Trial on Mount Koya: A Hiro Hattori Novel by Susan Spann

Trial on Mount Koya: A Hiro Hattori Novel by Susan Spann. Prometheus Books. Copyright July 2018.; pb. 256 pp.; ISBN: 9781633884151.

November 1565.  The nation of Japan is divided as daimyos vie for victory over each other for the position of Shogun.  Oba Nobunaga has spies everywhere and Samurai Hiro Hattori is traveling with his friend, Portuguese priest Father Mateo, to Shingon Buddhist Temple on Mount Koya.  His mission is to deliver a message to an agent from Hiro’s home town of Iga.  However, Ringa the agent never gets to deliver any message as he is murdered that same day. So begin a series of murders that Hiro and Father Mateo are asked to solve. 

All the reader knows is that the first four deaths, as they gradually occur on different days, are unusual.  The victim of each monk is posed as one of the Buddhist Judges of the dead in the afterlife, a judgment that progresses over a period of time.  The description of each Judge and the way the victims are posed in death is fearful and awesome!

The reader gets to focus on two different areas in this mystery story.  One focuses on elements of Shingon Buddhism, one of many sects of Buddhism, and one which obviously has political connections, a common aspect of 16^th Century Buddhism. The other is the divided nature of the resident monks of Mount Koya.  Some have samurai backgrounds, some poor backgrounds, some thwarted ambitions, some holding unresolved issues and all who try to maintain a life of prayer and meditation when outside matters are not encroaching on their peaceful way of existence.  They also hold a prideful sense of arrogance in stating multiple times that the depth of Shingon Buddhism is beyond Hiro and Father Mateo’s miniscule understanding.

One might hope no further deaths will ensue but that is not the case.  The reader expects Hiro and Father Mateo to solve the mystery of so many deaths and how he does that makes the remainder of the novel fascinating and exciting.  There are some interesting and even humorous scenes involving some woman monks and a child who is a bit of a mystery as well as the adults in the novel. 

Susan Spann is a highly skilled writer who knows exactly where to place tension, complexity, simplicity, levity and seriousness in a very successful work of historical mystery fiction!

Betrayal at Iga: A Hiro Hattori Novel by Susan Spann

Betrayal at Iga: A Hiro Hattori Novel.  Susan Spann. Prometheus Books. July 2017. 250 pp. ISBN #: 9781633882775.

In medieval Japan, Hiro Hattori, the master ninja, and Father Mateo, the Jesuit and Portuguese priest are about to work together on a sensitive case.  Father Mateo has been hired by a very important samurai lord, from the same ninja clan as Hiro, to protect Hattori.  They travel together into the lands of that samurai lord and are invited to a welcome dinner.  During that dinner, there is obvious enmity between the members of a rival Koga clan and Hattori Hanzo.  Chaos erupts when one of the guests begins to get ill, quickly moves in seizures and dies after eating some of the lavish food they have been served.  The atmosphere quickly becomes lethal and is slightly quashed when Hiro Hattori is given a few days to solve the mystery of the poisoner.

The reader will become well-acquainted with the customs and rivalries of this 16^th Century Japanese town.  It is the era of the Shogunate and the competition is rife for this position, a never-ending war in a way as gaining the title of Shogun is no guarantee that one can hold onto it.  The competitors are everywhere, both secular and sacred (Buddhist monasteries among the rivals).  It gets to the point where even family must be watched as suspicious contenders for the prize and no measure is deemed prohibited to effect victory.

Hiro Hattori and Father Mateo question the members of the Koga clan, Hiro’s own mother, a former lover and many more possible suspects.  The Koga clan were to discuss and form a peace agreement immediately after that dinner, but the chances of that happening are slim indeed!

Susan Spann has once again penned a captivating mystery, adventure story, and historical novel that keeps the reader captivated and guessing every step of the convoluted way to the bitter and surprising end!

Recommended for all fans of mysteries and Japanese samurai fiction!

The Ninja's Daughter: A Hiro Hattori Novel - A Shinobi Mystery by Susan Spann

The Ninja’s Daughter: A Hiro Hattori Novel (A Shinobi Mystery).  Susan Spann. Seventh Street Books. August 2, 2016. 248 pp.  ISBN#: 9781633881815.

The daughter of an actor is found murdered by the side of Kyoto’s Kamo River, and a man who “thinks” he murdered her comes for assistance to the Portuguese Jesuit priest, Father Mateo, and his secret body guard, the master ninja Hiro Hattori. Hiro and Father Mateo are at odds initially as the latter believes there’s a mystery here to be solved and Hiro believes this is a messy business they should avoid. 

The latest Shogun has died and various groups are vying for this position, indeed getting ready to go to war with each other to win the coveted position that carries so much power, riches and fame with it. 

Father Mateo and Hiro discover that the local magistrates won’t investigate this murder because the dead girl was the daughter of an actor, a profession considered shameful in 16^th century Japan.  Father Mateo, however, values every life and insists on investigating this murder, helping the family of the murdered girl, and defying the warning that they would be arrested if they interfered with any investigation. 

The intriguing parts of this mystery involve a golden coin found attached to the string that caused the death of Emi, a silent lover Jiro who was with Emi the night before she died but remembers nothing else, a family whose males acted in Noh dramas, a sister who knew of Emi’s plans and secret meetings with men at night, and parents who allowed Emi to act in unseemly ways because they couldn’t control her fierce passions about her future life. 

Besides being a good mystery, this novel is also intriguing in its presentation of the Noh actors’ culture, the set standards of communicating with men and women of different social classes, and the levels of integrity and abuse of the local clans ruling the area with its codes of behavior for different members in the samurai hierarchy.

Wonderful historical mystery, Susan Spann! Highly recommended reading!