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When I can't get away for a vacation I enjoy reading a book that will take me away to an exotic location. In what seemed like a blink of an eye and a turn of a page, BLACK LOTUS by Laura Joh Rowland captured and carried me away to 17th century Japan. Edo's most dangerous hazard is fire. When smoke is spotted in the Zojo temple district, priests, monks and the fire brigade hurry to save the Black Lotus temple. They discover a small house on fire and quickly put out the flames. Inside the house they find three bodies: a man, a woman and a child. A dazed young girl is found wandering near the remains of the house. She doesn't remember why she is there. Sano Ichiro, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People, investigates and finds the fire was the result of arson. He also finds the victims were killed before the fire started and the man who was killed was Oyama Jushin, chief police commander. Sano tries to question the young girl, Haru, who was found at the fire scene, but is unable to do so. Haru is hysterical and afraid of Sano. Sano asks his wife Reiko to interview Haru to see if she can learn anything from her about the fire and murders. There is no one better at the esthetic detail than Laura Joh Rowland. She entices all the senses with her vivid, elegant and deeply observant writing. She realistically brings to life 17th century Japan from the couple who owns the noodle shop, to the jail, to the court of the inept shogun and his elderly, eccentric mother. Rowland creates an air of romance, mystery, danger and history in an exotic setting. Sano and Reiko are wonderful sleuths. Sano is a ronin, a masterless samurai, who has worked his way into acceptance in the shogun's court while always remembering a jealous enemy may be just around the corner. Reiko, Sano's wife, has been very fortunate in her marriage. Spoiled by her father, a magistrate in Edo, she has been well educated, was allowed to watch her father's court proceedings, and has been trained in the martial arts. She's delighted when Sano asks her to interview the young girl Haru, the only lead Sano has in this arson and murder case. Sano and Reiko approach the case from different sides and soon find themselves at odds. This novel has it all: plot, genuine human characters, atmospheric setting and the subject of cults relates well to modern times. BLACK LOTUS is the sixth novel in this very successful historical mystery series.
Reviewed by Lane Wright, January 2004
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