Product Description

In an adventure filled with highway bandits, unscrupulous politicians, and renegade monks, The Dragon Scroll introduces readers to the lively world of eleventh-century Japan and an irrepressible hero—Sugawara Akitada. On his first official assignment, Akitada—an impoverished nobleman and earnest young government clerk in the Ministry of Justice—is sent from the capital city on a nearly impossible mission to the distant province of Kazusa to discover why tax convoys are disappearing. In the politically murky world of the Japanese court, he has been set up to fail. Against the odds, the ever-resourceful Akitada, his elderly servant Seimei, and his impudent bodyguard Tora are determined to fulfill their mission and discover the truth in a town of dangerous secrets.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #775200 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-28
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Shamus-winner Parker's impressive third Sugawara Akitada mystery (after 2003's The Hell Screen) deftly pulls the reader into the world of 11th-century Japan. Someone sets up Akitada, a young junior clerk in the ministry of justice, to fail on his first assignment, which is to travel to the province of Kazusa and track down the thieves responsible for missing tax shipments from that remote region. While Akitada's suspicions center on Kazusa's governor, he has to rethink his plans when the governor's predecessor, who had requested a clandestine meeting with Akitada, is murdered. Before he can make much headway solving either crime, Akitada is recalled to the capital, where he faces additional challenges. Parker manages the impressive feat of presenting a classic whodunit in an exotic and unfamiliar setting.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Is there room in the mystery genre for two series set in feudal-era Japan? Laura Joh Rowland's Sano Ichiro series is well established, but it's been showing signs of lethargy. Now comes the first Sugawara Akitada novel, a rousing, whip-fast story of political intrigue and adventure in eleventh-century Japan. Akitada is on his first assignment for the Ministry of Justice, investigating the disappearances of imperial tax convoys. He finds himself set upon by bandits, rogues, and--worst of all--shifty politicians. Told with a sure hand and a sharp sense of humor, the novel is certain to capture the interest of readers of historical mysteries, especially those who like a touch of Shogun along with all the action. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
I. J. Parker, winner of the Shamus Award for "Akitada’s First Case," a short story published in 1999, lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She writes regularly for Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

Customer Reviews

"Like the call of the owl fading at dawn, so ends this dream we live."
With her third mystery in three years, I. J. Parker continues her series featuring Akitada Sugawara, a twenty-five-year-old member of the nobility whose family is no longer influential in the emperor's court in 11th century Japan. When three yearly tax shipments from Kazusa province disappear without a trace, Akitada, a minor official in the Ministry of Justice, is assigned to investigate, a task he accepts enthusiastically, believing it to be a great honor. Traveling through the cold countryside by horseback in the "Gods-Absent Month" of November, Akitada is accompanied by an elderly family retainer, Seimei.

From the outset, Parker creates a fast-paced and exciting narrative which keeps the reader interested both in the action and in the revelations of eleventh century culture and tradition. In the first fifty pages, the reader experiences the murder of a beautiful noblewoman, the gruesome death of a prostitute, the attempted robbery of Akitada and subsequent fight to the death with robbers, the attempted assault of a young deaf-mute woman by several Buddhist monks, and a violent attack on a member of Akitada's party by a female martial artist of enormous skill.

Though this novel is the most recent Parker novel to be published, the story line occurs chronologically earlier than both The Rashomon Gate and The Hell Screen, two previous mysteries in the same series. Akitada is a young bachelor here, meeting Tora, a powerful aide who appears in both the previous books, for the first time. As Akitada tries to discover the fate of the tax convoys, he investigates the death of the retired governor of the province, observes the behavior of "monks" who seem unfamiliar with traditional ceremonies, investigates unsavory neighborhoods and elegant residences, and falls in love. The action develops gradually, and builds to a conclusion that is filled with fireworks.

The cultural separation between noble and commoner, the tension between the Buddhist and Shinto religions, and details about government and cultural traditions are included very naturally within the story. Parker develops her characters realistically, allowing her readers to identify with them, also including unusual characters whose idiosyncrasies make them memorable--the Rat, a beggar-informer; Higekuro, a former member of the nobility who is now the paralyzed director of a martial arts school; and Otomi, the deaf-mute artist whose sketches of a monastery figure in the investigation. Often humorous, Parker creates a well-developed and exciting mystery about a different kind of detective, continuing a series which deserves to draw many new readers! Mary Whipple

Excellent mystery set in medieval Japan, first-rate beginning for a first-rate series.
Historical mysteries are like comedy -- either they work or they don't, and there is no middle ground. This mystery, the first of what I hope will be a long series, works wonderfully well. It is thoroughly grounded in the world of early medieval Japan, and it carries its immense learning and scholarship so lightly that only if you've read Japanese history for this period will you realize just how sound its view of Sugawara Akitada and his world is. The writing is always clear, amusing when it wants to be, and deeply moving at the right times. The plotting is sure and sensible, and the mystery unfolds at just the right pace. I read this one and immediately sought out the next. Highest recommendation.

An enjoyable read
I have read few mystery books/novels over the years but I do enjoy material concerning Japan and China (I was stationed in Japan for two years), and when I saw this at the store I decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did. I enjoyed it throughout. It was difficult for me to put down once I picked it up. Besides the ancient Japanese setting, I also enjoyed the humor that the author found time to put in. I look forward to reading the other novels in this series.