May 1564: When a samurai is brutally murdered in a Kyoto teahouse, master ninja Hiro has no desire to get involved. But the beautiful entertainer accused of the crime enlists the help of Father Mateo, the Portuguese Jesuit Hiro is sworn to protect, leaving the master shinobi with just three days to find the killer in order to save the girl and the priest from execution.The investigation plunges … investigation plunges Hiro and Father Mateo into the dangerous waters of Kyoto’s floating world, where they learn that everyone from the elusive teahouse owner to the dead man’s dishonored brother has a motive to keep the samurai’s death a mystery. A rare murder weapon favored by ninja assassins, a female samurai warrior, and a hidden affair leave Hiro with too many suspects and far too little time. Worse, the ninja’s investigation uncovers a host of secrets that threaten not only Father Mateo and the teahouse, but the very future of Japan.
Debut author Susan Spann delivers a riveting mystery filled with rich period detail and a fine sense of Japanese culture. Claws of the Cat boasts a detective like no other and a world never seen before in crime fiction.
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Great start to a historical series set in Kyoto in the 1560s. Hiro is the samurai bodyguard to a Jesuit priest, and the pair solve mysteries by pooling their vastly different world views. Enjoyable and a terrific glimpse into Japanese history.
4.5 stars.
Claws of the Cat was a fun “who done it” mystery. This was very much the type of story where the protagonist, and by extension the reader, follows a trail of breadcrumb clues that lead back and forth between suspects in an intricately woven web of lies and secrets. I did not at any time feel like the solution was obvious, and while I …
Great start to a historical series set in Kyoto in the 1560s. Hiro is the samurai bodyguard to a Jesuit priest, and the pair solve mysteries by pooling their vastly different world views. Enjoyable and a terrific glimpse into Japanese history.
This is the first in the Shinobi Mysteries, and I’m so glad I read it. The two main characters are Hiro, a shinobi (ninja) and Father Mateo, a Portuguese Jesuit priest.
The mystery is excellent, with plenty of suspense and a lovely surprise ending. I guessed it — and liked my guess so much that I didn’t care whether I was right, because it …