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by I. J. Parker
A Sugawara Akitada Mystery of Ancient Japan - Eleventh-century Japan. Government official Sugawara Akitada finds a small mute boy on a deserted road. Akitada, still grieving for his own small son, determines to find the boy's parents. Meanwhile, Akitada's faithful servant Tora has troubles of his own: he has lost his new bride to a powerful man who pursues beautiful women and will stop at nothing to possess them. The trails of these two seemingly unrelated cases lead Akitada and Tora to the entertainers and prostitutes of the amusement quarter, and murder follows in their footsteps ...
"Starred Review. Terrific...The evolving relationship between Sugawara and his wife, Tamako, adds depth." - Publishers Weekly
"With so many disparate subplots, it’s sometimes difficult to see how Parker will tie all the threads together by the end of the book, but she does so in an unexpectedly clever way. An intriguing glimpse into an ancient culture." - Booklist
"Akitada's stately seventh case (The Convict's Sword, 2009, etc.) builds slowly, but the character development and plot foundations in the first half pay dividends in the closing chapters, especially for series fans." - Kirkus Reviews
This information about The Masuda Affair was first featured
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