What do you think?
Rate this book
The Daidoji Shin Mysteries #3
The Flower Path
Extraordinary detective Daidoji Shin returns, in a wonderful locked-room murder mystery like no other, in this lively novel from the epic fantasy world of Legend of the Five Rings
Opening night at the Foxfire Theater is set to be a huge success for Daidoji Shin, amateur detective turned theater impresario. The City of the Rich Frog’s leading lights are all there, but even as the performance begins, the Three Flower Troupe’s new lead actress is found dead backstage – and everyone in the venue is a potential suspect. Shin has only till the curtain falls to find the killer. But the clock is ticking and Shin can only hold the great and the good hostage so long. As the night wears on, the chance of the murderer escaping justice grows ever more likely.
Opening night at the Foxfire Theater is set to be a huge success for Daidoji Shin, amateur detective turned theater impresario. The City of the Rich Frog’s leading lights are all there, but even as the performance begins, the Three Flower Troupe’s new lead actress is found dead backstage – and everyone in the venue is a potential suspect. Shin has only till the curtain falls to find the killer. But the clock is ticking and Shin can only hold the great and the good hostage so long. As the night wears on, the chance of the murderer escaping justice grows ever more likely.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 13, 2024
6 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Reynolds
313 books337 followersJosh Reynolds’ work has previously appeared in such anthologies as Historical Lovecraft from Innsmouth Free Press and Horror for the Holidays from Miskatonic River Press, and his novel, Knight of the Blazing Sun, is currently available from Black Library. He can be found at: http://joshuamreynolds.wordpress.com
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 12, 2022
No I haven’t read this yet. So sad that I had a NetGalley decline on this title. I’ve faithfully read and reviewed the previous titles featuring the superb Crane sleuth, Daidoji Shin. I’m sure it would have been a five star read. The previous titles were. 😢
So thank you to my library! I was able to read this continuing adventures of Daidoji Shin. This time it’s opening night at his theatre. Unfortunately his star female lead is found dead, and there’s so many people to choose from who wanted her out of the way. Another great read!
So thank you to my library! I was able to read this continuing adventures of Daidoji Shin. This time it’s opening night at his theatre. Unfortunately his star female lead is found dead, and there’s so many people to choose from who wanted her out of the way. Another great read!
June 5, 2022
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Copy provided by Tantor Audio.
Opening night at the Foxfire Theater is set to be a huge success for Daidoji Shin. The City of the Rich Frog’s leading lights are all there, but even as the performance begins, the Three Flower Troupe’s new lead actress is found dead backstage – and everyone in the venue is a potential suspect. Shin has only till the curtain falls to find the killer. But the clock is ticking and Shin can only hold the great and the good hostage so long. As the night wears on, the chance of the murderer escaping justice grows ever more likely.
This book was incredibly slow. Reynolds had a very large stage to set with how many people wouldn't mind seeing the victim dead it still took forever to get to the actual death scene. So, it got confusing to keep track of who each character was. Also, after reading, I found out it was a series, but I am still unsure what the other books are but if I read those first, I may have understood what was going on more. This book isn't the type of genre I usually read so it was very hard for me to get into it. This book was not for me.
Opening night at the Foxfire Theater is set to be a huge success for Daidoji Shin. The City of the Rich Frog’s leading lights are all there, but even as the performance begins, the Three Flower Troupe’s new lead actress is found dead backstage – and everyone in the venue is a potential suspect. Shin has only till the curtain falls to find the killer. But the clock is ticking and Shin can only hold the great and the good hostage so long. As the night wears on, the chance of the murderer escaping justice grows ever more likely.
This book was incredibly slow. Reynolds had a very large stage to set with how many people wouldn't mind seeing the victim dead it still took forever to get to the actual death scene. So, it got confusing to keep track of who each character was. Also, after reading, I found out it was a series, but I am still unsure what the other books are but if I read those first, I may have understood what was going on more. This book isn't the type of genre I usually read so it was very hard for me to get into it. This book was not for me.
March 5, 2022
I do a lot of freelance proofreading for a variety of publishers but I rarely list those on Goodreads because I consider them to be work rather than reading, and also if I were to list them all I might be less favourable towards some titles which would be wholly unprofessional of me. Suffice to say, I've decided to only list books which I believe I would have sought out and enjoyed independently of 'work'.
In that regard, whilst I know little of The Legend of the Five Rings card game that this novel spins from, I always thoroughly enjoy Josh Reynolds' forays into this series, centered around nobleman-turned-detective Daidoji Shin (and I should have previously rated the other two novels an equal number of stars). Here we have a locked-room mystery set within a theatre. Reynolds captures both the theatre and the machinations of a large number of characters exceptionally well, especially since much of the novel is propelled by dialogue. The clipped, formal, discourse between Daidoji Shin and his contemporaries is laced with wry observation, wit, and intelligent asides, and is a joy to read. The plot is thorough, well-paced, and entertaining, and reaches a logical conclusion. I recommend all the novels set in this series, but particularly Reynolds. Daidoji Shin is equal to any fictional detective. I'm hoping there'll be opportunities to encounter him again.
In that regard, whilst I know little of The Legend of the Five Rings card game that this novel spins from, I always thoroughly enjoy Josh Reynolds' forays into this series, centered around nobleman-turned-detective Daidoji Shin (and I should have previously rated the other two novels an equal number of stars). Here we have a locked-room mystery set within a theatre. Reynolds captures both the theatre and the machinations of a large number of characters exceptionally well, especially since much of the novel is propelled by dialogue. The clipped, formal, discourse between Daidoji Shin and his contemporaries is laced with wry observation, wit, and intelligent asides, and is a joy to read. The plot is thorough, well-paced, and entertaining, and reaches a logical conclusion. I recommend all the novels set in this series, but particularly Reynolds. Daidoji Shin is equal to any fictional detective. I'm hoping there'll be opportunities to encounter him again.
April 11, 2022
Daidoji Shin is many things. Envoy of the Crane Clan. A fan-wielding courtier. And now, owner of his own theatre. But when a kabuki production turns deadly, with the theatre’s celebrated new star Etsuko dying onstage — quite literally — on opening night, Shin puts on his other hat: that of amateur sleuth.
Unfortunately, thanks to her constant fights with fellow actors and a trail of broken hearts winding through some of Rokugan’s most powerful families, there aren’t many people who don’t have both the means and motive to murder Etsuko. But the show must go on, and no one is leaving until Shin has cracked the case.
The Flower Path marks the third outing of Daidoji Shin, and part of the Legend of the Five Rings expanded universe, but you don’t need any familiarity with either to jump aboard. Imagine feudal Japan through the lens of P.G. Wodehouse and you’ll have a fairly accurate picture of Shin’s world. Packed with social stealth, scheming lords, and battles of wits with a hero who’s not nearly as unarmed as he first seems, it’s a strangely delightful murder mystery.
(Scored A in Sci-Fi Magazine Summer 2022 issue)
Unfortunately, thanks to her constant fights with fellow actors and a trail of broken hearts winding through some of Rokugan’s most powerful families, there aren’t many people who don’t have both the means and motive to murder Etsuko. But the show must go on, and no one is leaving until Shin has cracked the case.
The Flower Path marks the third outing of Daidoji Shin, and part of the Legend of the Five Rings expanded universe, but you don’t need any familiarity with either to jump aboard. Imagine feudal Japan through the lens of P.G. Wodehouse and you’ll have a fairly accurate picture of Shin’s world. Packed with social stealth, scheming lords, and battles of wits with a hero who’s not nearly as unarmed as he first seems, it’s a strangely delightful murder mystery.
(Scored A in Sci-Fi Magazine Summer 2022 issue)
May 8, 2022
I must admit that, of all of the books due to be published by Aconyte Books this year, Josh Reynold’s The Flower Path has been at the top of my ‘most anticipated’ list ever since it was announced back in 2021. There’s a couple of reasons behind that – firstly, Reynolds is an absolutely superb writer at the top of his game, who has this incredible talent to somehow create brilliant, engaging stories regardless of the setting or genre (and whether it’s his own setting or an I.P. setting like those published by Aconyte Books); and secondly the Rokugan setting – the Legend of the Five Rings – is rapidly becoming one of my favourite I.P. settings I’ve ever read, thanks to the wide variety of talented authors that Aconyte have hired to write engaging and original stories in it. The two together – author and setting – have combined to create something truly memorable – the on-going Daidoji Shin Mystery series. With this series, Reynolds has taken the classic detective story trope and skilfully blended it together with the complex political and social structures of Rokugan’s Clan-dominated society to create something truly memorable and original. Set in and around the key trading hub of the City of the Rich Frog, Crane Clan dilettante, wastrel and trade representative Daidoji Shin finds himself developing something of a reputation for solving difficult, often thorny political mysteries that cannot – or will not – be touched by anyone else in the city.
