Review of Claws of the Cat by Susan Spann

I love books that take me to a time and place I know little about and then make that setting utterly real to me. When the author also spins a mystery that won’t let go of me, then I’ve found a great read: Susan Spann’s Claws of the Cat. Spann takes us to Japan during the period of samurais and limited contact with the West. Her two “sleuths” are a most unlikely pair. Hiro, a shinobi assassin (think ninjas for the most part), is living undercover as the protector of Father Mateo, a Jesuit priest who has come to Japan to make converts. Interestingly, in many ways Japan has converted Father Mateo. To the disgust of the only other Westerner we encounter, Father Mateo has “gone native.” Hiro’s honor, and hence his life, depend on keeping Mateo alive and well. He’s been sent on this mission against his will originally, but these two are fast becoming a true partnership of intelligent, quirky friends in pursuit of justice.
Unfortunately for Hiro, Mateo views his duties to his new flock as more important than his life. When a samurai is found brutally murdered and everyone identifies the killer as a young woman entertainer whom Father Mateo has converted to the “foreign religion” and whose innocence he insists on proving, things get very dicey indeed. Apparently the son of the victim has the perfect right to avenge his father’s death by slaughtering the supposed killer, and once the priest stands up for the accused, the son decides Mateo’s life should be forfeit also. Two days are all Hiro has to find the real killer and save Mateo—and he’s not convinced it isn’t the woman after all.
The politics of the Shogunate, family dynamics, religious beliefs, the role of women in Japan (and a renegade or two just to keep things especially intriguing), Zen meditation, the differing world views of East and West—this entertaining book will fool you with the range of ideas it covers. Spann’s depth of knowledge about Japanese history and culture shines through with great authority and I enjoyed the insights she gave me. Don’t you love getting a painless education while indulging in the best escape of all—a good book? Pick up this book for a read you won’t be able to put down.