The Cloud Pavilion, Paperback

Publishers Weekly calls Laura Joh Rowland's The Cloud Pavilion "One of the best mysteries of the year.

Japan, 1701. A terrified woman is brutally attacked amid a swirling storm of clouds. Meanwhile, at Edo Castle, samurai detective turned chamberlain, Sano Ichiro, is suspicious of his old rival, Yanagisawa, who has been oddly cooperative since returning from exile. But just as Yanagisawa's true motives begin to emerge, Sano's estranged uncle comes to him for help: His daughter has disappeared, and he begs Sano and his wife, Reiko--who once suffered through the kidnapping of their own son--to find her before it is too late.

Laura Joh Rowland is the author of thirteen previous Sano Ichiro thrillers, including The Fire Kimono that was named one of the Wall Street Journal's Five Best Historical Mystery Novels.