A SAMURAI NEVER FEARS DEATH

Seikei, a young samurai, isn’t thrilled to return to Osaka, the home of his merchant-class birth family that he has chosen to forget. However, Seikei has no choice but to accompany his adoptive father, the wise Judge Ooka, a familiar character from other Hoobler samurai mysteries, who is Osaka-bound on business for the shogun. Once in town, Seikei returns to his family’s teashop and is reunited with his brother and sister. To celebrate, the siblings attend a traditional Japanese puppet theatre, where Seikei quickly gets tangled in a murder mystery, which he must solve to protect his family and prove himself to Judge Ooka. As Seikei unpacks the mystery, the city’s negative attitude toward samurai challenges him to reexamine his choices and to define himself beyond his title. Seikei eventually solves the gruesome theatre murders, but only after several unsuspected twists and turns featuring colorful glimpses into 18th-century Japan. A brief concluding authors’ note provides factual background for the mystery. Unpredictable and culturally rich. (Historical fiction. 10-12)