A Samurai Never Fears Death

By Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

Rating: 4 1/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

The fifth in the mystery series about Seikei and Judge Ooka finds the pair on their way to the city of Osaka, where Seikei grew up before being adopted by the judge. Judge Ooka lets Seikei go to visit with his brother and sister at the tea shop, who seem more surprised than happy to see him. But when Seikei accompanies them to one of the local puppet theaters, the action is interrupted when the body of one of the play narrators is found. It was murder and Seikei feels it is his duty as a samurai to try and keep the crime scene clear and question possible suspects. But the answers of the other puppeteers just confuse things. The local officials arrest one man, but Seikei is sure he is innocent. He is also sure that somehow, his brother and sister might be involved in the mess. So on his own, Seikei tries to solve the murder, until he is accused of committing a second gruesome murder in the puppet theater. Can he find the true criminal before it is too late? This is another involving and excellent mystery set in 18th century Japan. The story moves quickly and it is anyone's guess who the murderer will turn out to be! Good stuff.