The Nun’s Tale (1995) Candace Robb Set in England in 1366. This is the first Owen Archer book I read, many years ago, and I have forgotten how very unlikable the nun of the title was. (T)here is yet something else— something that frightens her. She was given the last rites in Beverley. She fears […]
The Lady Chapel (1994) Candace Robb Set England in 1365. The second Owen Archer mystery finds Owen and Lucie married–her now the Apothecary and him her apprentice. When a mercer (a trader in textiles) is murdered and his had left in the room of his business partner, Archbishop Thoresby sends Owen to search out why […]
The Apothecary Rose (1993) Candace Robb Set in England 1363 I picked up random books from this series years ago, and then got frustrated because I couldn’t find more books in the series, and so forgot about it. Then I saw the series pop up on an eBook sale on Amazon, and grabbed the first […]
The Crane Pavilion (2014) I.J. Parker I skipped the book before this after reading the blurb for this book. After the loss of his wife and newborn son, Akitada returns home, ostensibly to care for his motherless children, but really to withdraw from the world into his grief. When his friends and family join in […]
The Emperor’s Woman (2012) I.J. Parker Set in 1028. She was intended to be the emperor’s concubine, but she died at the bottom of a cliff near Prince Atsuhira’s private villa. The palace covered up the scandal. Months later, Akitada is drawn into the case when his best friend is accused of plotting against the […]
Death on an Autumn River (2011) I. J. Parker Set in 1024. On a river journey to Naniwa to unmask officials selling information to pirates, Akitada witnesses the recovery of a body. The image of the drowned child prostitute follows him as his own problems and disasters multiply. My favorite character in this story was […]
The Fires of the Gods (2011) I.J. Parker The capital is plagued by unexplained fires, and panic threatens to break out, but Akitada has his own problems to worry about. His ailing wife expects a child and he loses his job to a political appointee. When he tries to confront the nobleman who is responsible […]
The Masuda Affair (2011) I.J. Parker Akitada is struggling to deal with the death of his son in a smallpox epidemic, when he comes upon a small abused boy alone in the rain. Rescuing the boy has far greater consequences than he could have imagined, when this draws Akitada into the death of a high-ranking […]
Salsa Nocturna: Stories (2012) Daniel José Older This is a collection of stories set in the same world as the Bone Street Rumba series, and although some of the stories were about Carlos, there are other stories as well. “Tenderfoot” “Salsa Nocturna” “Skin Like Porcelain Death” “The Collector” “Graveyard Waltz” “Protected Entity” “Magdalena” “Red Feather […]
The Hell Screen (2003) I.J. Parker I was trying to figure out what I was in the mood to read, when I stumbled across The Hell Screen and remembered that I have the Lord Sugawara Akitada mysteries. Akitada is returning to the capital after receiving notice that his mother is dying. On his way he […]
Island of Exiles (2007) I.J. Parker The prince in exile has been murdered, and the son of the governor of the island of exile has been accused. Two men from the Imperial City have come to seek Akitada’s assistance in solving the murder. I didn’t care as much for this; parts of the story dragged […]
Black Arrow (2006) I.J. Parker Set in Echigo Province, JAPAN GODS-ABSENT MONTH (NOVEMBER), A.D. 1015 Akitada has been sent to Echigo as provisional governor, and discovers that there are many problems at his new post, from the decrepit compound to a possible revolution to outcasts possibly harboring fugitives. Plus the fact that the winters are […]
Jack the Giant-Killer (1987) Charles de Lint Jackie Rowan is stunned when her boyfriend walks out on her, and stumbling home after a binge, she sees the unbelievable and is pulled into a world just under the surface of her own world, that she never knew existed. The map was of Ottawa, but all the […]