Gaining friends and enemies in equal numbers, by the time of The Flower Path Shin has established his reputation as a skilled investigator and intellectual, and even found time to acquire a theatre and act as a patron to a performing troupe. These two elements form the central core of the third novel in the series, as Shin finds that his lead performer has been murdered just minutes after opening night has started. Anyone in the theatre could be a potential murderer, and the suspects include influential and powerful representatives from all of the major Clans, as well as every member of the performing troupe. Certain that the murderer will escape as soon as the final curtain falls, evading justice forever, Shin finds himself racing against time to identify the murder, as well as unravel the complex string of political and personal plots, machinations and schemes that stretch throughout the Foxfire Theatre. The concept intrigued me, as did the superb (and by now iconic) cover art by John Anthony di Giovanni, and I couldn’t wait to see what Reynolds had in store for Shin and the City of the Rich Frog this time around
While Poison River and Death’s Kiss – the previous books in the series – ranged across City of the Rich Frog and even ventured into adjoining provinces – for The Flower Path Reynolds has taken the intriguing decision to confine the entire novel within the Foxfire Theatre, and set the entire plot within the timeframe of a single play. In lesser hands this might have limited the narrative, but Reynolds has done such sterling work in terms of worldbuilding and character development over the previous two books that it instead lends the plot an intense, claustrophobic and often surprising atmosphere, as Shin finds himself racing between the stage, changing rooms and private boxes of the theatre as he attempts to find out why, exactly, his leading actress was first poisoned and then eventually murdered. Reynolds understands that the key to constraining the narrative to one building is to maintain an even pace and not remain in a single room or location, and effectively makes use of almost every conceivable room that could be found in a theatre – from the stalls of the common audience members, to private viewing chambers, and even obscure places like hidden trapdoors where actors fall into or instruments like drums are hidden. It creates a delightful variety as the plot unwinds, with Reynolds constantly keeping the reader guessing as to where the next clue will be found – or the next suspect hunted down and interrogated. The environment and atmosphere are masterfully handled, to the extent that I never became bored or questioned why the plot was kept solely inside the theatre; Reynolds is more than experienced – and talented – enough to create plausible reasons for keeping the audience and players within the building that still mesh with the social and political nuances of the setting.
A good detective story – especially one confined to a single location – is nothing without a stellar cast of characters, and as usual Reynolds delivers in spades; not only does he manage to further flesh out the existing cast of characters from the previous novels, but he also introduces some intriguing and engaging members of Rokugan society from a variety of castes that help to propel the narrative forward. Daidoji Shin continues to be the most engaging, captivating and original protagonist in any of the titles thus far published by Aconyte Books, and I actually think might be the most well-wounded and developed protagonist Reynolds has ever written. More experienced and skilled at his unique blend of detective work and social navigation, Shin has had some of his rougher edges sanded off in comparison to his earlier adventures, and while the stakes are as high as ever, Shin feels far more confident and assured this time around – deftly uncovering the twisted complexities of the murder-mystery and delivering as many blows as are hurled against him by the gathered worthies (and unworthies) of Rokugan society. His motley but talented group of household servants and aides continue to entertain and act as foils for Shin to bounce off of during his investigation: world-weary bodyguard Kasami becomes a little more fleshed-out this time around, and unrepentant gambler and manservant Kitano feels more integrated to his role and less like a fish out of water, their development indicating that Reynolds devotes as much time to developing secondary characters as the protagonist and antagonist. The members of the Three Flower Troupe performing in the Foxfire Theatre are also brought into focus, with their complex relationships and rivalries knitted into a background for the murder investigation as a whole. As for the new characters – while too much detail would potentially spoil the plot, I was particularly enamoured wit Iuchi Konomi and Shinjo Yasamura, senior and influential nobles from the Unicorn Clan who appear destined to become further enmeshed with Shin and his future investigations. I also need to make special mention of the delightfully surly and arrogant Arban-Ujik, a nomad bodyguard who sparked off of Shin and Kasami in particular, and who I dearly hope we see more of in future novels.
The Flower Path is nothing less than Josh Reynolds at the height of his considerable talents as an author, an intricate, complex and tightly-plotted murder-mystery perfectly integrated into the Legend of the Five Rings setting, and populated with a richly-imagined cast of characters to create an elegant novel that might well be the best thing that Reynolds has ever written. There’s a subtlety and nuance to the writing that’s above even the best of his previous stories, and the Rokugan setting seems to bring out the best in Reynolds in ways that perhaps previous IPs didn’t. If so, then that’s credit to the good people working at Aconyte Books as well as Reynolds himself, and I can only hope that we will see a fourth (and fifth and sixth) Daidoji Shin novel published by Aconyte in short order. I’ll certainly be reading and reviewing them if
Gaining friends and enemies in equal numbers, by the time of The Flower Path Shin has established his reputation as a skilled investigator and intellectual, and even found time to acquire a theatre and act as a patron to a performing troupe. These two elements form the central core of the third novel in the series, as Shin finds that his lead performer has been murdered just minutes after opening night has started. Anyone in the theatre could be a potential murderer, and the suspects include influential and powerful representatives from all of the major Clans, as well as every member of the performing troupe. Certain that the murderer will escape as soon as the final curtain falls, evading justice forever, Shin finds himself racing against time to identify the murder, as well as unravel the complex string of political and personal plots, machinations and schemes that stretch throughout the Foxfire Theatre. The concept intrigued me, as did the superb (and by now iconic) cover art by John Anthony di Giovanni, and I couldn’t wait to see what Reynolds had in store for Shin and the City of the Rich Frog this time around
While Poison River and Death’s Kiss – the previous books in the series – ranged across City of the Rich Frog and even ventured into adjoining provinces – for The Flower Path Reynolds has taken the intriguing decision to confine the entire novel within the Foxfire Theatre, and set the entire plot within the timeframe of a single play. In lesser hands this might have limited the narrative, but Reynolds has done such sterling work in terms of worldbuilding and character development over the previous two books that it instead lends the plot an intense, claustrophobic and often surprising atmosphere, as Shin finds himself racing between the stage, changing rooms and private boxes of the theatre as he attempts to find out why, exactly, his leading actress was first poisoned and then eventually murdered. Reynolds understands that the key to constraining the narrative to one building is to maintain an even pace and not remain in a single room or location, and effectively makes use of almost every conceivable room that could be found in a theatre – from the stalls of the common audience members, to private viewing chambers, and even obscure places like hidden trapdoors where actors fall into or instruments like drums are hidden. It creates a delightful variety as the plot unwinds, with Reynolds constantly keeping the reader guessing as to where the next clue will be found – or the next suspect hunted down and interrogated. The environment and atmosphere are masterfully handled, to the extent that I never became bored or questioned why the plot was kept solely inside the theatre; Reynolds is more than experienced – and talented – enough to create plausible reasons for keeping the audience and players within the building that still mesh with the social and political nuances of the setting.
A good detective story – especially one confined to a single location – is nothing without a stellar cast of characters, and as usual Reynolds delivers in spades; not only does he manage to further flesh out the existing cast of characters from the previous novels, but he also introduces some intriguing and engaging members of Rokugan society from a variety of castes that help to propel the narrative forward. Daidoji Shin continues to be the most engaging, captivating and original protagonist in any of the titles thus far published by Aconyte Books, and I actually think might be the most well-wounded and developed protagonist Reynolds has ever written. More experienced and skilled at his unique blend of detective work and social navigation, Shin has had some of his rougher edges sanded off in comparison to his earlier adventures, and while the stakes are as high as ever, Shin feels far more confident and assured this time around – deftly uncovering the twisted complexities of the murder-mystery and delivering as many blows as are hurled against him by the gathered worthies (and unworthies) of Rokugan society. His motley but talented group of household servants and aides continue to entertain and act as foils for Shin to bounce off of during his investigation: world-weary bodyguard Kasami becomes a little more fleshed-out this time around, and unrepentant gambler and manservant Kitano feels more integrated to his role and less like a fish out of water, their development indicating that Reynolds devotes as much time to developing secondary characters as the protagonist and antagonist. The members of the Three Flower Troupe performing in the Foxfire Theatre are also brought into focus, with their complex relationships and rivalries knitted into a background for the murder investigation as a whole. As for the new characters – while too much detail would potentially spoil the plot, I was particularly enamoured wit Iuchi Konomi and Shinjo Yasamura, senior and influential nobles from the Unicorn Clan who appear destined to become further enmeshed with Shin and his future investigations. I also need to make special mention of the delightfully surly and arrogant Arban-Ujik, a nomad bodyguard who sparked off of Shin and Kasami in particular, and who I dearly hope we see more of in future novels.
