BOOK LOOK: Laura Joh Rowland "The Snow Empress"



SOURCE: Barnes & Noble


I went to Barnes & Noble on Saturday night to buy "The Cocktail Handbook: Cool Drinks from Hawai'i's Hottest Bartenders" from Jesse Greenleaf and Amie Fujiwara as a gift for a friend.  What started out as an altruistic trip turned out to be a shopping trip for me.  Oh bother.

I am a big fan of Laura Joh Rowland's San Ichiro series.  Ever since I read "The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria," I've been hooked.  That first read caused me to read the books that followed as well as the books that preceeded.  Perhaps it is my Asian History background that attracts me so much to these books, or it is the intriguing mystery plots that suck me in, but I am a huge fan.

The San Ichiro series is set during the Tokugawa period (17th-century) in Japan and San Ichiro is a samurai detective for the Shogun who, along with his wife Reiko, investigates murders within the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Laura Joh Rowland is fantastic at weaving in period culture and history within each of her fictional mysteries.  I can never figure out the mystery until the end.

Like I said, I wasn't planning on buying any books for myself, but since I was already in the bookstore, I figured that I should browse around and see what else was available.  I ended up in the Mystery Novels section and found "The Snow Empress," which is the 12th book in the San Ichiro series.  Along with my new (at least for me) San Ichiro installment, I also bought:

• "Lipstick Jungle" by Candace Bushnell
• "Trading Up" by Candace Bushnell

I recently finished "One Fifth Avenue" by Bushnell and thought it was a fun and easy read.  Bushnell is also the author of "Sex and the City."  After reading "One Fifth Avenue," I was interested in reading more of her books.

So, with the cocktail book, one Laura Joh Rowland mystery, and two Candace Bushnell reads, I was out approximately $55.  Oh well, at least I am stocked up on reading material for a while.  I can't wait to start "The Snow Empress" soon!