When a bushi is murdered in the city of Hisatu-Kesu in Unicorn lands, a friend of Daidoji Shin’s asks him to investigate despite the killer having been captured. As simple as the case seems on the surface, tensions bubble between two noble families and could easily boil over into outright war depending on the outcome of Shin’s investigation. The outcome of Shin’s investigation and the machinations of a mysterious sect operating in the background of Hisatu-Kesu. With an obvious culprit’s life on the line, an old friend begrudgingly helping him, and the aid of his ever put-uppon bodyguard Kasami, Daidoji Shin will certainly have his work cut out for him.

Josh Reynolds’ second Daidoji Shin Mystery, Death’s Kiss, feels very like a book that is setting up for the rest of the series and loses something for that. Part of that is, of course, due to the inevitable comparison to Poison River, the previous book, as well as the need to put things in place for later plots and the mystery aspect feeling played down.

Much of the mystery in Death’s Kiss is focused in less on what happened so much as why it happened. Why was Gen, the murder victim, drunkenly berating his fiance in public? Why would some one want to sow discord between the Zeshi and Shiko families, when the marriage between Zeshi Ami and Shiko Gen would have ended their conflict and benefited Hisatu-Kesu? The killer actually keeps insisting that she should be allowed to just go ahead and do herself in because that is what Rokugani justice demands of her. Shin is the one insisting that more digging needs to be done and that is, initially, more because he had been asked to look further into it than anything else. That his initial looking into it pulls up greater mystery piques his interest and leads him to trying to figure out the deeper workings that lead to the attack in the first place. It is a good look for Shin and for his frustrated former friend the magistrate Batu, who would just as soon be done with the case if not for his superiors in the Unicorn clan having sent Shin in the first place.

I confess, I liked Batu a lot. He’s as put upon by Shin’s antics as Kasami, but with a more even social standing and more shared history. Batu wants to keep the peace. Wants to do his duty to his clan and get the situation solved without leading to more trouble between the Zeshi and the Shiko. But then he has Shin staying in his house, annoying him about their past, and insisting that there has to be something deeper to the situation in Hisatu-Kesu. And the thing is, Batu knows there has to be more to it and is willing to listen to Shin despite himself. It makes him feel good as a character as well as giving us someone for Shin to play off of who is as well educated as he is as well as nearly as well read.

Less fun, though still quite interesting, were the Iron Sect, a group of merchants and commoners angered at their place in the world and striving to overthrow the nobles and even the kami who have placed them there. The Iron Sect feels very like the sort of group that I would agree with, but then they have to be antagonists and the protagonist as well as most of the side characters are nobles, so they come across as simultaneously overly villainous and yet not nearly as effective as it feels like they should have been for as involved in background events as they were. So the Iron Sect feel like they will be important going forward, but not as much like a threat as they perhaps should have been for this novel. Your mileage may vary on that, of course, but I think I would have liked to see them more active.

Overall, I find that I do not think that Death’s Kiss is as good a book as Poison River. But it is still an enjoyable read and it does an admirable job of putting things in place for later Daidoji Shin Mysteries. I feel like that earns it a four out of five. Reynolds is an entertaining writer and I want to see where the series goes.

I very much enjoyed the second Daidoji Shin mystery. This mode of storytelling is so classic, but the setting gives it new life. The city it takes place in is very interesting, and Mr. Reynolds infuses his story with great humor and colorful characters with witty dialogue. For those who know L5R, you'll be very interested in his take on social dynamics between the classes as this Crane noble visits with the Unicorn clan.

“This is perhaps the most idiotic thing you have ever done,” Kasami said. Shin nodded cheerfully.

“Yet,” he corrected, “that I have done yet”

Daidoji Shin and his longsuffering bodyguard, Hiramori Kasami are back for another adventure in Josh Reynolds’ Death’s Kiss, the latest Legend of the Five Rings novel from Aconyte books.

