The Incense Game: A Novel of Feudal Japan (Sano Ichiro Novels Book 16)

I happened on this series before I knew it was a series. After reading an early book, I went back and read the books from the beginning. Now I have copies of each. I look forward to each new book and reread earlier ones between publications. The Incense Game has the usual intrigue and detecting with the regular cast of characters. As good as expected. What is unique to this book is a major earthquake destroyed Edo. Buildings have crumbled; survivors are hanging on in makeshift shelters in neighborhood camps. Sano is investigating the city to see what remains and what is destroyed so he can prioritize rebuilding and bury so many dead. The cost of is enormous and beyond the government's and private individual's resources. Moreover, there are few runners available and roads are destroyed even if runners had survived. People in Edo don't have any way to learn the situation of the coast (tsunami washed away towns and killed most people) or the region outside the city. And the earthquake left people in freezing tents and remaining parts of building. There is snow...And, of course murder. An important pair of sisters died just before the earthquake, but were found early enough to show they hadn't died in the earthquake. Sano is now trying to kee the silly shogun informed--he needs his castle rebuilt first and thinks the city can be restored cheap and fast--and not let him know that the father of the girls is threatening to take over the government by force if the murderer isn't identified. The earthquake destroyed defenses so the shogun is vulnerable. The murder investigation is super secret. Yanigasawa has come out of mourning with plans to use another son to regain power. I find the Incense Game a somewhat better story among the books of this wonderful series.

The Incense Game by Laura Joh Rowland is a mystery which happens during a natural disaster in the ancient time of 1763, Year 16. The natural disaster is an earthquake and a Tsunami. This is Feudal Japan. The shogun is the ruler. Each character in the mystery adds wonderful detail to the novel. It's well into the novel before the secret of the shogun's heart are told. His secret reminded me of the lion in Wizard of Oz. The lion in the Wizard of Oz is cowardly, always afraid. He wants to be courageous like other lions. Although he wasn't the main character or my favorite character, I felt sorry for him. How ironic that a man with so much power is afraid to make a decision, afraid of his own shadow.The mystery begins oddly enough with a game, The Incense Game. Usugumo is the lady who oversees the game. When the mystery begins, it involves two sisters who are playing the game with her. The mystery will involve the murder of all three women. The mystery is difficult to solve because so many people have a motive including the two sisters who play the game and also, Usugumo. She may be good at leading a game, but she treats people with disrespect through blackmail. The two women who come to play despise one another for an assortment of reasons. It's highly plausible that one of them could have poisoned the other one out of sheer hatred and jealousy. Usugomo only becoming a murdered victim because she happened to partake of the poisoned incense in this scenario.However, this is only one or two scenarios for the murders. Sano and Reiko will reach many other conclusions before hitting on the real reasons for the murders. The solution to the crimes totally shocked me. I had no idea. A shocking ending makes a wonderful mystery. After reading the solution to the crimes, I just had to hold the book for a while sitting in awe of how one person's life became totally changed because of the choices made by people around him. These bad choices set this person off on a murderous trail which didn't seem to ever come to an end. However, this is no excuse for the murders.I did feel that Laura Joh Rowland wanted a strong woman to play the part of a main character. Reiko is very strong minded. However, toward the end of the novel she became stronger and stronger, unbelievably strong for a woman in her condition. If the author didn't have the intention to make Reiko a superwoman with an "aura," then, she failed. Reiko, without aura, became a comical sideshow.If Reiko did have aura, a mind with super powers, then, the character worked well and accomplished the display of a super mind with super strength. So, one answer about Reiko makes the difference whether I can accept her as a person who might have really lived as a wife and mother in Japan.Who is my favorite character? I'm not sure. The side characters could become characters in a novel where they act as main characters. Obviously, the author does a super job when developing characters. The earth quake and Tsunami could have been developed more, I thought. There were a few shattered buildings, but not enough development of either disaster to make me say, "I hope to never live through an earthquake or Tsunami." The descriptions of the disasters were scattered at best. The bomb that is thrown and hits Sano and Reiko's children was more developed than the natural disasters. Also, the winter, the snow, in Japan is well developed. I really came away from reading the novel knowing Japan can become very cold. Again, not the natural disasters are slipped pass as incidentals.Still, I will glad read another novel by Laura Joh Rowland. She does a fantastic job of keeping the killer concealed and giving the murderer a motive or motives. I'm still in shock. I am glad to see she has a long list of novels written. I have heard there is one newer than The Incense Game. There is a map at the beginning of the novel which I enjoyed. I would have also liked a listing of pronunciations of the Japanese names. I was curious how to really pronounce the names. In the end, the novel by Laura Joh Rowland is fine Historical fiction. holymtn.com/gods/FragranceJapaneseLife In the novel, the author writes in detail about The Incense Game. laurajohrowlandsano

I have read from the beginning of the series. I tried VERY hard to keep up but I do not like SOAP OPERAS for detective novels. When the Main characters five year old daughter decides to 'help daddy' its time out for me. When I read more about what the household is doing than what is going on with the case at hand I'm done. When marital strife takes up more than a few pages I'm no longer interested.

Having read all of Rowland's Sano Ichiro detective mysteries, I can say that they are a trip into feudal Japan, fascinating in the historical sense, with thrilling plots and clever twists. Rowland's command of period detail is flawless; the reader is treated to the customs, sights, sounds, and smells of that time and place. And her plots are loosely based on actual events that she fleshes out into fascinating mysteries.Rowland's characters are well developed. Through the series, she developed them in ways that make them more and more interesting. Sano's associate, Hirata, learns an ancient mystic art that gives him paranormal abilities. Sano's plucky wife, Reiko, as his partner in investigation, adds to our understanding of life in that era, including the relationships between men and women in an androcentric culture where the emperor's word was law. The stakes are always high, given the possibility that a mistake could be punished by execution, not only of the emperor's detective, but also of his entire family.An earthquake nearly destroyed Edo in 1703, and in 'The Incense Game' someone used that disaster to hide a murder. The plot twists and turns as Sano, Reiko, and their associate Hirata investigate the crime. The plot includes poisoning, murder, forensic science, crime scene investigation, sex, mystic martial arts, a bombing, and a potential civil war - something for everyone. This is a good read, as interesting for a historian as for a mystery buff.

The background -an enormoua earthquake - opens more insights in the Japanese society. Murder by incese game is imaginable. The characters all well definied. The introduction of the Ghost into Hiratas problems is unnecessary and sadly makes the story lessrealistic.

laura joh rowland is the best. This series is fantastic x

Ok

Good story and interesting time period. I am looking foreword to the next one. I recommend reading the series in order.

Excellent book! Great series.Arrived in good time and good condition. Properly packaged. No complaints.