The Flower Path is nothing less than Josh Reynolds at the height of his considerable talents as an author, an intricate, complex and tightly-plotted murder-mystery perfectly integrated into the Legend of the Five Rings setting, and populated with a richly-imagined cast of characters to create an elegant novel that might well be the best thing that Reynolds has ever written. There’s a subtlety and nuance to the writing that’s above even the best of his previous stories, and the Rokugan setting seems to bring out the best in Reynolds in ways that perhaps previous IPs didn’t. If so, then that’s credit to the good people working at Aconyte Books as well as Reynolds himself, and I can only hope that we will see a fourth (and fifth and sixth) Daidoji Shin novel published by Aconyte in short order. I’ll certainly be reading and reviewing them if
March 15, 2023
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Flower Path is a wonderfully engaging mystery by Josh Reynolds set in the multi-author sandbox world of Rokugan, and the third book by Reynolds featuring the clever amateur sleuth Daidoji Shin. Released 21st June 2022 by Aconite, it's 352 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
The Legend of the Five Rings world is a re-imagined "sandbox" setting with multiple authors and tie-ins, based on a roughly Feudal era Japan with the addition of dragons, magic, and political fantasy. Besides the fiction, the original setting was used for fantasy RPG, collectible card game, and even LARPing. There was also a D&D tie-in published as part of the third edition rules, called Oriental Adventures, which is now out of print.
That has, more or less, nothing whatever to do with this mystery. Despite being the third (of four) Daidoji Shin mystery, it works perfectly well as a standalone. The writing and especially the characterizations are beautifully rendered and three dimensional. The setting is organically rendered and with literally thousands of pages of canon, the setting is as much a main theme of the book as the primary characters.
The mystery is cleverly wrought and all the technical aspects of the writing are in place and working smoothly. It's a huge cast of characters and there were some slight issues at a few places keeping track of which envoy was whose and which characters did what at the primary setting, Daidoji's newly refurbished and fabulously (potentially ruinously) expensive theatre, where the leading lady is murdered on opening night. For readers who experience the same issues, the e-book format has the added benefit of a search function.
Four and a half stars. The writing is compelling enough to make me seek out the previous books (and keep an eye out for the fourth book featuring these characters, due out in July 2023).
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Flower Path is a wonderfully engaging mystery by Josh Reynolds set in the multi-author sandbox world of Rokugan, and the third book by Reynolds featuring the clever amateur sleuth Daidoji Shin. Released 21st June 2022 by Aconite, it's 352 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
The Legend of the Five Rings world is a re-imagined "sandbox" setting with multiple authors and tie-ins, based on a roughly Feudal era Japan with the addition of dragons, magic, and political fantasy. Besides the fiction, the original setting was used for fantasy RPG, collectible card game, and even LARPing. There was also a D&D tie-in published as part of the third edition rules, called Oriental Adventures, which is now out of print.
That has, more or less, nothing whatever to do with this mystery. Despite being the third (of four) Daidoji Shin mystery, it works perfectly well as a standalone. The writing and especially the characterizations are beautifully rendered and three dimensional. The setting is organically rendered and with literally thousands of pages of canon, the setting is as much a main theme of the book as the primary characters.
The mystery is cleverly wrought and all the technical aspects of the writing are in place and working smoothly. It's a huge cast of characters and there were some slight issues at a few places keeping track of which envoy was whose and which characters did what at the primary setting, Daidoji's newly refurbished and fabulously (potentially ruinously) expensive theatre, where the leading lady is murdered on opening night. For readers who experience the same issues, the e-book format has the added benefit of a search function.
Four and a half stars. The writing is compelling enough to make me seek out the previous books (and keep an eye out for the fourth book featuring these characters, due out in July 2023).
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
December 10, 2022
„The Flower Path” is book three in “A Daidoji Shin Mystery” series by Josh Reynolds based in the universe of The Legend of the Five Rings. I’m always happy to dive into another adventure with Shin as a protagonist. He is such a fun and complex character to read that each story is a pleasure.
This time the author serves us a classic whodunit tale. The affair starts in Foxfire Theatre, which Shin acquired in the previous book, and the grand opening night is supposed to decide whether this venture will be successful. But the stakes become even higher when the show’s leading actress collapses on the stage. The verdict of Shin’s medic is clear – poison. It should be easy to find a person who held a grudge against the famous actress. Still, the woman antagonised every other actor and left a trail of broken hearts among many prominent nobles from various clans. And most of them were attending the play.
Shin is tasked with the seemingly impossible task of discerning who amongst the actress’ many enemies might be determined enough to get rid of her for good. He’s also constricted with a concise time frame, as there would be no way of finding the perpetrator once the performance ends.
I enjoyed this book, primarily because as two previous books seemed loosely connected, this time we had the whole Three Flower Troupe back, and it was nice to see the well-liked characters again and learn more of their stories and secrets. Shin and Kasami were brilliant, as always, but I was pleasantly surprised by Konomi, a noble from the Unicorn Clan, whose dynamic with Shin was fun to read. I hope to see her in the next book and see how their friendship evolves.
The resolution was satisfying and not what I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. I also like the story’s pacing, the slow clues gathering and the twist at the end. Once again, we learn a little bit about the dynamic between different clans in Rokugan and seeing Scorpion courtier in action, especially clashing with Crane, was highly entertaining.
I think “The Flower Path” is a book many people will enjoy. It doesn’t matter if you are familiar with the Legend of the Five Rings fandom; if you want whodunit mysteries and dramatic theatre setting, I’m sure you’d devour this book in a couple of hours.
This time the author serves us a classic whodunit tale. The affair starts in Foxfire Theatre, which Shin acquired in the previous book, and the grand opening night is supposed to decide whether this venture will be successful. But the stakes become even higher when the show’s leading actress collapses on the stage. The verdict of Shin’s medic is clear – poison. It should be easy to find a person who held a grudge against the famous actress. Still, the woman antagonised every other actor and left a trail of broken hearts among many prominent nobles from various clans. And most of them were attending the play.
Shin is tasked with the seemingly impossible task of discerning who amongst the actress’ many enemies might be determined enough to get rid of her for good. He’s also constricted with a concise time frame, as there would be no way of finding the perpetrator once the performance ends.
I enjoyed this book, primarily because as two previous books seemed loosely connected, this time we had the whole Three Flower Troupe back, and it was nice to see the well-liked characters again and learn more of their stories and secrets. Shin and Kasami were brilliant, as always, but I was pleasantly surprised by Konomi, a noble from the Unicorn Clan, whose dynamic with Shin was fun to read. I hope to see her in the next book and see how their friendship evolves.
The resolution was satisfying and not what I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. I also like the story’s pacing, the slow clues gathering and the twist at the end. Once again, we learn a little bit about the dynamic between different clans in Rokugan and seeing Scorpion courtier in action, especially clashing with Crane, was highly entertaining.
I think “The Flower Path” is a book many people will enjoy. It doesn’t matter if you are familiar with the Legend of the Five Rings fandom; if you want whodunit mysteries and dramatic theatre setting, I’m sure you’d devour this book in a couple of hours.
June 13, 2022
I received an arc for the audiobook from NetGalley.
When I first started this book, I did not realize this was part of a series. Now, I don't think you need the earlier books to understand this book, at all, but it does mean the worldbuilding was a bit lacking. At first I assumed this book was set in Japan, seeing as the names and words were Japanese. I thought it was so clever to use the name Daidoji, a minor clan with very little information about it available (in Enligh). But then I realised that this was not the case. This book is set in a Japan inspired world, but it's not like Japan at all.
In fact, I did some researching and this book is part of a larger "series", a collection of books by different authors, all set in the same world. A concept which I really love. The publisher seems to have several "worlds" in which the stories are set, which just sounds super fun. I had more fun looking at the publisher's site than reading this book ><;
The world uses Japanese names for the people, and has different clans that are all given animal names. (Which is something I also saw in The Poppy War, which is inspired by China) One problem I had here: somethings the clannames are English, the scorpion, the crane, etc sometimes they are in Japanese, Kaeru, the frog) etc. It's use of language is inconsistent throughout the book.