For anyone who hasn’t read Poison River, Daidoji Shin is a nobleman who never ceases to be a disappointment to his relatives. Despite coming from one of the great families of the Crane Clan, he is an idle layabout, perpetually bored, and failing to follow the courtly manners and protocols that govern decorum in Rokugan. Quietly shuffled away to the City of the Rich Frog, he managed to make himself unexpectedly useful in his first outing for Aconyte, when solving the surprisingly complicated case surrounding a poisoned rice shipment that had put provincial factions from 3 of the Empire’s Great Clans on the brink of war. It turns out that beneath the feckless exterior, Shin possesses a keen mind, honed by many, many books read to while away the hours: add to that his willingness to put noses out of joint by asking impolite questions, temper it with just enough learned from the lessons given to all young Samurai to keep himself alive, and the young Crane has ended up with a level of aptitude for untangling mysteries that few would have predicted.

Following (And disapproving of) Shin’s every step is Kasami, his Yojimbo (bodyguard). Having initially felt honoured to be assigned to a crane of such noble birth, Kasami quickly became disillusioned by Shin, and now spends most of her time trying to talk him out of whatever it is he’s gotten into his head to attempt next. Despite her constant grumbles, and the ever-present worry that Shin is going to get himself into something that Kasami cannot get him out of, there seems to be genuine affection beneath the frustration she shows with her master, and you get the impression that it would be more than simple shame at failing in her duty if she did fail to keep him safe.

Picking up a little while after the events of Poison River, Death’s Kiss sees Shin asked by an acquaintance from the Unicorn clan (a minor character from the first tale), to go and investigate a murder that has taken place within her family’s territory. Two minor merchant families, both vassals of the Unicorn, have been at each other’s throats for months, if not years, but peace had seemed on the horizon with an upcoming marriage alliance… right up until the groom confronted his bride-to-be in the street, and her Yojimbo cut him down dead! Now, the Yojimbo sits in prison, and only the intervention of Shin stands between her and execution. Most people involved seem convinced that allowing the execution to go ahead, and quickly too, is the best way for normality to reassert itself, but Shin has no intention of allowing that to happen if he can help it.


Travelling upriver from his home, Shin finds himself in Hisatu-Kesu, a town of ill-repute, where law and order sit on a constant knife-edge: it seems to be accepted (if not necessarily acknowledged) by most that many aspects of life in the city lie under the control of local crime lord “Honesty Sama.”

An interesting additional ripple for Shin to consider, is Batu, the provincial magistrate, and an erstwhile acquaintance of his. Batu paints an interesting contrast with Shin: both have practical insight and nous that is sometimes overlooked by outsiders, but where Shin seems happy to use an “accidental” faux pas as an ice-breaker, Batu is heavily constrained by his position, trying to balance maintaining authority with the knowledge that he lacks the resources to trouble the crime-lords who truly rule his city

Death’s Kiss felt like a real step up from Poison River (which was a pretty good book to begin with). Having established his central characters, Reynolds inserts them into a rather more complex situation: a seemingly simple provincial dispute that could actually have huge implications for the fate of the entire empire. Beyond the bickering nobles and jostling merchants, another force moves, unseen, determined to upend the central ideas on which imperial society is based.

I also liked the way that Death’s Kiss added another (minor) character to provide us with an added element of contrast for Kasami. Katai Ruri, perpetrator of the murder which sets the events of the novel in motion is also a Yojimbo, but where Kasami’s loyalty is unflinching to the Crane, Ruri is a Ronin – a Samurai who had already broken the ties with her clan, and become a wandering figure without allegiance, long before she wound up in jail for murder. In a society like Rokugan where Honour is so paramount, the very fact that Ruri has not ended her own life is a mystery to Kasami – albeit a mystery in which Shin is able to find further clues to unravel the greater puzzle.

Whilst Death’s Kiss starts out as a story of two antagonistic families of Unicorn and one meddling Crane trying to untangle the situation, it soon becomes apparent to the reader that there is at least one more interested party, manipulating events from behind the scenes. I don’t want to spoil the details, but I really liked the character of Emiko: she’s an interesting figure in her own right, as well as introducing a group who have a lot to say about the general order of things in Rokugan, in a way that is quite resonant for contemporary life.

