The Concubine's Tattoo

Rating:
Summary: General agreement with other reviewers...
Review: I've enjoyed the Sano Ichiro series, having read the first four (up through _The Concubine's Tattoo_) and I really must agree with other reviewers who have observed the mature sexual content of the fourth book. As a reader, I can handle a small amount of this sort of thing as long as it's small enough so as to not interfere with the plot (and my enjoyment of the story), but in this book it was too much. Having not read the other books in the series I am not sure if subsequent novels continue this trend, but if that's the case I'd rather not waste my time.

Apart from that I truly enjoy the authentic historical flavor of the story.

Rating:
Summary: This Novel has an Identity Crisis
Review: In her fourth book in this series, Ms. Rowland had once again captivated readers with a richly textured mystery that's filled with intrigue and historical flavor. The glamor of feudal Japan and its social fabric will never cease to fascinate me. That being said, it would seem that Ms. Rowland can't decide in this book whether she's writing mystery-suspense or cheap, dime store erotica. Although some explicit scenes are necessary to drive the story along and delve into the background and motivations of certain characters in the story, Ms. Rowland nonetheless had overindulged in the perverted, dysfunctional "social mores" and undercurrents of feudal Japan. To what extent they are true, of course, is very much open to debate.

I hope Ms. Rowland's future novels would keep its focus in mind. This is Mystery-Suspense in a historical setting, not Erotica.

Rating:
Summary: Good story, but not if you like your mysteries asexual
Review: Laura Joh Rowland develops her characters throughout the series, so you might want to start with an earlier one (Shinju, for example) to get a feeling for the characters. This novel develops some of the minor characters such as the ruling family, and the story moves along well even though you are treated to the usual lavish detail about everything going on.

That said, this story revolves around sex in ways some of the earlier ones didn't. From the first page you're invited into some pretty intimate situations, some of them more kinky than you expect. Some readers will be offended, others will not.

Rating:
Summary: Good story, but not if you like your mysteries asexual
Review: Laura Joh Rowland develops her characters throughout the series, so you might want to start with an earlier one (Shinju, for example) to get a feeling for the characters. This novel develops some of the minor characters such as the ruling family, and the story moves along well even though you are treated to the usual lavish detail about everything going on.

That said, this story revolves around sex in ways some of the earlier ones didn't. From the first page you're invited into some pretty intimate situations, some of them more kinky than you expect. Some readers will be offended, others will not.

Rating:
Summary: A great mystery
Review: Let me start by saying that this book is a good mystery and I was really stumped as to who the murderer was. The book had a good story line and a wonderful aray of murder suspects and "mix you up" evidense. The one thing that I found is that it did have alot of sex in it and it also had "man love". If you don't handel that kind of stuff, don't reads this book! It is not for you! If you can handel that and like a good mystery, then by all means, read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Was Everyone In The Shogun's Palace Really Like This?
Review: THE CONCUBINE'S TATTOO is part of a series of mysteries chronicling the adventures of Sano Ichiro, who investigates matters of intrigue in the shogun's household. In this particular volume, it is the death of Lady Harume, a beloved concubine of the shogun (who is known as a homosexual) which he is called upon to investigate. Unfortunately, this tragedy occurs right in the middle (quite literally) of Sano's wedding to the lovely Reiko, daughter of a magistrate. Of course, Yanagisawa, his nemesis is not only a prime suspect, but also determined to sabotage the case in every way that he can. The case becomes only more intense when it is discovered that the concubine was, in fact, pregnant with what could have been the heir to the shogun's throne. Thus, the murder was a treasonous act. Suspects include a rival concubine, the shogun's mother, and a jealous army officer, as well as an old lover and his wife. Meanwhile, troubles on the home-front are trying Sano's patience. His wife is not the lovely lotus-blossom he expected her to be. Rather than the submissive, blackened-tooth, demure maiden he expected, she is a headstrong willful lass who demands to help Sano in his investigation. He does not wish to be tyrannical, yet he is eager to break his wife's spirit. Ultimately, hanging over his head throughout all of this is the fear that not only will he be killed for failing to solve this case, but that naming the wrong suspect could lead to his execution for blasphemous libel.