This book has a large cast of characters, and it suffers from it. None of them feel very well developped and all feel like shallow, one-dimensional people. Daidoji Shin is the most developped but even so his development is mostly us being told things. Like how smart he is and how much of a good detective. And as usually the case with the "super smart detective trope", he really wasn't very smart.
The plot was incredibly predictable, which meant that having our detective struggle so much to figure out the case was more annoying than anything. And having the other characters be amazed at him having figured things out, despite things being super obvious was even worse.
The character interactions didn't feel like interactions actual people would have. If the idea was to make things seem like feudal Japan, it didn't work, at all. "But Annemarie, why do you keep picking up Asian inspired books if you dislike them so much?" you might be wondering. I don't dislike them, I actually really like them. Heck, the best books I read this year were 後宮の烏、Koukyuu no Karasa, an Asian inspired fantasy series that blew me away. Another favourite this year was Makura no soshi, musing from a lady in Heian Japan. I LOVE reading books with Asian mythology/Asian inspiration, but I do want them to be done right. I want them to fit the setting and take into account how people would interact at that time, like I want for all my historical fiction, no matter where it is set. If you want to write a historical Asian setting, even if it's a fantasy, you need to research actual Asian history, imo. (And for people thinking I only like books when written by Japanese authors, some other favourites with an Asian setting I read this year include Six Crimson Cranes and Wicked Fox)
So we have a predictable plot, underdeveloped characters and interactions that don't fit the setting of the book itself. On top of that, there are a lot of inconsistencies in how people treat each other. There is also a lot of repetition, of reading almost the same interaction and same phrases again. These people all talk similarly, and use the exact same phrases...
The book takes place over the course of a few hours, so I'll forgive it for the characters not developing throughout it. I think the timing of the whole thing is a bit iffy, because everything is set during a play, but the break is extremely long and so is the play itself. (With 2 hours after the break, so I assume about as many before, which means this whole play, including the break took about 5~6 hours at least which seems excessive).
The audiobook is alright, but not great. The pronunciation of names is very inconsistent throughout the book, which is a bit frustrating. The pronunciation is also usually very un-Japanese, but sometimes the same word gets pronounced correctly, so I'm not sure if they were going for an English pronunciation of Japanese words, or an actual Japanese pronunciation. Most words are pronounced both ways throughout the book.
All in all, I had high expectations of this book, but I didn't actually enjoy it all that much. The idea is better than the execution, and the plot was just too predictable for it to be enjoyable.
When I first started this book, I did not realize this was part of a series. Now, I don't think you need the earlier books to understand this book, at all, but it does mean the worldbuilding was a bit lacking. At first I assumed this book was set in Japan, seeing as the names and words were Japanese. I thought it was so clever to use the name Daidoji, a minor clan with very little information about it available (in Enligh). But then I realised that this was not the case. This book is set in a Japan inspired world, but it's not like Japan at all.
In fact, I did some researching and this book is part of a larger "series", a collection of books by different authors, all set in the same world. A concept which I really love. The publisher seems to have several "worlds" in which the stories are set, which just sounds super fun. I had more fun looking at the publisher's site than reading this book ><;
The world uses Japanese names for the people, and has different clans that are all given animal names. (Which is something I also saw in The Poppy War, which is inspired by China) One problem I had here: somethings the clannames are English, the scorpion, the crane, etc sometimes they are in Japanese, Kaeru, the frog) etc. It's use of language is inconsistent throughout the book.
This book has a large cast of characters, and it suffers from it. None of them feel very well developped and all feel like shallow, one-dimensional people. Daidoji Shin is the most developped but even so his development is mostly us being told things. Like how smart he is and how much of a good detective. And as usually the case with the "super smart detective trope", he really wasn't very smart.
The plot was incredibly predictable, which meant that having our detective struggle so much to figure out the case was more annoying than anything. And having the other characters be amazed at him having figured things out, despite things being super obvious was even worse.
The character interactions didn't feel like interactions actual people would have. If the idea was to make things seem like feudal Japan, it didn't work, at all. "But Annemarie, why do you keep picking up Asian inspired books if you dislike them so much?" you might be wondering. I don't dislike them, I actually really like them. Heck, the best books I read this year were 後宮の烏、Koukyuu no Karasa, an Asian inspired fantasy series that blew me away. Another favourite this year was Makura no soshi, musing from a lady in Heian Japan. I LOVE reading books with Asian mythology/Asian inspiration, but I do want them to be done right. I want them to fit the setting and take into account how people would interact at that time, like I want for all my historical fiction, no matter where it is set. If you want to write a historical Asian setting, even if it's a fantasy, you need to research actual Asian history, imo. (And for people thinking I only like books when written by Japanese authors, some other favourites with an Asian setting I read this year include Six Crimson Cranes and Wicked Fox)
So we have a predictable plot, underdeveloped characters and interactions that don't fit the setting of the book itself. On top of that, there are a lot of inconsistencies in how people treat each other. There is also a lot of repetition, of reading almost the same interaction and same phrases again. These people all talk similarly, and use the exact same phrases...
The book takes place over the course of a few hours, so I'll forgive it for the characters not developing throughout it. I think the timing of the whole thing is a bit iffy, because everything is set during a play, but the break is extremely long and so is the play itself. (With 2 hours after the break, so I assume about as many before, which means this whole play, including the break took about 5~6 hours at least which seems excessive).
The audiobook is alright, but not great. The pronunciation of names is very inconsistent throughout the book, which is a bit frustrating. The pronunciation is also usually very un-Japanese, but sometimes the same word gets pronounced correctly, so I'm not sure if they were going for an English pronunciation of Japanese words, or an actual Japanese pronunciation. Most words are pronounced both ways throughout the book.
All in all, I had high expectations of this book, but I didn't actually enjoy it all that much. The idea is better than the execution, and the plot was just too predictable for it to be enjoyable.
April 18, 2022
The Flower Path sees the return of extraordinary (amateur) detective Daidoji Shin in one of his most difficult cases yet. A locked-room murder mystery in his very own Foxfire theatre!
There is a lot to worry about on opening night of the Foxfire Theatre, although Daidoji Shin has no doubt it will be a huge success, being a theatre impresario is bound to be much easier than an amateur detective. The City of the Rich Frog’s leading lights are all there, but even as the performance begins, the Three Flower Troupe’s new lead actress is found dead backstage. Not what Daidoji Shin had in mind for opening night and worst everyone in the venue is now a potential suspect. It becomes a race against time as Shin is painfully aware he only has until the curtain falls to find the killer. The clock is ticking and the Crane can only hope to hold the great and the good hostage so long. As the night and play wears on, the chance of the murderer escaping justice grows ever more likely but not if Shin can help it.
Once again the Aconyte team (authors included) have done an amazing job at bringing a trading card game and roleplaying game to life. For those unfamiliar the Legend of the Five Rings is set in a detailed fantastical land of Rokugan, a nation whose culture and history is based on that of feudal Japan. Sometimes the settings will briefly cover other cultures that occupy the same world. Generally you can expect to find Samurai, Ronin, Courtiers, Clans and working classes such as merchants. The complexity of the land and world of Legend of the Five rings has already been beautifully brought to vivid life by Aconyte in numerous other titles but I have to say I am always happy to see Shin return, even if he is a Crane!
You may be forgiven for thinking that because the mystery is set in one place the action or story may drag but I can assure you this is not the case at all. Indeed it all adds perfectly to the tension and suspense that Reynolds masterfully creates. We have a plethora of interesting and witty characters each with their own agendas and motivation but also skilled at keeping those hidden. I honestly felt like I was transported right into the heart of the court and clan dynamics and all the intrigue and espionage that goes on.
We begin by learning that the new lead actress, Etsuko, is not planning to make any friends in The Three Flower troupe, she has in particular made an enemy of Nao. Of course we would be forgiven for thinking this was case closed and indeed it would be easy for Shin to blame Nao and be done but that is not his way. What follows is a lively and intriguing look into court politics and past dalliances of several individuals. While the subject matter is dire, a murder on opening night and the tension does not give up Reynolds manages to break the tension with memorable characters and wonderful interactions. I never thought I could love a Crane but it is hard not to like Shin. His easy going manner and way of using his skills to find the answers make it difficult to find a flaw, past, perhaps his flirtations. Add to this Kasami’s sharp wit and skills and it is near impossible to not love this duo – maybe a little too much in my case!