All-in-all, I really enjoyed Death’s Kiss – it’s obviously one to read after Poison River, but it’s an entertaining story, which starts to hint at bigger things to come. I’ll admit to being fooled by the twist until very late on, but even if you manage to guess where the plot is going, it’s an entertaining journey to follow along. The main cast continue to develop and new figures are added with the continuing levels of diversity that we’ve come to expect from an Aconyte story. Unlike the first story, Death’s Kiss doesn’t conclude with a “Daidoji Shin will return in…” but I hope we see him again soon, and that the full consequences of the deal he was forced to make this time around will be properly realised…

Son of Crane, sleuth extraordinaire!

Delving once more into the feudal fantasy world of the Five Rings, the realm of Rokugan, it’s a pleasure to follow the exploits of one of my favorite sleuths, Daidogi Shin, nobleman from the House of Cranes, and amateur detective!
The one great rule this society adheres to, “Uphold your honor, lest you lose everything in pursuit of glory.”
I love the voice of Shin—languid, biting, self deprecating—he slays me with his many humorous lines. Like his opinion of horse riding, “While he could ride a horse as well as any bushi, he found them largely disagreeable beasts, prone to biting and bouts of flatulence. Much like some samurai he could name.”
In many ways Shin reminds me of the universal trickster, although things do have a habit of backfiring on him. Or maybe it’s just that new possibilities open up to him? Without a doubt Shin does see more than others comprehend. He’s the bane of his bodyguard/ samurai Kasami’s life. Forever going his own way.
Slightly bored with restoring his newly acquired theatre, Shin doesn’t deliberate for too long when the request comes to solve a murder. Hmm! No prizes for guessing what this seemingly flighty son of the Crane chooses!
Shin undertakes a journey to the city of Hisatu-Kesu, in the mountain areas of the Unicorn lands. He goes as an investigator at the behest of a Unicorn representative known to him, the Lady Iuchi Konomi. It seems a devoted yojimbo (bodyguard), Katai Ruri, has killed her mistress’s fiancé. Death of the ronin is called for. Her mistress Zeshi Aimi has delayed the penalty hoping Shin can turn the tide.
Shin finds that an old friend, Iuchi Batu, is the clan magistrate. They have history...and then some. The atmosphere in the city is tense. Mysteries underlie mysteries. Leading Shin to question who might be orchestrating the situation? Who gains what? Looking for the power balances.
The solving of the situation is somewhat harrowing, bringing to bear all of Shin’s Holmesian like capabilities and insights.
Shin leaves with a debt owed, albeit at a time and place of his choosing. The future beckons! I’m left feeling like Oliver with my metaphorical bowl outstretched, “Please sir, I want some more!”

An Aconyte Books ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change

“Death’s Kiss” by Joshua Reynolds is the second book in “A Daidoji Shin Mystery” series based in the world from “Legend of the Five Rings”. I enjoyed the first novel in the series and was waiting eagerly to meet with a witty Crane again.
The story starts a few months after the conclusion of the investigation from “Poison River.” Shin is busy rebuilding the Foxfire Theatre, but deep down, he is already bored with his newest undertaking. When a friend from the Unicorn Clan asks him for a favour, he is more than happy to travel into a distant city of Hisatu-Kesu to investigate a murder case. What seems like an obvious, resolved incident turns out to be anything but.
The most vital point of the whole story is the protagonist and his witty conversations. We learn about the entire incident through Shin’s discussions with different witnesses and officials. These are always a pure joy to read – light, entertaining and spot-on. In this book, besides Kasami, whose long-suffering attitude is a perfect counterweight for expressive Shin, we also have a new character - Batu. He is a magistrate of the Hisatu-Kesu and is forced to work closely with Shin. Both men have a history of complicated and challenging friendship, and they didn’t part ways on good terms. Batu is initially very guarded and cautious around Shin, and his attitude is even more irritable than Kasami’s.
The murder mystery itself is not overly complicated. It involves many political intrigues, yes, but I missed a bit of mystery and surprise. It was easy to guess the foremost perpetrator half through the book, and there wasn’t a single ‘wow’ or ‘aha’ moment that would invoke any stronger emotions. There is one development in the story that would probably impact the following books hugely because to solve the case, Shin must entangle himself with people, whom he would rather not owe favours to.
I enjoyed the book mainly because it’s light and entertaining, and I love samurai-based settings. If you are looking for something easy to read without an overcomplex storyline and appreciate Japanese based fantasy, you should give it a shot.

