Due to the shogun's evil chamberlain briefly taking over the court in the shogun's illness, Sano Ichiro is exiled, more or less, to Nagasaki with his chief retainer, Hirata. While at this time, Nagasaki is more like a resort town, it is also a hotbed of treachery and smuggling. This is because it is the only port that is open to the outside world. Everything is tightly controlled here because it's much easier to commit treason with the Dutch on your doorstep. It's also a recipe for disaster for Sano, who prizes truth and investigation above all. One easily misconstrued step, and he is finished. Yet, he and Hirata navigate the numerous alliances and secrets to discover the truth about who killed the Dutch director Jan Spaen.

In his search for truth, Sano is repeatedly pushed into the world of the Dutch, where he learns that Japan is a small country in a very big world, that there are all sorts of knowledge - scientific and otherwise - that are forbidden to locals simply because they're foreign. More than anything else, this tests Sano's loyalty to Japan. Throughout most of the book, he questions his life choices and his loyalties. He really grows in this book, and his transformation is really interesting.

The mystery is really compelling, but it's not resolved well, in my opinion. Sano keeps getting ultimatums to solve the mystery (three days, then two more days, then another day), so that the gimmick starts to lose its urgency. Additionally, the mystery isn't solved by Sano's deadline. All he and Hirata have are theories, but by a stroke of luck, they get that one more day they need to come upon the criminals in the act. It's wrapped up a little too miraculously at the end, but it was a very ambitious story. It's no surprise that things didn't quite come together. This untidiness also comes through in Sano's personality. There are times when the stress seems to get to him, and he becomes almost violent with his suspects, particularly a low class prostitute named Peony, that felt uncharacteristic of him.

In The Way of the Traitor Bushido is criticized even more than it was in the previous book. Many of the characters express they had no choice but to follow a life of crime because it was what their lord required of them, and Bushido demands complete and utter obedience. With such a strong cultural guide, you can't help but wonder as a reader what choice some of these people had, as they're forced to become criminals by circumstance. I also couldn't help the feeling that this is all likely to repeat itself, and more innocent people will be condemned because of their adherence to their strict culture. It certainly is a bittersweet ending.

Overall, this entry isn't as strong as the previous two, but it's still a poignant story that debates several themes of loyalty, truth, honor, and patriotism. The world is as vibrant as ever, and the scope is admirable. I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to the next one in the series.
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The Way of the Traitor is the third book in Laura Joh Rowland’s historical mystery series set in feudal Japan. We follow the adventures of Sano Ichiro, recently appointed Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People by the Shogun. The Shogun’s jealous favorite arranges to have Sano assigned to an inspection tour of Nagasaki which will remove Sano from the capital for up to a year.

Arriving in Nagasaki and finding it a hotbed of political treachery, Sano becomes involved in the murder investigation of a Dutch trade captain whose mutilated body has washed ashore. Not knowing who to trust, Sano falls victim to a plot that sees him accused of treason. Only the solving of the crime will prove his innocence.

As with all her books, a well researched historical mystery that holds the interest and gives us a colourful and detailed look at Japan in the 1690’s. I would recommend that a reader start with the first book in this series, Shinju, as there is a definite timeline to these mysteries. ( )

More than a year has passed since the last book in the Sano Ichirō series and Sano is now head of an elite force of Samurai detectives. Despite finding success in his new position which brings an impending marriage, great gain to his financial and personal state and the deep loyalty of Hirata, his chief retainer, Sano is nevertheless not happy. Still heartbroken over losing Aoi and disillusioned with the shogun’s regime, Sano is bundled unceremoniously off by Chamberlain Yanagisawa on an inspection tour of Nagasaki, in the hope of removing him from favour and discrediting his position permanently. Nagasaki is the only city in 17th century Japan where foreign contact is allowed through trade, and hence the most innocent behaviour is often wrongly interpreted as treason, and condemns a man to death. Sano, on his arrival, with his natural curiosity, open nature, enquiring mind and sense of duty immediately undertakes the search for a missing Dutch trader, which becomes a murder investigation once the body is found washed up on the shore.

The Way of the Traitor allows the reader a glimpse into what life was like for the Japanese, in these times, when interacting with other nations and customs, and emphasises the strictures placed on the society in an attempt to keep the ruling power intact and outside influences to a minimum. Sano is at a disadvantage in his investigations, being unable to communicate directly with many of the suspects and, with his differing attitude, coping with a xenophobic society and a welter of bureaucracy. Again Ms Rowland immerses us in the bleak corruption of the era and the fanatical devotion to the tradition of hierarchy and duty, which Sano himself is attempting to follow and fight simultaneously, often to the detriment of his task and his life.

While I readily became immersed in this story, as in the previous books, I found Sano’s abilities to repeatedly escape serious consequences a little difficult to reconcile. However the ending of this book, I felt, actually addresses this situation and thus satisfies any niggling doubts which may have lingered in my mind over this issue. I see Sano fast becoming a flourishing medieval samurai detective, a force to be reckoned with; and I look forward to his next case.

(Dec 30, 2007) ( )

First of the Sano Ichiro series.