I honestly think this is my favourite Shin mystery to date, although I am hopeful there will be many more. I enjoyed learning the answer to the mystery as it went. I adored the characters and the way each is brought to life on the page. I even felt sympathy for a Scorpion due to Reynolds amazing skills. On top of this the novel contains all those trademarks that have made Aconyte one of my favourite publishers and some of my favourite authors. On top of bringing life to games and other tie-ins they are amazing at being inclusive in such a respectful and beautiful way.
I feel like I always say this for Aconyte titles but I cannot recommend this enough for fans of Legends of the Five Rings, historical fiction, fantasy lovers or murder and mystery lovers. You will not be disappointed, I promise you that!
There is a lot to worry about on opening night of the Foxfire Theatre, although Daidoji Shin has no doubt it will be a huge success, being a theatre impresario is bound to be much easier than an amateur detective. The City of the Rich Frog’s leading lights are all there, but even as the performance begins, the Three Flower Troupe’s new lead actress is found dead backstage. Not what Daidoji Shin had in mind for opening night and worst everyone in the venue is now a potential suspect. It becomes a race against time as Shin is painfully aware he only has until the curtain falls to find the killer. The clock is ticking and the Crane can only hope to hold the great and the good hostage so long. As the night and play wears on, the chance of the murderer escaping justice grows ever more likely but not if Shin can help it.
Once again the Aconyte team (authors included) have done an amazing job at bringing a trading card game and roleplaying game to life. For those unfamiliar the Legend of the Five Rings is set in a detailed fantastical land of Rokugan, a nation whose culture and history is based on that of feudal Japan. Sometimes the settings will briefly cover other cultures that occupy the same world. Generally you can expect to find Samurai, Ronin, Courtiers, Clans and working classes such as merchants. The complexity of the land and world of Legend of the Five rings has already been beautifully brought to vivid life by Aconyte in numerous other titles but I have to say I am always happy to see Shin return, even if he is a Crane!
You may be forgiven for thinking that because the mystery is set in one place the action or story may drag but I can assure you this is not the case at all. Indeed it all adds perfectly to the tension and suspense that Reynolds masterfully creates. We have a plethora of interesting and witty characters each with their own agendas and motivation but also skilled at keeping those hidden. I honestly felt like I was transported right into the heart of the court and clan dynamics and all the intrigue and espionage that goes on.
We begin by learning that the new lead actress, Etsuko, is not planning to make any friends in The Three Flower troupe, she has in particular made an enemy of Nao. Of course we would be forgiven for thinking this was case closed and indeed it would be easy for Shin to blame Nao and be done but that is not his way. What follows is a lively and intriguing look into court politics and past dalliances of several individuals. While the subject matter is dire, a murder on opening night and the tension does not give up Reynolds manages to break the tension with memorable characters and wonderful interactions. I never thought I could love a Crane but it is hard not to like Shin. His easy going manner and way of using his skills to find the answers make it difficult to find a flaw, past, perhaps his flirtations. Add to this Kasami’s sharp wit and skills and it is near impossible to not love this duo – maybe a little too much in my case!
I honestly think this is my favourite Shin mystery to date, although I am hopeful there will be many more. I enjoyed learning the answer to the mystery as it went. I adored the characters and the way each is brought to life on the page. I even felt sympathy for a Scorpion due to Reynolds amazing skills. On top of this the novel contains all those trademarks that have made Aconyte one of my favourite publishers and some of my favourite authors. On top of bringing life to games and other tie-ins they are amazing at being inclusive in such a respectful and beautiful way.
I feel like I always say this for Aconyte titles but I cannot recommend this enough for fans of Legends of the Five Rings, historical fiction, fantasy lovers or murder and mystery lovers. You will not be disappointed, I promise you that!
February 10, 2024
After months of work the Foxfire Theater is set to re-open and Daidoji Shin has put forth every effort and spared no expense to see that it will be a successful opening night. The play is a crowd pleaser. The Three Flowers Troupe is at its best. And a new lead actress, Noma Etsuko, has been brought in. But Shin cannot avoid a mystery even when he pursues other interests and mid play the lead actress has an attack. Despite quick reactions all around, she dies back stage. Her killer is somewhere in the Foxfire Theater either among the common folk and the theater’s own crew or among the nobles there to be seen. If Shin cannot figure out who killed her and how before the play ends justice will never be found, and Etsuko did not make a great many friends among her fellows.
Josh Reynolds The Flower Path is an excellent novel that does a fantastic job of bringing back previously introduced characters as well as introducing new ones. I greatly enjoyed the return to the Foxfire theater and the Three Flowers Troupe, the descriptions of the backstage chaos and the interactions between the actors and the stage crew felt good. The drama of this actress having pull over so many nobles to the point that they had all come to the theater to see her, only for her to die and leave them all as suspects was a delight.
The new Unicorn noble, Shinjo Yasamura, feels like someone who should be important later on, if only because of how he complicates things between Shin and Iuchi Konomi and how he plays off Shin as someone equally smart but rooted in very different ideas. Plus, I just like how conflicted Shin was by the attractive man who said he was attending the play to meet Shin not actually being there for him and their weird noble not quite flirting.
Kasami is, as ever, a delight. She did not get quite as much page space as usual, but remains a solid contrasting voice to Shin. Seeing her interacting with people, from other bodyguards to some of the actors and stage crew was a delight. Her whole staunchly lawful nature feels humorous when played against one of the noble’s bodyguard, Arban Ujik, who doesn’t much care about social rules and the actress, Chika, who would very much like to interact with her more, especially when both seem to want to get into her robes and seem mutually aware of this. There remains something nicely solid about Kasami, she doesn’t understand why Shin does what he does and only vaguely approves of some of it and only then when it seems like he’s becoming more of a proper noble, but she stands by him all the same and wants the best for him. It’s good to see.
The case itself is also fascinating. The details layer over each other, building various possible cases, casting aside and pulling back in different suspects, but never quite adding up entirely. So many characters have reason to resent Etsuko, to want her out of the way, but none of them quite fit the means or method right. Many of them have reason to resent her, but more reason not to act on it. It’s a solid mystery that leads to a conclusion that fits nicely with the world and what both Shin and the reader learn along the way. There were so many good red herrings and so much room for different characters to interact differently, with people opening up to Daichi, Shin’s manservant, in ways they could and would not to Shin himself or Kasami. It allows for how information is gathered to be delightfully situational and feels like a nice bit of world building.
The Flower Path leaves me grasping for the next Daidoji Shin novel. It’s as good as Poison River if not better and does a good job of showing Shin thinking on his feet and dealing with having to keep the closed box closed while he investigates. It earns a five out of five from me and a very impatient wait for the next one.
This book was provided to me through netGalley for honest review. Review was previously posted at https://tympestbooks.wordpress.com/20...
Josh Reynolds The Flower Path is an excellent novel that does a fantastic job of bringing back previously introduced characters as well as introducing new ones. I greatly enjoyed the return to the Foxfire theater and the Three Flowers Troupe, the descriptions of the backstage chaos and the interactions between the actors and the stage crew felt good. The drama of this actress having pull over so many nobles to the point that they had all come to the theater to see her, only for her to die and leave them all as suspects was a delight.
The new Unicorn noble, Shinjo Yasamura, feels like someone who should be important later on, if only because of how he complicates things between Shin and Iuchi Konomi and how he plays off Shin as someone equally smart but rooted in very different ideas. Plus, I just like how conflicted Shin was by the attractive man who said he was attending the play to meet Shin not actually being there for him and their weird noble not quite flirting.
Kasami is, as ever, a delight. She did not get quite as much page space as usual, but remains a solid contrasting voice to Shin. Seeing her interacting with people, from other bodyguards to some of the actors and stage crew was a delight. Her whole staunchly lawful nature feels humorous when played against one of the noble’s bodyguard, Arban Ujik, who doesn’t much care about social rules and the actress, Chika, who would very much like to interact with her more, especially when both seem to want to get into her robes and seem mutually aware of this. There remains something nicely solid about Kasami, she doesn’t understand why Shin does what he does and only vaguely approves of some of it and only then when it seems like he’s becoming more of a proper noble, but she stands by him all the same and wants the best for him. It’s good to see.