This is the second book in the Legend of the Five Rings - A Daidoji Shin Mystery and can be read quite easily as a stand-alone. I really enjoyed following the characters as they unravelled the mystery set before them. I liked Daidoji Shin, our main character, he certainly was the star amongst some great supporting characters.

It is nice to read a book set in a non-western place - Japan. This gives us a chance to experience a different culture with different rules where samurais and swords abound. The prose and pacing by the author Josh Reynolds flow beautifully.

I would highly recommend this book and have become a fan of Josh Reynolds writing!

A Note From the Publisher
– Legend of the Five Rings is the popular, long-running game series of warring clans, magic, demons and samurai. – The land of Rokugan is a fantasy reworking of medieval Japanese society, fitting well into the growing trend for award-winning epic fantasy inspired by non-Western history and mythology. – The second in a new series starring Daidoji Shin, a charming hero in the mold of Sherlock Holmes, providing an appealing introduction to this deep and fascinating world.

Thank you to NetGalley & Aconyte Books for an advance copy.

After 2020’s fantastic Legend of the Five Rings novel Poison River, Josh Reynolds is back with the second ‘Daidoji Shin Mystery’ – Death’s Kiss, which is out now from Aconyte Books. Set a few months after the events of the first book, it finds Shin busy overseeing the renovation of the Foxfire Theatre, having purchased it for himself apparently out of boredom. When a friend in the Unicorn clan asks him to look into a murder in the mountain city of Hisatu-Kesu, Shin puts aside the work of managing the theatre’s finances and, accompanied as always by the long-suffering Kisami, sets out to investigate. The closer Shin looks into what seems on the surface to be a straightforward case, the more he comes to understand the political tensions in Hisatu-Kesu, and what the consequences could be if proceedings aren’t handled with care.

Shin’s life seems to be one endless attempt to stave off boredom, so while Kasami grumbles about his recklessness and local magistrate Batu – with whom Shin has an interesting history – despairs at his cavalier attitude towards politics and etiquette, he seems content to exercise his mind by working through the puzzle before him. For all his seemingly carefree attitude though, he understands what’s at stake. With the murder suspect in custody, in theory Rokugani justice is clear – a clanless ronin murdered a samurai from a prestigious family, so the punishment should be death. Never one to accept an obvious answer though, and with an eye on the strained politics of Hisatu-Kesu, Shin refuses to take the easy way out and instead digs into what lies behind the murder and who might benefit from it – much to the irritation of almost everyone else involved.

With the main characters already established there’s plenty of time to dig into some of what makes Rokugan such an interesting story setting, which in this case involves Shin’s exploration of a new city, and an emphasis on the justice system (such as it is) and its heavy weighting towards the noble classes. As this is Shin doing the exploration, he ends up blithely overturning cultural norms, subtly (or sometimes not subtly in the slightest) insulting fellow samurai and generally poking his nose where people would prefer he didn’t, all of which is entertaining and often drily hilarious. Hisatu-Kesu is a bit less cosmopolitan than the City of the Rich Frog, but the competing families who (supposedly) share its resources – not to mention a secretive cabal of troublemakers – make for a suitably tangled mixing pot of alliances and grudges. At times it’s a little tricky to keep track of the various families, who belongs to which one and what their goals are, but with a little patience it all makes sense and wraps up in an enjoyably satisfying way.

In a sense this is more of the same as Poison River – gentle verbal sparring between Shin and Kasami, an investigation consisting largely of pointed conversations with nobles desperate to manoeuvre events in their favour (most of whom find Shin deeply frustrating), and lots of sharp dialogue interspersed with occasional bursts of breathless action. When the characters are this good though, the dialogue this much fun and the setting this well depicted, more of the same is exactly what’s needed, and the familiarity only adds to the enjoyment of a story like this. It’s all relatively quiet and sedate, in keeping with its Golden Age influences, and there’s something nice about the juxtaposition of the comfortable, familiar pace and plot alongside the evocative fantasy world of Rokugan. Look elsewhere for a pacy, modern thrill-ride or a magic-laden fantasy adventure – but if you enjoyed Poison River, or you just fancy a wry and witty detective story, this is definitely worth investigating. Here’s hoping there’s plenty more from Shin and Kasami still to come!

