Where the Bad Guy Was Super Bad

La fragilidad del crisantemo by José Vicente Alfaro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a mostly successful mystery novel set in Ninth Century Heian Japan. The main plot is engaging and well constructed, while the subplots, though interesting enough on their own, sometimes seem to lead nowhere and stick out a bit. The main story--of the investigation into missing peasant children, ignored until a highborn girl also goes missing--allows lots of room for action and intrigue.

Katsumi, the educated daughter of a nobleman of middle rank, a non-conformist in a very conforming society, is the most interesting character, and she becomes the main investigator into the crime. Her husband, an ambitious and able member of the city guard, looks like he'll be part of the investigation, but gets sent to war. A third main character, a warrior-monk of unique abilities, eventually joins Katsumi as a guard, and he is key to solving the mystery.

The early part of the novel might have been written out, in my opinion. We follow Tokinobu in his search for a wife, which is irrelevant once he's with Katsumi. Likewise, we follow Asatori from his village through his training in martial arts, none of which was necessary. It was sort of fun, but felt more picaresque in nature than novel-like until the middle, where the main plot finally took over.

Despite my critiques, I enjoyed the novel quite a bit. The action continues to pick up right to the end where we have a satisfying conclusion, and I would kinda like some sequels with Katsumi solving other crimes while writing her Tale of Genji-style novel. That would be cool.

Recommended. For those like me who are not native Spanish speakers, intermediate level Spanish will get you through with decent comprehension.

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