The case itself is also fascinating. The details layer over each other, building various possible cases, casting aside and pulling back in different suspects, but never quite adding up entirely. So many characters have reason to resent Etsuko, to want her out of the way, but none of them quite fit the means or method right. Many of them have reason to resent her, but more reason not to act on it. It’s a solid mystery that leads to a conclusion that fits nicely with the world and what both Shin and the reader learn along the way. There were so many good red herrings and so much room for different characters to interact differently, with people opening up to Daichi, Shin’s manservant, in ways they could and would not to Shin himself or Kasami. It allows for how information is gathered to be delightfully situational and feels like a nice bit of world building.
The Flower Path leaves me grasping for the next Daidoji Shin novel. It’s as good as Poison River if not better and does a good job of showing Shin thinking on his feet and dealing with having to keep the closed box closed while he investigates. It earns a five out of five from me and a very impatient wait for the next one.
This book was provided to me through netGalley for honest review. Review was previously posted at https://tympestbooks.wordpress.com/20...
April 25, 2022
***Received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Contains minor spoilers.***
Being a devoted fan to the L5R universe myself, and Crane being my second favorite great clan in Rokugan, every Daidoji Shin novel is a treat for my eyes - and The Flower Path did not disappoint either.
After the first introduction to Shin as a hedonistic noble with a great interest in acting as a sleuth in Poison River, where he solved a great mystery of a poisoned rice shipment (and essentially preventing a shift in the status quo in the City of the Rich Frog), his second adventure took him to a far away Unicorn lands to solve a murder case. While the second adventure was also very enjoyable, The Flower Path feels more like a direct sequel to Poison River rather than a sequel to Death's Kiss. We are back to The City of the Rich Frog, the theatre that burnt down in the first book is now rebuilt and finished, and the troupe is working hard for the debut performance. The returning cast of characters (Shin, Kasami, Kitano, Nao, Sanemon, Konomi) feel like old friends to the reader, which reflects how likeable Josh Reynolds portrayed these characters in the past two books. There are a bunch of new characters as well, especially the actors - Ashina, Choki and the real diva Noma Etsuko, Shin's Unicorn equivalent of Yasamura, and my personal favorite, Shin's personal physician Sanki, all of them are quite unique and interesting to their own, and many of them keeping some secrets that will be revealed in the story.
The story itself revolves around a "locked box" murder mystery, but not a plain vanilla one - there is a major time pressure on our favorite noble detective to uncover the reasons of what exactly happened to the murdered stage crew member. The tempo of the story is also similarly tight, making the reader flipping the pages as quick as possible to get a step closer to the resolution, supported by a good dynamic of dialogues in the book. It is hard to recall when was the last time I thought like "OK, just one more chapter" with an L5R novel, then realizing I already read a good 20% already, so this book is definitely something special.
Without spoiling the end conclusion, I liked how the author made us connect the dot - even though it was not that surprising due to all the foreshadowing, it was still satisfactorily wrapped up.
I find that the new L5R novels give a heavy emphasis on certain topics in details - Death's Kiss was describing weapon and armor crafting, going into some technical details; To Chart the Clouds was explaining cartography in such details. The Flower Path - unsurprisingly - addresses the world of theaters and actors. It is a subtle theme, but still, lots of props are mentioned, also processes and functions of a theatre - and it was quite interesting for me. It also shows that the author did his researches in the topic, which is a big plus point from me. During the Old5R era, this was not the default attitude of the respective authors at all.
I hope that Josh Reynolds will never get bored with Daidoji Shin, and many more novels will use him as the "star" character.
Kudos to Aconyte Books and Netgalley for letting me read this novel in the early access. Can't wait to buy my physical copy as well.
Being a devoted fan to the L5R universe myself, and Crane being my second favorite great clan in Rokugan, every Daidoji Shin novel is a treat for my eyes - and The Flower Path did not disappoint either.
After the first introduction to Shin as a hedonistic noble with a great interest in acting as a sleuth in Poison River, where he solved a great mystery of a poisoned rice shipment (and essentially preventing a shift in the status quo in the City of the Rich Frog), his second adventure took him to a far away Unicorn lands to solve a murder case. While the second adventure was also very enjoyable, The Flower Path feels more like a direct sequel to Poison River rather than a sequel to Death's Kiss. We are back to The City of the Rich Frog, the theatre that burnt down in the first book is now rebuilt and finished, and the troupe is working hard for the debut performance. The returning cast of characters (Shin, Kasami, Kitano, Nao, Sanemon, Konomi) feel like old friends to the reader, which reflects how likeable Josh Reynolds portrayed these characters in the past two books. There are a bunch of new characters as well, especially the actors - Ashina, Choki and the real diva Noma Etsuko, Shin's Unicorn equivalent of Yasamura, and my personal favorite, Shin's personal physician Sanki, all of them are quite unique and interesting to their own, and many of them keeping some secrets that will be revealed in the story.
The story itself revolves around a "locked box" murder mystery, but not a plain vanilla one - there is a major time pressure on our favorite noble detective to uncover the reasons of what exactly happened to the murdered stage crew member. The tempo of the story is also similarly tight, making the reader flipping the pages as quick as possible to get a step closer to the resolution, supported by a good dynamic of dialogues in the book. It is hard to recall when was the last time I thought like "OK, just one more chapter" with an L5R novel, then realizing I already read a good 20% already, so this book is definitely something special.
Without spoiling the end conclusion, I liked how the author made us connect the dot - even though it was not that surprising due to all the foreshadowing, it was still satisfactorily wrapped up.
I find that the new L5R novels give a heavy emphasis on certain topics in details - Death's Kiss was describing weapon and armor crafting, going into some technical details; To Chart the Clouds was explaining cartography in such details. The Flower Path - unsurprisingly - addresses the world of theaters and actors. It is a subtle theme, but still, lots of props are mentioned, also processes and functions of a theatre - and it was quite interesting for me. It also shows that the author did his researches in the topic, which is a big plus point from me. During the Old5R era, this was not the default attitude of the respective authors at all.
I hope that Josh Reynolds will never get bored with Daidoji Shin, and many more novels will use him as the "star" character.
Kudos to Aconyte Books and Netgalley for letting me read this novel in the early access. Can't wait to buy my physical copy as well.
January 30, 2023
I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Legend of the Five Rings book The Flower Path by Josh Reynolds, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
So let’s crack on with a review then!
What is Legend of the Five Rings
L5R as it’s often known is a fantasy setting for a series of card games and RPGs originally published by AEG, but now taken care of by Fantasy Flight.
It’s set in the empire of Rokugan which is heavily feudal Japan influenced, with a bit of other East Asian influences, like China and Korea thrown in as well.
It’s a fantasy setting with the usual fantasy tropes of goblins and rat men, but also oni and kitsune too.
The Story
This is the third of the Daidoji Shin mysteries and returns to the City of the Rich Frog as the theatre troupe Shin became patron of in the first book, face their opening night at the brand new Firefox Theatre, built to be the finest theatre outside of the Imperial Capital to Shin’s exacting specifications.
In his efforts to ensure success, Shin has recruited the most famous actress in all of Rokugan, Noma Etsuko, to lead the troupe since its original lead actress has left after the events of the first book.
But she doesn’t make fast friends, rather she makes many enemies amongst the cast and crew of the troupe, many of whom curse the day she joined them.
But as the curtain rises, and she walks the Flower Path of the Firefox Theatre for the first time, she collapses on stage, and subsequently dies backstage.
Knowing the killer must still be in the theatre, Shin seeks to uncover the mystery of her death as it soon becomes clear, that she had enemeies beyond the cast.
The clock is ticking and can Shin find the killer, before the show ends!
Conclusion
This is a bit of a slow start, there is a huge cast, and there is a big need to establish exactly how hated the victim is, so there is a lot of exposition as the great and good of The City of The Rich Frog descend upon the theatre for the first performance.
Yeah the initial start is a bit slow, but its overall well paced and very entertaining.
Daidoji Shin is a wonderful character, a Rokugan Sherlock Holmes but with his own distinctive qualities.
I would really recommend reading the first two books first, but thats not a bad thing because both Poison River and Death’s Kiss are excellent books!
It might not appeal to all readers, this is a book that I think would struggle to stand on its own as so much of the cast made appearances in the first two books and this story kind of expects you to have a lot of background knowledge already.
Anyway I loved this book and cannot wait for Three Oaths, the next in the series!
5 out of 5 Stars
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
So let’s crack on with a review then!
What is Legend of the Five Rings
L5R as it’s often known is a fantasy setting for a series of card games and RPGs originally published by AEG, but now taken care of by Fantasy Flight.
