Death at the Crossroads: A Samurai Mystery

Matsuyama Kaze, a Ronin with a mission, finds a dead body on the crossroads. Normally he would just move on but this time he decides to solve the murder. The reason is very simple - the local officials plan to place the blame on a peasant that he happens to like. So he enters a dark world of lies and mad plots so twisted, so detailed, that you'll still be guessing who is behind the murder to the very last chapter. The book is the first of three in a series about the Ronin and his mission to find his dead Lord's lost little girl. This mystery novel is easily one of the best I have enjoyed in a year. If you like mysteries or Samurai films this is the book for you.

The first volume in the Matsuyama Kaze trilogy (followed by Jade Palace Vendetta and Kill the Shogun) transports the reader to Japan in 1603, the first year in the long reign of the Tokugawa Shogunate. When the army of Emperor Hidyoshi was defeated at Battle of Sekigahara, hundreds of lords were killed, leading to thousands of samurai becoming masterless warriors, ie. ronin. Matsuyama Kaze is one of these, wanted by Japan's new rulers, he wanders the country under an assumed name on a quest to find and rescue his former lord's young daughter. The book and mystery begins with Kaze discovering a rural charcoal-seller standing over a dead merchant lying at a crossroad. The peasant is soon named as the murderer by the local authorities, who don't seem too concerned with the truth of the matter, and Kaze comes to his defense. For, Kaze is one of the few samurai who feel that peasant's aren't necessarily subhumans, and that justice is worth expending energy on. The mystery is fairly simple, and most readers will and unraveled all the connections well ahead of Kaze, but the book is pleasurable nonetheless. First, unlike so many mysteries, it's a pleasantly compact tale, easily digested in a single night's reading. Secondly, the cast of characters is small and vivid. There's the stoic charcoal-seller, the village prostitute, a nasty bandit leader, and a weirdo lord who lives according to the customs of six hundred years previously in the Heian period. Finally, the most enjoyable element is Furutani's weaving of period detail throughout the book. Often, a ritual or object will lead to a brief tangential discussion of its development and use. These asides are not always subtle, but are fascinating slices of history and custom. On the whole, the book is reminiscent of a Kurasawa film, with a small story, small cast of regular people, and elegant delivery.

This is a new series for Furutani. It features ronin Matsuyama Kaze, a freelance samurai, in 1603 Japan. Kaze is on a quest to find the child of his former master. He is following one small lead after another with dwindling hope of finding the child he has been looking for during the proceeding two years. On his way to his next destination, he comes across a charcoal gatherer who is examining the dead body of a merchant. In spite of himself, Kaze stays around to see what happens and finds himself embroiled in the small town's politics and rivalries as he attempts to unravel the mystery of who killed the merchant and why.Furutani's writing is lyrical and the reader finds himself enveloped in a cadence that transports the reader to medieval Japan. Like all first books in series, this one must not only develop the character's personality, but provide us with a mystery and a story as well. The latter is no mean feat in and of itself, but Furutani accomplishes the task with ease. Furutani does not set flaunt his research by using every bit of minutiae he picked up, but, rather, he uses it subtly to advance his story and, in the process, educate his readers. For those who, like myself, do not care for Furutani's previous books, be rest assured that the writing here as well as the characters are a very welcome change. The uniqueness of the setting adds to quality of this book.

Writing with the longtime eloquence of an established prose-writer, Dale Furutani paints a sweeping, grandiose picture of Japan in the beginning of an oppressive (somewhat backward and yet modernistic) era-The Tokugawa Shogunate- in 1603.The hero of the novel, a ronin (a samurai sans a master), stumbles across a corpse on a misty mountain pass. In the course of his adventure, Kaze (the ronin), discovers a remarkable collection of characters that Dame Agatha Christie herself would be hard to match. The cast ranges from Aoi, the luckless prostitute, to the ultra-refined Lord Manase (who insists on living life as in Heian period Japan, a period six HUNDRED years ago! ), to the greedy and ambitious Lord Nagato. We also meet the humble Jiro and the somewhat noble Hachiro and Ichiro, while facing the aggravating, and shortlived Boss Kuemon.A captivating yarn, with a little too much blood for the elegant story, nonetheless fails to disappoint. Get a copy today!I can hardly wait for the next two books in the trilogy.

Matsuyama Kaze (family name first, then given name) is a middle-aged Samurai, (age 31 was considered middle-aged, 50 ancient) in 17th century Japan. He is a Ronin--which is to say he is without a master, and is wandering in search of employment--although in this story, his wandering is in the nature of a quest, which he has undertaken at the dying request of The Lady--the widow of Kaze's former Lord. He is searching for the Lord and Lady's daughter who was abducted after the Lord was defeated in a great battle.These are chaotic times in Japan. Hideyoshi, the Taiko, has died of old age in his bed, and Ieyasu Tokugawa, who had been patiently waiting for his time to come, has defeated those loyal to Hideyoshi's heir and is now the undisputed ruler of Japan. Numerous samurai who had been loyal to the losing side are wandering like Kaze, looking for employment with some Lord before they lose their status as samurai, which means, "those who serve."On his journey, Kaze happens upon a dead man lying at a crossroads with a distinctive arrow in his back. Kaze takes on the investigation of the crime, which leads him into fairly constant danger.This is a wonderful novel. I would classify it, if I had to classify it, as a mainstream novel with a strong mystery at its heart. In my opinion it is a work of great literary merit."Around him, mist clung tenaciously to the jagged folds that formed the ravines and valleys of the mountains. Through the low-lying white haze, the ragged black pines and reddish cryptomeria poked through the white curtain, looking like some enigmatic calligraphy of the gods, a message written with the slashing brush strokes of trunks and branches on a shifting silver paper."The lyrical quality of the writing meshes perfectly with the ambience of 17th century Japan. I lived in Japan for a couple of years and all I saw then, plus all I have read about the history of Japan, the plays I've seen, the novels and articles I've read, lead me to believe th! is is an exact historical rendering of the time. Not only that, it is done in a way that makes it accessible to all readers. In other words, it's a damn good story.Kaze, the main character, is beautifully drawn. As a samurai, he uses violence when necessary, but not unthinkingly, only when driven to it and never without compassion. He has a great sense of humor, superb intelligence and a wonderfully devious mind that he employs in forming strategy with which to beat his enemies. He is also possessed of great charm. Here he is describing himself to Jiro the charcoal seller. "I no longer have a home. I'm a ronin, a 'wave man.' Like the waves of the ocean, I call no land home. Like water on rocks, I can't mix in and settle, I am always pulled back to flow to the next shore."There is a fairly large cast of very colorful characters, including Jiro, the charcoal seller, Hachiro, a scared boy, Aoi a prostitute, Manase, the district Lord who is also a skilled Noh dancer; and a marv