Death of a Doll Maker

An unexpected and dubious promotion sends Akitada to Kyushu, an outpost where illegal trade with China breeds treason and murder. Leaving behind his family, he faces obstruction and hostility at his new post and learns his predecessor, a man of expensive tastes, has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. As Tora and Saburo delve into the underworld of Hakata, Akitada tracks a ruthless traitor. The brutal murder of the Chinese wife of a doll maker sets into motion events that leave a trail of bodies. Worse, as the number of unexplained deaths mounts, Tora also disappears. Untangling the skeins of intrigue, Akitada follows leads from the seductive attention of a beautiful courtesan to the secretive business world of Chinatown and discovers that doing his duty has an even higher price than expected.About the AuthorI.J. Parker was born and educated in Europe and turned to mystery writing after an academic career in the U.S. She published her short stories in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, winning the short story Shamus award in 2000. The Akitada novels, a series about an eleventh century Japanese nobleman/detective, now consists of ten titles, with an eleventh to be released soon. The books are available in print, audio, and electronic formats. They have been translated into twelve languages. The short stories are available in electronic format. I.J. Parker is also the author of several historical novels set during the Heike Wars in twelfth century Japan, and of a historical thriller set in eighteenth century Europe.