With unblinking determination, Sugawara Akitada must confront an ancient evil in a frozen land Unlocking the doors to power and influence in eleventh-century Japan comes naturally to one as cunning and curious as Sugawara Akitada. Now he travels north to assume the provisional governorship of Echigo, a remote and frigid province notorious for its hostility to outsiders. There, as the winter snows threaten to sever all ties to civilization, his tenuous authority and the very lives of his family are jeopardized by a rash of troubles, including a local uprising, a slew of brutal murders, and a secret as cruel as the northern winter . . . and a lot more treacherous.
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"Really 3 1/2 stars. Picked up on a whim in a used bookstore. An interesting mystery that introduced a lot of the customs of Japan without hitting you over the head with it." — Lisalou (4 out of 5 stars)
"Really 3 1/2 stars. Picked up on a whim in a used bookstore. An interesting mystery that introduced a lot of the customs of Japan without hitting you over the head with it."
" Good escape read. Akitada finally tastes some serious blood. Three stars because the stories are beginning to blur together. "
" The next in the series of murder mysteries set in ancient Japan. I.J. Parker is a consistent writer - his books are relatively interesting, mostly because of the exotic setting, but they are not gripping. "
" Enjoying this ongoing crime/mystery series set in Ancient Japan... "
" Nice historical detail, nice plot, shallow characters. "
" This one isn't really any worse than the rest in the series, but the novelty is wearing off. "
" So far, one of my favorite Sugawara's. "
" Medieval Japanese mystery. Sugawara Akitada and his pregnant wife are stationed in northern Japan to quell an uprising by local warlord. "
" A bit different than the rest of the series, in that it doesn't take place in or near the capitol. Also, fewer family interactions here. "
I. J. Parker, winner of the Shamus Award for “Akitada’s First Case”, a short story published in 1999, lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She writes regularly for Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.
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