剣客商売三 陽炎の男

The Samurai Detectives #3

by Shōtarō Ikenami, 池波 正太郎

鐘ヶ淵の隠宅を焼失した秋山小兵衛は、若い女房・おはると共に、
橋場の料亭「不二楼」に仮住まい――。
幕府老中・田沼主殿頭(とのものかみ)意次(おきつぐ)も登場。
江戸の風物も鮮やかに活写した、国民的大ベストセラー、その第三巻!

若衆髷をときほぐし、裸身を湯槽に沈めた佐々木三冬に、突然襲いかかる無頼の浪人たち。しかし、全裸の若い女は悲鳴もあげず、迎え撃つかたちで飛びかかっていった。
隠された三百両をめぐる事件のさなか、男装の武芸者・三冬に芽ばえた秋山大治郎へのほのかな思いを描く表題作。香具師の元締のひとり娘と旗本の跡取りとの仲を小兵衛がとりもつ「嘘の皮」など全7編。シリーズ第3作。

Genres: Japanese Literature, Crime, Japan, Mystery

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

See 池波 正太郎.

Reviews

[Acantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very entertaining selection of short stories following the adventures of the father and son samurai, as they seek to look after their friends and keep the good and brave of their home protected.

It's a mix of murder mysteries, blackmail, hostages, rescue missions - there is a wide variety of action to be hand here within the stories.

The characters are developing more and more, becoming real people. I really enjoyed the growth of Mifuyu as she moved on from her infatuation. I just hope she doesn't dissolve into a girly girl should she end up with a certain someone, as some of her behaviour was hinting at. She shouldn't have to abandon who she is just for a relationship.

And why does almost every other female character in this book have to be an 18 year old? It's a very different world and a very different time but some of the choices made are so alien to me. Its a fascinating dip into the Edo period, and the writing is as beautiful and strange as ever.

By this point, the third book in the series, you know exactly what you are getting. If you enjoyed the previous ones, you're going to like this one. If you didn't... well, you won't see anything new here to catch your attention. I enjoy these, and will happily keep reading them, they are fun.

~Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review~

[Bao Bao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great samurai detective book!

This is the third volume of The Samurai Detectives, and the main characters are back in action!
Akiyama Kohei and Akiyama Daijiro (father and son), along with Oharu and Mifuyu, plus some other characters are back to protect the innocent and punish those who cause mayhem and dishonour in the samurai era.

There are seven different stories in this volume, with some acts of revenge, detective work, punishment and lots of sword fighting.
Mifuyu also changes her crush to someone else... hopefully they will get together in another volume!
It's not easy to be a detective and samurai back in those days!
And might be best to keep a note on who is who in each chapter - it was easy to forget who some of the characters were...

Thanks to Netgalley, and the publishers - Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business | Penguin for this ARC!

[4cats · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third instalment in the rather excellent Samurai Detectives series. With each passing novel the characters grow and develop, attaching themselves to your inner self. I'm a huge fan of this series and would encourage anyone to pick up and enjoy this iconic Japanese series which is packed full of historical detail and great storytelling.

[C.C. Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it does little to distinguish itself from other volumes, these bite-sized stories are as charming as ever. Easy to read, humorous, with exciting action scenes, this collection of tales is worth picking up if you're a fan of this particular era. My only complaint was that some of the stories seemed a little too similar. Still, I'm already looking forward to the next volume.

[Ciaran Caughey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply Magnificent!

This series of books are outstanding! 16 novels about Kenkaku Shobai have been published in Japan. Why have Penquin only translated 3?!!! I'll be dead before the end of the series!!!!