Free (Kindle) Dead Blossoms by Richard Monaco [16th C Feudal Japan Fantasy w/Mystery]

[ATDrake]

Dead Blossoms: The Third Geisha by Richard Monaco (ISFDB), a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, is his apparently standalone historical fantasy novel with strong mystery elements set in 16th century feudal Japan, starring a ronin who also claims to be a ninja, who finds himself being hired by a nobleman to investigate the mysterious disappearance of another's daughter, undertaking a journey in pursuit of uncovering the terrible truth behind it, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press' Venture imprint.

This was originally self-published in 2012 by by the author himself, via the Lulu Press printing service. Apparently this may have very mild sfnal elements compared to the rest, since nothing overtly fantastical is mentioned in the blurb or the immediately apparent customer reviews (a few of which liken this to James Clavell's Shōgun, if you happened to enjoy that), but it's still filed under several Amazon categories for Fantasy. YMMV.

Currently free @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and pretty much everywhere else Amazon sells worldwide, since this is being done via their KDP Select exclusive-or-else program)

Description
16th Century Japan

A civil war has left the nation in tatters…

Jiro Tazeko is a ronin samurai – tied to no clan and scorned by many. A hard-drinking mercenary and master swordsman, he is looked down upon by his fellow samurai, thinking him without honor.

Tazeko also claims to be trained as a ninja, shadowy fighters with no pedigree and no honor, lowering him even further in the eyes of his peers.

Now, Tazeko is hired by a lord to investigate the disappearance of a noblewoman, another lord’s daughter.

What follows is a gripping mystery, steeped in blood and tense drama as Tazeko journeys throughout Japan to uncover the dark and terrible truth behind this woman’s disappearance.

Soon, this samurai finds himself in the midst of a never-ending political plot as many lords manoeuvre for power throughout feudal Japan.

Master of the sword and relentless detective, Tazeko must pursue the truth at great cost – not only to himself, but to all players in the game who will suffer as truth comes to light and deadly games are played.

Dead Blossoms is an enchanting tale of mystery and honor set in feudal Japan.