Daidoji Shin is back, offering his services as detective to the Unicorn clan to resolve a dispute between forge families that could destabilize the entire clan if left unchecked. The marriage of Zeshi Ami and Shiko Gen would have put a stop to the feuding of their families, until Gen attacked Ami one night and was killed by her faithful yojimbo, R. Shin is asked by the Iuchi to investigate, though the Zeshi and the Shiko urge the execution of R and an end to the inquiry. Shin finds sabotage, crime, and the involvement of a secret group with implications for the rest of Rokugan. Shin gets more character development in this instalment, with his gambling habit and discomfort with yet casual use of his rank and status fleshed out further. Perfect for fans of the Legend of the Five Rings; those with no knowledge of the game or fiction will struggle to grasp some plot elements.

Death’s Kiss: A Daidoji Shin Mystery

Josh Reynolds

Aconyte Books

It’s always a joy to read any of the books published by Aconyte Books, given how slick and polished they are, and the fantastic roster of talented authors that the publisher has managed to gather together to develop the gaming and RPG properties they have access to, but I have to admit that I was particularly looking forward to Death’s Kiss from Josh Reynolds. Reynolds is one of my favourite authors thanks to his incredible writing skills, as well as his ability to create engaging, three-dimensional characters and attention-grabbing plots regardless of the setting that he’s writing in; and his first Daidoji Shin Mystery novel, Poison River, was one of the finest pieces of work I’ve ever encountered from him. I reviewed it here on the blog a few months ago, and found it to be a complex, compelling and fast-paced adventure with an engaging and multi-faceted protagonist in Crane Clan noble Daidoji Shin. Set in the demon-haunted world of Rokugan, from the popular Legend of the Five Rings role-playing game, Reynolds deftly blended together Clan-based politics and occult elements with a classic detective story to create a perfect introduction to both the game world, and Daidoji Shin, as the noble investigated the case of a shipment of poisoned rice that rapidly became a complex blend of politics and culture that led to a trail of bodies and a wide-ranging conspiracy. Populated with a suite of memorable and engaging characters imbued with Reynolds’ characteristic dry wit and perfectly-judged sense of black humour, Poison River was a hugely enjoyable read and I was delighted to see that the novel ended with the pronouncement that Shin would return in a second adventure. I was eager to see exactly what kind of situation Reynolds would throw the Kabuki Theatre-loving noble into this time, and dived into Death’s Kiss as soon as I could.

As Death’s Kiss opens, Daidoji Shin is supervising the rebuilding of the Foxfire Theatre, almost burnt to the ground by the events of Poison River, and now Shin’s property – along with the Kabuki troupe who perform there. It’s been some months since the fire, and the renovation has been long, costly and – most importantly – boring for Shin, who longs for some kind of distraction from watching labourers and trying to disentangle the theatre’s web of debt. Unfortunately, said distraction is a trade envoy from his Clan, and also his grandfather, demanding his attention and a detailed account of his finances. However, the arrival of Iuchi Konomi, noblewoman of the Unicorn clan and a general meddler in delicate affairs, suddenly drops a complex matter in Shin’s lap. Calling in a favour, she asks Shin to travel to the distant city of Hisatu Kesu – deep in Unicorn Clan territory – and investigate a murder. An arranged marriage between two vassal clans led to an argument between the betrothed, and the would-be husband being killed by the bodyguard of his fiancé; the Ronin then attempted to flee the city rather than commit ritual suicide as was demanded of her. Once again, in the murky world of Clan politics, a seemingly open-and-shut case rapidly becomes far more complex – and life-threatening – than Shin initially expects once he travels to the distant city.