It’s set in the empire of Rokugan which is heavily feudal Japan influenced, with a bit of other East Asian influences, like China and Korea thrown in as well.
It’s a fantasy setting with the usual fantasy tropes of goblins and rat men, but also oni and kitsune too.
The Story
This is the third of the Daidoji Shin mysteries and returns to the City of the Rich Frog as the theatre troupe Shin became patron of in the first book, face their opening night at the brand new Firefox Theatre, built to be the finest theatre outside of the Imperial Capital to Shin’s exacting specifications.
In his efforts to ensure success, Shin has recruited the most famous actress in all of Rokugan, Noma Etsuko, to lead the troupe since its original lead actress has left after the events of the first book.
But she doesn’t make fast friends, rather she makes many enemies amongst the cast and crew of the troupe, many of whom curse the day she joined them.
But as the curtain rises, and she walks the Flower Path of the Firefox Theatre for the first time, she collapses on stage, and subsequently dies backstage.
Knowing the killer must still be in the theatre, Shin seeks to uncover the mystery of her death as it soon becomes clear, that she had enemeies beyond the cast.
The clock is ticking and can Shin find the killer, before the show ends!
Conclusion
This is a bit of a slow start, there is a huge cast, and there is a big need to establish exactly how hated the victim is, so there is a lot of exposition as the great and good of The City of The Rich Frog descend upon the theatre for the first performance.
Yeah the initial start is a bit slow, but its overall well paced and very entertaining.
Daidoji Shin is a wonderful character, a Rokugan Sherlock Holmes but with his own distinctive qualities.
I would really recommend reading the first two books first, but thats not a bad thing because both Poison River and Death’s Kiss are excellent books!
It might not appeal to all readers, this is a book that I think would struggle to stand on its own as so much of the cast made appearances in the first two books and this story kind of expects you to have a lot of background knowledge already.
Anyway I loved this book and cannot wait for Three Oaths, the next in the series!
5 out of 5 Stars
April 6, 2022
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Aconyte Books for an advanced copy of this role-playing adventure novel.
Reading a novel based on on a role-playing game, a reader goes in with a few expectations. The story will be based on the game, their will be many things that tie into the game, people will expect the book to read like an adventure, be loaded with derring-do and swordplay too. Readers don't expect a theater on opening night, diplomacy, lots of tea drinking, poems recited as weapons and shields, and a murder mystery. Add in a detective who is as witty as Nick Charles, especially with poetry, tough as Mike Hammer, and as smart as Nero Wolfe, and like Wolfe likes his comforts. Joshua Reynolds in The Flower Path: A Legend of the Five Rings Novel continues the adventures and investigations of Daidoji Shin, set in the world of Rokugan.
Opening night at the Foxfire Theatre has brought the rich, powerful and the common to see and to be seen at the premiere social event of the season. Everything has been designed and planned by Daidoji Shin, representative of the Crane Clan in the City of the Rich Frog, from the theater to the famous actress to lead the troupe he is the patron of. Friends, foes and possible future enemies have gathered to bask in Shin's success or chuckle as he fails. Within moments of the first act, his star has fallen possibly poisoned and Shin has only until the play is over to find the culprit and redeem his theatre's honour. However not all the acting is happening onstage, as friends have secrets, and many will break more than a leg to keep them hidden away.
This book was fun with a capital I can't believe an editor let Mr. Reynolds write this. A backstage play murder mystery played slightly farcical, in a book based on a role-playing game. This was great. The mystery was played fair, with plenty of clues, a bit of foreshadowing, and it made sense. The characters, even the minor ones are hopefully going to be in future books, as each one was different, and yet well-developed. Shin himself is intriguing and growing in different ways as each adventure passes, with more layers added, and depth for himself and his companions.
This is the fourth book that I have read by Mr. Reynolds and continue to be impressed by what he does and how he never copies himself, no matter what genre he writes in. Each book is not only different, but you can tell he enjoyed writing it, and passes that feeling to the reader. Recommended for well everyone. Mystery fans, fantasy fans, theater fans. Role-playing fans. Humans.
Reading a novel based on on a role-playing game, a reader goes in with a few expectations. The story will be based on the game, their will be many things that tie into the game, people will expect the book to read like an adventure, be loaded with derring-do and swordplay too. Readers don't expect a theater on opening night, diplomacy, lots of tea drinking, poems recited as weapons and shields, and a murder mystery. Add in a detective who is as witty as Nick Charles, especially with poetry, tough as Mike Hammer, and as smart as Nero Wolfe, and like Wolfe likes his comforts. Joshua Reynolds in The Flower Path: A Legend of the Five Rings Novel continues the adventures and investigations of Daidoji Shin, set in the world of Rokugan.
Opening night at the Foxfire Theatre has brought the rich, powerful and the common to see and to be seen at the premiere social event of the season. Everything has been designed and planned by Daidoji Shin, representative of the Crane Clan in the City of the Rich Frog, from the theater to the famous actress to lead the troupe he is the patron of. Friends, foes and possible future enemies have gathered to bask in Shin's success or chuckle as he fails. Within moments of the first act, his star has fallen possibly poisoned and Shin has only until the play is over to find the culprit and redeem his theatre's honour. However not all the acting is happening onstage, as friends have secrets, and many will break more than a leg to keep them hidden away.
This book was fun with a capital I can't believe an editor let Mr. Reynolds write this. A backstage play murder mystery played slightly farcical, in a book based on a role-playing game. This was great. The mystery was played fair, with plenty of clues, a bit of foreshadowing, and it made sense. The characters, even the minor ones are hopefully going to be in future books, as each one was different, and yet well-developed. Shin himself is intriguing and growing in different ways as each adventure passes, with more layers added, and depth for himself and his companions.
This is the fourth book that I have read by Mr. Reynolds and continue to be impressed by what he does and how he never copies himself, no matter what genre he writes in. Each book is not only different, but you can tell he enjoyed writing it, and passes that feeling to the reader. Recommended for well everyone. Mystery fans, fantasy fans, theater fans. Role-playing fans. Humans.
June 11, 2022
This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review from Aconyte Books via Netgalley.
First of all, I didn't like the fact that Kasami was stuck protecting a door. I really wanted to see more of her. Hopefully in more Books to come.
The story opens in the Three Flower Path theatre opening night where Lord Shin, a crane, is gearing up his troupe for their first performance that Hopefully would change their fortune and fill their accounts with more gold.
But as soon as the first performance starts, the lead actress collapses and Lord Shin suspects there's a foul play at work. Now, our amateur detective accompanied by his grumpy bodyguard, Kasami must uncover whatever plot is at play before the end of the opening performance.
Plot:
Being the first book in the series I'm reading, I didn’t get lost trying to understand stuff. The setting was clear and easy to follow. I liked how Josh Reynolds used Flash backs from the previous stories so anyone reading this particular book would not be confused.
Being a crime thriller book, i liked how it wasn't easy to figure out the plot until the last pages of the story. I mean you'd suspect everyone, trying to play out your Sherlock Holmes skills but you wouldn't come close because Josh withholds the plot twist. I liked how the plot twists was introduced.
Characters:
Lord Shin is this character that radiates calmness even when bad things happen. I mean he was literally trapped in a burning tower and he literally stayed calm. There's so much layer to Lord Shin and I have to read other books to understand him better.
Kasami: I am vexed that they left her at the door. I really liked her character being a grumpy bodyguard that didn't care too much what people thought about her.
Overall:
I enjoyed this book. It has the right amount of everything and it's a fast paced story so can finish it in a day. The characters are dramatic honestly. It's a drama about actors, Lords, and understudied trying to uncover a murder attempt.
First of all, I didn't like the fact that Kasami was stuck protecting a door. I really wanted to see more of her. Hopefully in more Books to come.
The story opens in the Three Flower Path theatre opening night where Lord Shin, a crane, is gearing up his troupe for their first performance that Hopefully would change their fortune and fill their accounts with more gold.
But as soon as the first performance starts, the lead actress collapses and Lord Shin suspects there's a foul play at work. Now, our amateur detective accompanied by his grumpy bodyguard, Kasami must uncover whatever plot is at play before the end of the opening performance.
Plot:
Being the first book in the series I'm reading, I didn’t get lost trying to understand stuff. The setting was clear and easy to follow. I liked how Josh Reynolds used Flash backs from the previous stories so anyone reading this particular book would not be confused.
