of her first novel, Shinju, in 1994, New York Times
critic and historian F. G. Notehelfer expresses his
“crotchety” chagrin at seeing the sprinkling of
historical inconsistencies that mar this “exciting”
debut work and likens the feeling to “seeing wrist-
watches on actors in bad historical films.” Despite
his mild misgivings, Notehelfer celebrates Row-
land’s skill and talent and predicts a flourishing
series. He quotes Sano, the warrior/academic who
became second-in-command to the shogun: “No
matter what these men thought, a tutor and his-
tory scholar had plenty of useful skills!” Certainly
the reading public has agreed.
Rowland’s whodunits embroil Sano and Lady
Reiko in tumultuous and often grisly machina-
tions of court politics and loyalties. Sano remains
the moral center of the series, steadfast in his be-
lief in honor, despite the ambiguities lurking in
his ever-stalwart, ever-penetrating, and always
dangerous quest for the truth. Medieval Edo pro-
vides a convincingly fraught social backdrop for
Rowland’s interlocking themes: personal and po-
litical power, love and duty, individuality and con-
formity, gender roles, and class. Ritual practices,
court corruptions, and the rigidly ordered caste
system of old Japan form the intricacies of the
plots. Central to Shinju—which was nominated
as best first novel for the prestigious Anthony
Award—is the “double love suicide” of the title.
Bundori (1996) refers to the public display of en-
emies’ severed heads as war trophies. The Way of
the Traitor (1997) explores bushido, the warrior’s
code, and the influence of Western contact on
this closed society. Rowland makes thrilling use
of obscure period details and almost Gothically
charged locales: a strategically placed poisoned
tattoo in The Concubine’s Tattoo (1998); kiai, the
scream that can kill, in The Samurai’s Wife (2000);
a mysterious sect in Black Lotus (2001); the world
of the courtesans in The Pillow Book of Lady Wis-
teria (2002); the island haunt of the villain in The
Dragon King’s Palace (2003). The Perfumed Sleeve
(2004) is rife with unsavory sexual exploits, and in
The Assassin’s Touch (2005), a warrior is killed by a
dim-mak, a ritually exact wound to the head. The
Red Chrysanthemum, published in the fall of 2006,
continues Rowland’s arrestingly entertaining ex-
amination of good and evil. Rowland has also con-
tributed stories to three well-received anthologies,
Crime through Time II (1998), More Murder, They
Wrote (1999), and Chronicles of Crime (1999). Her
prolific output is made possible by exceptionally
disciplined work habits and an unflagging devo-
tion to her readers, characters, and craft.Bibliography
D’Haen, Theo. “Samurai Sleuths and Detective
Daughters: The American Way.” In Sleuthing Eth-
nicity: The Detective in Multiethnic Crime Fiction,
edited by Dorothea Fischer-Hornung and Monika
Mueller, 36–52. Madison/Teaneck, N.J.: Fairleigh
Dickinson University Press, 2003.
Notehelfer, F. G. “An Old Japanese Custom: Ichiro
Sano, Detective, Investigates an Apparent Joint
Suicide in 17th Century Edo.” New York Times
Book Review, October 9, 1994, p. BR11.
Rowland, Laura Joh. The Assassin’s Touch. New York:
St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2005.
———. The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria. New York:
St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2002.
———. Shinju. New York: Random House, 1994.
———. The Way of the Traitor. New York: Villard
Books, 1997.
Kate FalveyRyan, Teresa LeYung (?– )
Teresa LeYung Ryan is a Chinese-American fiction
writer, motivational speaker, and community ac-
tivist in the San Francisco Bay area. Ryan credits
her encounters as a teenager with the novels of
Emily Brontë and Lillian Hellman for providing
her with the initial foundation for being able to
appreciate the art of writing and helping her to re-
alize her own literary ambitions. Despite her early
love of literature and storytelling, it was not until
she read MAXINE HONG KINGSTON’s memoir The
WOMAN WARRIOR in 1990 that Ryan truly began to
develop her literary voice and undertake writing
her first novel. Ryan drew from her own experi-
ences as a woman, daughter, and Chinese Ameri-
can for her debut novel, Love Made of Heart (2002).
Since the publication of Love Made of Heart, RyanRyan, Teresa LeYung 255