Cleverly, Reynolds keeps the plot of the novel fresh by radically changing the location, the new city of Hisatu Kesu being distinctly different to the City of the Rich Frog; far more provincial and populated with characters far less polished, and as likely to kill rather than plot and scheme and blackmail their way out of trouble, it’s a setting where Shin can no longer be the confident, near-arrogant noble he was in the first novel. That’s even more apparent when it becomes clear that the local magistrate tasked with resolving the issue is openly hostile towards Shin thanks to their shared history, and that neither vassal family wants to see the other triumphant, making even the simplest of investigations almost impossible for the Crane Clan noble. The inclusion of a major crime lord trying to increase their control over the city, and a blind assassin representing a revolutionary group operating in the murky and dangerous back-alleys of Hisatu Kesu, only add to the complexities that Shin must try and overcome if the city – and region – is to be engulfed in chaos, innocents lose their lives, and the guilty get away without punishment. It’s a real escalation in the stakes for Shin, and Reynolds deals with it expertly, slowly but surely increasing political and cultural tensions around the noble in order to test the character and see how he deals with it while trying to ensure that some form of justice is done.

I haven’t had a chance to check whether Hisatu Kesu is part of the existing background setting for the role-playing game, or an original location for the novel; but regardless, Reynolds rapidly creates an authentic atmosphere that feels exactly in line with the strictures of the game. The city is a rougher and less polished location than the City of the Rich Frog, and also far more vibrant than the setting of the previous novel: perched on and around a mountain in order to exploit the hot springs that bubble just underneath the rocky surface, the city lacks the luxuries and resources to which Shin is accustomed. There’s also more than just hot springs under the surface – class and clan tensions churn away just as dangerously, and it rapidly becomes obvious that this city is a powder keg just waiting for a spark; this becomes clear even in the terrain itself, where the rich nobles live higher in the mountain, away from the filth and stench in the city itself where the peasantry are forced to reside, even having to put up pretty banners and lights for the nobles to see during the night. Reynolds has a deft eye for small, contextual details like this that add greatly to the weight of the plot, drawing the reader into the narrative, bringing them all together in order to make great use of those social and economic tensions to propel the story forwards.

Those tensions also come in the form of the complex political machinations between the two vassal families at the heart of the arranged marriage and murder, as well as the larger Clans trying to ensure that their conflict doesn’t erupt into open warfare and plunge the city into chaos. There are some interesting elements integrated into the plot about territorial rights and disputes over raw materials, which further enrichen the narrative; and the same with the comparison between the merchants, the nobles and the Hinin – the poor and the displaced who are the unseen and despised caste who also act as the lifeblood of the city. It’s a deeply fascinating element of the wider plot of the novel, and one that Reynolds artfully develops as the narrative unwinds; a number of seeds are planted by the end of the novel, and it would be a great disappointment if Reynolds was not given the opportunity to allow them to flourish, given how much potential that they have.

Finally, there’s a delightfully varied and engaging suite of characters in Death’s Kiss that really makes the novel a pleasure to follow, alongside the writing and plotting. There’s a returning group of characters from Poison River which act as Shin’s household: lethal, cynical bodyguard Kasami who acts as a helpful foil to some of Shin’s more impulsive schemes; the piratical Captain Lun, who delivers Shin to the new city; and incorrigible manservant Kitano, a likeable rogue who Shin uses to infiltrate gambling dens. Reynolds deftly builds up the web of relationships between them, rarely liking one another, but happy enough to serve a master more decent than most. They’re joined by new characters who help round out the narrative, like harassed city magistrate Iuchi Batu and his complex friendship with Shin; Zeshi Shijan, trying to balance the demands of his own clan with an attempt to prevent war with the Shiko; or the blind assassin Emiko who serves the revolutionary Iron Sect, an intriguing character with multiple layers to her that I hope to see appear in future Daidoji Shin stories. Shin himself continues to be a delightful protagonist to accompany through the novel, full of snarky comments and witty asides, as well as astute observations of the political and social elements of Rokugan society and the harsh stratification of the Clan system. A man who appears to be nothing more than a lazy dilettante is, in fact, someone in possession of an incredibly sharp mind and a determination – often to the point of stubbornness – to investigate injustice even if society and his equals – and betters – wish it otherwise.


Death’s Kiss is another brilliant Rokugan story from Josh Reynolds, a fast-paced, intricately-plotted and highly rewarding journey through the Legend of the Five Rings setting, in the company of a charming, debonair protagonist with hidden depths and a knack for witty dialogue and amusing asides. In Daidoji Shin, Reynolds has created the perfect protagonist to act as a guide into the world of the roleplaying game, deftly guiding the reader through the complex political and mythological elements of the Rokugan setting alongside a story that has the perfect blend of action, political intrigue and high drama. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that Daidoji Shin is by far the best protagonist to come out of the all of the Legend of the Five Rings titles published by Aconyte Books so far – and perhaps even all of the books published by Aconyte as a whole. I very much hope that Reynolds will be commissioned to write further stories featuring Daidoji Shin, because as Death’s Kiss so aptly demonstrates, Reynolds and Aconyte are a winning combination.

