Laura Joh Rowland

A fortress in the sky... Japan, 1701. A woman is brutally attacked within a bamboo prison as clouds swirl around her head. Meanwhile, at Edo Castle, samurai detective turned chamberlain Sano Ichiro is suspicious of his old rival, Yanagisawa, who has been oddly cooperative since his return from exile. But just as …

Shinjū is the title of the debut novel by American writer Laura Joh Rowland, a historical mystery set in 1689 Genroku-era Japan. The main character, a yoriki named Sano Ichirō, investigates a double murder disguised as a lovers' suicide, and in the process, uncovers a plot to assassinate Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.