Seikei's Books: The Samurai Detective Series

1. The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
     Japan, 1700: Seikei wants to be a samurai, but because he is a merchant's son, this is impossible. Then, on a businss trip, he and his father stop at an inn where a precious jewel is stolen during the night. When the famous Judge Ooka arrives to investigate, Seikei speaks up. He has seen a ghost in the night. The judge uses this information to find out what really happened to the jewel. He sends Seikei on a path that leads him to a traveling theater troupe, whose leader may or may not be the thief. Read on to find out what the end of the path is, and how Seikei realizes his dream.

 (available in e-book and paperback editions; cover shown here only on e-book edition)

2. The Demon in the Teahouse
     Someone is setting fires in the city of Edo, capital of the shogun of Japan. Seikei's foster father, Judge Ooka, sets out to find out who the arsonist is. He discovers that the fires are connected to a series of murders in Yoshiwara, the mysterious section of the city that only awakes at night to provide pleasure and entertainment for wealthy men. Seikei takes a job in a teahouse where beautiful geisha women sing and dance. Some men even fall in love with them, and when Seikei learns the true identity of one of the teahouse's customers, he finds his own life in danger.
 
(available in e-book and paperback editions)

3. In Darkness, Death 
      Samurai Lord Inaba has been murdered in his sleep, while guards stood outside his room. When Judge Ooka and his foster son Seikei arrive to investigate, they find a bloodstained origami butterfly on the floor of the room. Who could have left it, and what is the meaning? The trail leads to mysterious shape-shifting ninjas, vengeful peasants, and a killer who will stop at nothing to keep Seikei from discovering his true identity. Finally, Seikei confronts him on a sacred mountain where only a mysterious stone protects Seikei against the killer's supernatural powers. In this Edgar-award-winning book, Seikei comes into his true inheritance by winning a pair of samurai swords.
 
(available in e-book and paperback editions)

4. The Sword That Cut the Burning Grass
       When teen-age samurai apprentice Seikei is sent on a mission by the shogun, he believes it to be a simple one. The 14-year-old emperor has refused to carry out his ceremonial duties, and Seikei must persuade him to resume his proper place. But when the emperor is kidnapped in an elaborate plot to overthrow the shogun, Seikei’s mission becomes much more dangerous. With the help of a mysterious warrior, he must rescue the emperor before the sacred sword—said to be unbeatable in battle—falls into the wrong hands. Should he fail, even Seikei’s foster father Judge Ooka may not be safe.


  (available in e-book and paperback editions)

5. A Samurai Never Fears Death
Seikei, the adopted son of Japan's greatest sleuth, returns to Osaka, the city of his birth. While attending the famous puppet theater, he is witness to a murder. And when he joins the theater troupe, another murder takes place--with Seikei's own sword! To get to the bottom of the mystery, Seikei must use all his skills and follow the threads that lead to a master criminal who is also a puppet.

 (available in e-book and paperback editions)

6. Seven Paths to Death

       When a man with a tattoo covering his back is found in a village rice paddy, Seikei and Judge Ooka know it is a bad omen. But what they don't know is just how bad--or how deeply dangerous--the mystery behind it is. As Seikei and the Judge investigate further, they find that there are seven of these men, each with similar tattoos on their backs. And they are starting to turn up dead. The Judge soon realizes that these men are all carrying part of a treasure map--but to what? And why is someone killing the men? Seikei must find all seven tattoos and put them together to find the answer--and the path to a secret and terrifying destination.



(available in e-book and paperback editions)

7. The Red-Headed Demon
     In this seventh book in the "Samurai Detective" series, adopted samurai Seikei goes to the shogun's palace to see a demonstration of European medicine. Instead, he witnesses a murder when one of the foreigners dies of poisoning. Another foreigner wants to take away the young nephew of the dead man, but the boy is reluctant. He does not speak Japanese, so to keep him out of harm's way, Seikei's foster father tells Seikei to take the boy to the foreigners' base at Nagasaki. What seems like s simple task soon turns into a dangerous one, for many people seem to want the boy for their own peculiar purposes. Seikei has to use all his ingenuity and daring to carry out his mission and find the murderer as well.  


(available in e-book and paperback editions; e-book versions must be ordered from smashwords.com)