Being a crime thriller book, i liked how it wasn't easy to figure out the plot until the last pages of the story. I mean you'd suspect everyone, trying to play out your Sherlock Holmes skills but you wouldn't come close because Josh withholds the plot twist. I liked how the plot twists was introduced.
Characters:
Lord Shin is this character that radiates calmness even when bad things happen. I mean he was literally trapped in a burning tower and he literally stayed calm. There's so much layer to Lord Shin and I have to read other books to understand him better.
Kasami: I am vexed that they left her at the door. I really liked her character being a grumpy bodyguard that didn't care too much what people thought about her.
Overall:
I enjoyed this book. It has the right amount of everything and it's a fast paced story so can finish it in a day. The characters are dramatic honestly. It's a drama about actors, Lords, and understudied trying to uncover a murder attempt.
June 12, 2025
Daidoji Shin's theater is finally opening and he has invited all the best people to attend the opening performance. The former star actress has left the city, so Shin has hired a new star, who is not a nice person. During the first performance, there is a murder, which must be solved before the end of the play to prevent a great loss of prestige for the theater.
Investigating a murder whose existence can't be admitted, whose suspects are a mix of actors who are trained to present a false face and political powers who can't be insulted with impunity, and which must be solved in a limited time is a tightrope walk. And on the floor below that tightrope is a Crane clan auditor just waiting for a a fall. Reynolds walks that tightrope very well.
The mystery is entertaining and the resolution is satisfying, though the denouement is a bit disappointing. The various characters are drawn well, and we get to see members of several different clans deeply involved in the mystery.
Functionally, this is a traditional mystery, with a limited selection of suspects, and it's done very well. Recommended.
Investigating a murder whose existence can't be admitted, whose suspects are a mix of actors who are trained to present a false face and political powers who can't be insulted with impunity, and which must be solved in a limited time is a tightrope walk. And on the floor below that tightrope is a Crane clan auditor just waiting for a a fall. Reynolds walks that tightrope very well.
The mystery is entertaining and the resolution is satisfying, though the denouement is a bit disappointing. The various characters are drawn well, and we get to see members of several different clans deeply involved in the mystery.
Functionally, this is a traditional mystery, with a limited selection of suspects, and it's done very well. Recommended.
June 24, 2023
The Daidoji Shin novels are so far my favorite ones set within the Lo5r universe. The mystery and political machinations work perfectly, and Joshua Reynolds' smooth and easy prose make the books go by quick. In a world full of magic and samurai, it would be easy to mess up a mystery book by infusing too much otherworldly elements into it, but I have yet to feel cheated by the reveal.
This time around the story takes place within Shin's recently built theatre. It's opening night, and when things go wrong, he has to race against time to solve the mystery before the night is over. As such, we get a closer look at the troupe than we have before, with several having standout characterization.
With layers of the mystery unfolding along the way, it wasn't until 3/4 of the way in that I began to realize what had happened, and not until just a bit before the reveal that my suspicions coalesced into certainty. As with any good mystery, I was kicking myself in retrospect for not having figured it out sooner.
This time around the story takes place within Shin's recently built theatre. It's opening night, and when things go wrong, he has to race against time to solve the mystery before the night is over. As such, we get a closer look at the troupe than we have before, with several having standout characterization.
With layers of the mystery unfolding along the way, it wasn't until 3/4 of the way in that I began to realize what had happened, and not until just a bit before the reveal that my suspicions coalesced into certainty. As with any good mystery, I was kicking myself in retrospect for not having figured it out sooner.
May 6, 2024
Description: 2023. Extraordinary detective Daidoji Shin returns, in a wonderful locked-room murder mystery like no other, in this lively novel from the epic fantasy world of Legend of the Five Rings. Opening night at the Foxfire Theater is set to be a huge success for Daidoji Shin, amateur detective turned theater impresario. The City of the Rich Frog's leading lights are all there, but even as the performance begins, the Three Flower Troupe's new lead actress is found dead backstage--and everyone in the venue is a potential suspect.
Review: A classic who-done-it mystery set within the theater confines. A slight shift from the previous novels where Shin takes on complicated schemes bound within broader consipiracies. The mystery is not a locked room one but rather a choice between a series of likely candidates. Another engaging read.
Rating: 4.3/5
Review: A classic who-done-it mystery set within the theater confines. A slight shift from the previous novels where Shin takes on complicated schemes bound within broader consipiracies. The mystery is not a locked room one but rather a choice between a series of likely candidates. Another engaging read.
Rating: 4.3/5
May 19, 2023
In contrast to previous Daidoji Shin novels, this one takes place over the course of one evening rather than a few weeks. The lead actress dies on stage and she seems to have annoyed everyone so there are no shortage of suspects. It’s up to Shin to work out what happened so that his theatre’s reputation is saved on opening night.
If you’ve not read any of the other Shin novels, everything is explained. If you’ve never read/heard of the Legend of Five Rings, everything is explained. If “fantasy” isn’t your thing, this is a murder mystery with the only fantasy being the Japan-esque setting rather than being historical murder mystery.
Another good read for an evening or two - recommended.
If you’ve not read any of the other Shin novels, everything is explained. If you’ve never read/heard of the Legend of Five Rings, everything is explained. If “fantasy” isn’t your thing, this is a murder mystery with the only fantasy being the Japan-esque setting rather than being historical murder mystery.
Another good read for an evening or two - recommended.
March 31, 2022
Sherlock Holmes knockoffs are a dime a dozen, but in Doji Shin Reynolds has taken the "brilliant detective" trope and thrown it into the rich world of rokugan and created a really great new spin on it. The seemingly useless doji is a compelling, charming, entertaining lead, surrounded by a great cast of characters. The series has been building in strength since the first book, and it really comes together in this third volume. A strong recommend as a fan of both the old and new l5r worlds, and well written samurai stories in general.
March 1, 2024
Me ha encantado esta novela porque al fin vemos a hno de los clanes más famosos de Rokugan, a los escorpiones
En esta ocasión se escapa un poco de las investigaciones que hacia previamente y que duraban semanas a una que tiene un tiempo determinado para encontrar al culpable o escapará para siempre.
El tiempo nos viene dado a lo largo del libro por lo que dura la representación de una obra de teatro y cuyo culpable está dentro del propio teatro y en el momento que la obra termine y abran las puertas el culpable huirá sin mirar atrás
Sigue habiendo todo el tema del honor tan presente siempre en este universo, xo mostrándonos a personajes secundarios que aparecían en otras obras y que poco a poco van cogiendo mas protagonismo
La mejor hasta el momento
⭐️4,5/5⭐️
En esta ocasión se escapa un poco de las investigaciones que hacia previamente y que duraban semanas a una que tiene un tiempo determinado para encontrar al culpable o escapará para siempre.
El tiempo nos viene dado a lo largo del libro por lo que dura la representación de una obra de teatro y cuyo culpable está dentro del propio teatro y en el momento que la obra termine y abran las puertas el culpable huirá sin mirar atrás
Sigue habiendo todo el tema del honor tan presente siempre en este universo, xo mostrándonos a personajes secundarios que aparecían en otras obras y que poco a poco van cogiendo mas protagonismo
La mejor hasta el momento
⭐️4,5/5⭐️
July 17, 2022
A brilliant murder mystery. The murder takes place during the play and the murderer must be discovered before the play is completed. Lots of great dialogue and political intrigue in this novel. And a few red herrings to throw you off the scent for a while, but enough clues for the reader to figure out the culprit a bit before the protagonist (therefore allowing the reader to feel like they are a brilliant detective).
March 13, 2022
ARC Copy...Even though I am not super familiar with the world of Five Ring, I still enjoyed the story as an Asian inspired read. However I still familiar with the clans and liked the unfolding mystery does highlight the clan social + political workings (especially when Scorpion is involved).
March 25, 2022
A well written fantasy with a compelling storyline, well developed charcaters and excellent world building. I havent read any previous books set in Five Rings but I will definitely be looking for more now.
July 15, 2023
So last weekend I caught up with One of my favourite investigators for another mystery.
I gave it five stars, and enjoyed every moment. I guessed the importance of one clue, but that wasn’t enough to guess who did it!
Awesome work, Josh Reynolds.
I gave it five stars, and enjoyed every moment. I guessed the importance of one clue, but that wasn’t enough to guess who did it!
Awesome work, Josh Reynolds.
February 2, 2024
I’ve read the other Daidoji Shin novels and really enjoyed them. This one was fun and interesting and I really enjoy Shin and his long suffering bodyguard. I can’t wait to start the next one. I log reading good tie in novels for games that I enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews