The Incense Game

The award-winning sixteenth Sano Ichiro mystery is "fascinating . . . there are few things as delicious as a good old-fashioned power struggle" (Oprah.com).

In the wake of a terrifying earthquake, Sano races to solve a crime that could bring down the shogun's regime . . .

Japan, 1703. A devastating earthquake has left the city of Edo in shambles—even the shogun's carefully regulated court is teetering on the brink of chaos. This is no time for a murder investigation. But when Sano discovers the bodies of two young sisters buried beneath the rubble, he suspects that incense poisoning, not the earthquake, killed them. Worse yet, their father, a powerful nobleman, threatens to topple the vulnerable regime unless Sano agrees to track down his daughters' killer.

With the help of his wife, Reiko, and his chief retainer, Hirata, Sano begins a secret investigation that jeopardizes his whole family. And with Hirata mysteriously neglecting his duties and an old foe plotting to overthrow Sano and the shogun himself, the shockwaves from the earthquake are only the beginning.

"Stellar . . . Once again, Rowland sets the bar high for her hero, who must navigate treacherous political shoals as well as deduce the killer's identity." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)