Sano Ichiro, the Shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, has his doubts about the partnership that he and his spirited new wife, Reiko, have forged: While he recognizes that her help on his cases can be invaluable, he sometimes longs for a more traditional wife. Still, when a botched case and the resulting loss of face send Sano to the Imperial city to find a killer whose methods are as terrifying as they are elusive, he needs the talents of his wife more than ever to infiltrate the emperor's inner circle.

Rowland's series "positively smokes with historical atmospherics" (Publishers Weekly), and The Samurai's Wife is her most intricate and compelling novel to date.