experience bittersweet, especially as secrets from his past are slowly revealed, changing the way he feels about Neko and his family. The complex rituals of Japanese life must be taken into account before the crime can be solved.
The two unlikely sleuths (The Ninja’s Daughter, 2016, etc.) once again solve a difficult crime, this one with the extra kick that comes from their own personal stake in its outcome.Pub Date: July 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63388-277-5
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Seventh Street Books
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.
An Arizona accountant with a penchant for solving murders lands a fishy case.
Sophie "Phee" Kimball might lead a dull life if it weren’t for her mother, Harriet Plunkett, and Harriet’s neurotic Chiweenie, Streetman. As it is, Harriet lives near her daughter in Sun City West and has a wide circle of zany friends who’ve helped Phee solve several mysteries (Molded 4 Murder, 2019, etc.) while she’s been working for Williams Investigations along with her boyfriend, Marshall, a former police officer. While Phee’s visiting Harriet one day, Streetman dashes over to the neighbors’ barbecue grill and unearths a dead body under a tarp. As usual, the overwhelmed local police ask Williams Investigations to help—er, consult. Harriet’s main concern is getting costumes made for the reluctant Streetman, whom she’s entered in a series of contests starting with Halloween and progressing through Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hannukah, and St. Patrick’s Day. One of her friends is an accomplished seamstress who goes all out making gorgeous costumes that will beat an obnoxious lady who looks down on mutts. The dead man is identified as Cameron Tully, a seafood distributor, who was poisoned by the locally ubiquitous sago pine. At the first dog contest, Elaine Meschow has to be rushed to the hospital after she gets a dose of the same thing. The owner of a gourmet dog food company, Elaine is lucky enough to recover. After Streetman takes second place, Harriet’s team redoubles its efforts for the next contest while Phee and Marshall, who are moving into a new place together, continue to hunt for clues. A restaurant holdup and a scheme to use empty houses for hookups for high school kids add to the confusion.
You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2455-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
All these problems are handsomely solved at the unsurprising cost of making the human characters less interesting than the...
Just when you thought you’d seen a detective in every guise imaginable, here comes one in sheep’s clothing.
For years, George Glenn hasn’t been close to anyone but his sheep. Everyday he lets them out, pastures them, reads to them and brings them safely back home to his barn in the guilelessly named Irish village of Glennkill. Now George lies dead, pinned to the ground by a spade. Although his flock haven’t had much experience with this sort of thing, they’re determined to bring his killer to justice. There are of course several obstacles, and debut novelist Swann deals with them in appealingly matter-of-fact terms. Sheep can’t talk to people; they can only listen in on conversations between George’s widow Kate and Bible-basher Beth Jameson. Not even the smartest of them, Othello, Miss Maple (!) and Mopple the Whale, can understand much of what the neighborhood priest is talking about, except that his name is evidently God. They’re afraid to confront suspects like butcher Abraham Rackham and Gabriel O’Rourke, the Gaelic-speaking charmer who’s raising a flock for slaughter. And even after a series of providential discoveries and brainwaves reveals the answer to the riddle, they don’t know how to tell the Glennkill citizenry.
All these problems are handsomely solved at the unsurprising cost of making the human characters less interesting than the sheep. But the sustained tone of straight-faced wonderment is magical.Pub Date: June 5, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-385-52111-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Flying Dolphin/Doubleday
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2007
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