Ninja’s Daughter: Hiro Hattori Novel by Susan Spann
Publication Date: August 2, 2016
Seventh Street Books
eBook & Paperback; 230 Pages
Series: Hiro Hattori Novels/Shinobi Mysteries
Genre: Historical Mystery
Autumn, 1565: When an actor’s daughter is murdered on the banks of Kyoto’s Kamo River, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo are the victim’s only hope for justice.
As political tensions rise in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, and rival warlords threaten war, the Kyoto police forbid an investigation of the killing, to keep the peace–but Hiro has a personal connection to the girl, and must avenge her. The secret investigation leads Hiro and Father Mateo deep into the exclusive world of Kyoto’s theater guilds, where they quickly learn that nothing, and no one, is as it seems. With only a mysterious golden coin to guide them, the investigators uncover a forbidden love affair, a missing mask, and a dangerous link to corruption within the Kyoto police department that leaves Hiro and Father Mateo running for their lives.
“In The Ninja’s Daughter, Susan Spann’s poetic voice brilliantly captures the societal disparities, political intrigues, and martial conflicts of sixteenth-century Japan through the persevering efforts of ninja detective Hiro Hattori to solve a murder authorities consider of no consequence.” -JEFFREY SIGER, International Bestselling Author
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Excerpt of Ninja’s Daughter: Hiro Hattori Novel by Susan Spann
Kyoto, September 1565
Last year, when I became betrothed, my mother gave me this little book in which to write my thoughts. She said I might have things to say that women should not say aloud, and that I could write them here, where no one else would see or judge me for them.
Until tonight, I have not used this book because I never had the kind of thoughts Mother described. As the eldest child of a well-respected actor in Kyoto’s Yutoku-za, I have a life that many girls would envy. Women cannot act on the stage, but I don’t care. My parents have arranged for me to marry the most handsome actor in Kyoto. His name is Yuji, and someday he will play the leading parts in every play performed by the Yutoku-za. Every woman who sees him, wants him, but I am the lucky one that he will marry.
In truth, my mother should have given this diary to my younger sister, Emi. She had many thoughts she should not speak aloud—and said them, even though my parents often told her not to. First, she refused to let them find her a husband. Then, she said she wanted to become an entertainer, singing and dancing in a teahouse for the amusement of samurai warriors!
I have to admit, I don’t really understand why everyone wanted to stop her from becoming an entertainer. When I marry Yuji, I’ll have everything I ever wanted. Why shouldn’t Emi have the chance to see her dream come true?
But the answer to that question doesn’t matter any more. You see, this morning the Kyoto police discovered my lovely sister lying dead on the banks of the Kamo River.
Given the marks around her neck, it looked like someone murdered her, but the police refused to investigate because actors’ families have no status. They said my sister’s death was “of no consequence,” and called her body “a pile of filth on the riverbank.”
When my parents and I arrived at the scene, a pair of strangers stood by Emi’s body, arguing with the police. They wanted to find the person who killed my sister, and told my father they will do it even though the assistant magistrate has threatened to arrest them if they try. One of the men is a foreigner—a priest who follows a foreign god. I wanted to stare at his giant nose and strangely-colored skin, but I was afraid of his companion, a samurai translator called Hattori Hiro.
I do not know if these men will be able to find the person who murdered Emi. Kyoto’s theater troupes have rules that govern everyone and everything that happens in our clans. Our men perform in public, but we do not welcome strangers who intrude upon our private lives. Emi broke those rules, and it cost her life.
Will these strangers be able to find her killer before they suffer a similar fate?
I do not know, but the next few days will tell the tale.
To learn more about Chou, and Emi, and find out how the story ends, pick up The Ninja’s Daughter…on sale now!
About Susan Spann
Susan Spann is the author of three previous novels in the Shinobi Mystery series: Claws of the Cat, Blade of the Samurai, and Flask of the Drunken Master. She has a degree in Asian Studies and a lifelong love of Japanese history and culture. . When not writing, she works as a transactional attorney focusing on publishing and business law, and raises seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium.
For more information please visit Susan Spann’s website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Giveaway of Ninja’s Daughter: Hiro Hattori Novel by Susan Spann
This giveaway is for the winner’s choice of print or ebook and is open to Canada and the U.S. only. This giveaway ends on September 9, 2016 midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
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