Island of Exiles

Blurb

In Island of Exiles is a 2007 detective novel by I. J. Parker. The story follows Sugawara Akitada, who is assigned by two shadowy officials to investigate the fatal poisoning on penal colony on Sado Island of the exiled and disgraced Prince Okisada. The suspect is the son of the local governor, the officials thought he might have been framed as part of a treasonous plot. Akitada is forced to carry out an undercover investigation, taking on the guise of a convict sentenced to exile on the island. It becomes a perilous task, as the convicts on the island were treated "cheaper than dirt", expendable slaves to work the mines.