This book's strength lays not so much in its plot but in its historical details. It is interesting to hear Rowland's descriptions of the lush and sumptuous shogunate palaces of Kyoto. This is far more of a work of historical fiction than a work of mystery. Frankly, when I read a mystery, I expect the conclusion to be one that is utterly unexpected and has me gasping at its cunning and subtlety with which it was revealed. In this book, the conclusion was fairly ordinary. I can't say I predicted it, but nor was it totally unexpected. The author simply gave us a list of suspects and picked one to be the culprit. Another problem with this book was its mature content. Rather than sleuthing, this book is filled with page after page of erotica and bizarre graphic sex. Basically every character in this book is into something kinky with the exception of our noble hero and his wife who gratify us with typical, yet perfectly executed sex. This isn't what I was expecting to be reading in a mystery novel, and I felt it bordered on pornography--especially given that most of the sex was extraneous to the plot.

What I can say for this book is that I read it two years ago and still remember it quite clearly. The concept of a Japanese, shogunate detective in a mystery series is commendable, and Ms. Rowland certainly knows her facts about Japan. I would just hope that she might be willing to put more intricacies into her plots and spend less time delving into the sexual exploits of minor characters.

Rating:
Summary: Rich and Textured
Review: The Concubine's Tattoo offers everything that I need in a mystery. It is set in an exotic, fascinating era, 17th century Japan. It has an engaging mystery, about the death of one of Shoguns concubines, Harume while she is illicitly tattooing her lovers' name in a secret place and there are many possible suspects. The main characters in the story are interesting and sympathetic people. She opens the story at the lead character, Sano Ichiro's arranged wedding to Reiko, a Japanese woman with a mind of her own. The untimely death of Harume interrupts the wedding festivities and immediately set Sano and Reiko in conflict because of their different ideas of were a woman' s place is.

There are many great subplots woven throughout the story and Rowland has managed to make Ichiro's enemy, Chamberlain Yanagisawa, a richly drawn and sympathetic character without losing his menace. Actually all of the important secondary characters are given a nice depth, as well as the main characters.

This was the fourth book in a Series of books about San Ichiro's work as the Shoguns investigator and the first that I have read. I am not a regular mystery reader, the plots are usually a bit to predictable for me and I do not like the genre enough to put up with shoddy writing. This book however, and I hope the series, was engaging on several different levels. While it is a stand-alone book it definitely peaked my interest in finding and reading all of the books in this series. This is an author that I look forward to enjoying for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting genre and play of characters . .
Review: The cover was the first thing that caught me about the book. When I started to read, it reminded me of a Japanese detective TV series called "Abarenbo Shogun". Sano Ichiro is very much like the main character in that series, and I rather like his character. As this is my first book by Ms. Rowland, I was taken by the addition of his fiancee Reiko. She's unlike anything that came out of the Tokugawa Era. All in all, character flow was nice, storyline was very familiar, and I would definitely read more from her in the future. I only wish she worked on things from a deeper detective aspect. There are times when she loses the original feel for it. It gets a little lost at times.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The fourth entry in the Sosakan Sano Ichiro series is set in 1690 Tokyo. From the opening scene of Sano's arranged marriage to the denouement, this outing leaves a flat aftertaste. Sano's bride, Hirata, has a penchant for investigation and she sets out to find the murderer of Harume, the pregnant favorite of the ruling Shogun. Sadly, the relationship between Sano and Reiko reads like a bad romance novel, complete with fiery tempers, illogical misunderstandings, and the requisite revealing of the killer. T his outing should come with a strong warning for those readers who do not like graphic sex in their mysteries.

Rowland appears to have done her research, but unfortunately used it all in this book. Perhaps because of her concentration on the history, she paid less attention to developing her characters because they remain cardboard-flat and the dialogue overly dramatic.

This was a disappointing entry in an otherwise enjoyable series.

Rating:
Summary: Samurai meets the Thin Man
Review: The hardest thing a mystery writer has to do is keep the plot flowing smoothly, while the protagonist keeps running into blank walls. Ms. Rowland does a masterful job in this area, as she opens a tiny chink in the wall with each step of the investigation. I was pleased to see that the clues were organic and not artificially pasted on the plot. I was a bit taken aback by Reiko, Sano's new wife. While it is reasonable to assume that people's behavior will vary from the norm dictated by society, I thought Reiko was too modern to be really believable. I liked her a lot though, and together, Reiko and Sano make an interesting Japanese version of Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man fame. I look forward to more from Ms. Rowland.