Death’s Kiss (by Josh Reynolds) is the second mystery novel featuring Daidoji Shin, Crane Clan “wastrel” turned detective. I air quote in there because Shin, although he’s presented as having a reputation as a layabout, he is socially adept, highly educated, and pretty decent with a sword, making him perhaps the most skilled “wastrel” in recent memory.

Death’s Kiss is the second appearance for Shin, who first showed up in Poison River, where he first made a foray into investigative work while serving as a trade envoy in the City of the Rich Frog. Both novels, of course, take place in the Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) universe, an Asian-fantasy-inspired world that’s been around for decades but has been getting a renewed fiction push lately. Poison River is not my favorite L5R book, because I’ve been around for those decades too and my favorite is going to be some deep cut from 25 years ago. But Poison River is probably the single best L5R book to just pick up and read.

Death’s Kiss mostly holds up to the standards of Poison River. Having hung out for a few months in the City of the Rich Frog, Shin (along with sidekicks Hiramori Kasami and Kitano Daichi) departs for Unicorn lands to investigate a murder mystery. Not so much the “who did it” part, but the why and what brought things to that point. Shin remains in some ways a fairly un-Rokugani citizen of Rokugan, most exemplified by a dedication to Truth in an empire that is generally focused on appearances. Shin winks at Rokugani sensibilities, using charm, utility, and social status to get away with not following the rules of polite society to the letter. That willingness to not shackle the character to a super-strict interpretation is part of why Death’s Kiss is very accessible. Reynolds has, however, had pulled back from Poison River’s almost total elimination of Japanese ‘jargon’ that usually fills Legend of the Five Rings fiction.

Shin’s investigation here remains quirky by the standards of the Emerald Empire, although there is more social sleuthing here as compared to Poison River, which was more about evidence discovery. In a way, then, it is more noir than Sherlock Holmes, with Shin pushing the right social buttons to get people to divulge information. Not that anyone could ever mistake Shin for Philip Marlowe. Death’s Kiss is a fun romp, keeping you interested from start to finish in both the characters and the mystery to be solved. The blizzard of suspects, friends, and rivals does make it a bit difficult to keep track of the cast, but not enough to significantly detract from the story.

Overall, I would heartily recommend Death’s Kiss. The book doesn’t rely on Poison River, so reading the first Daidoji Shin book is not necessary, although (unsurprisingly) you’re still better off reading them in order to get a better feel for where Shin and his sidekicks are coming from.

P.S. Some longtime Legend of the Five Rings fans will be delighted to know that some Kolat show up in Death’s Kiss, although the organization’s name is never used.

This is the second book in the "Daidoji Shin Mystery" series. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book ("Poison River") which introduced me to the "Legend of the Five Rings" world, so I had high expectations of "Death's Kiss" and it didn't disappoint. The writing continues to be of a very high standard, the characters are developed very well (it feels like I'm getting to know them even better), and the plot is as immersive as the first. More please!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Legend of the Five Rings book Death’s Kiss by Josh Reynolds, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am also friend with Josh on Facebook, however I am sure for him that’s more about connecting with fans rather than being one of my best buds, that said he is actually a really nice guy.

I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

So let’s crack on with a review then!

What is Legend of the Five Rings

L5R as it’s often known is a fantasy setting for a series of card games and RPGs originally published by AEG, but now taken care of by Fantasy Flight.

It’s set in the empire of Rokugan which is heavily feudal Japan influenced, with a bit of other East Asian influences, like China and Korea thrown in as well.

It’s a fantasy setting with the usual fantasy tropes of goblins and rat men, but also oni and kitsune too.

The Story

Daidoji Shin is a an aristocrat of the Crane clan banished to the City of the Rich Frog, to serve as his clans trade envoy.

In the last book Poison River his talent as a detective was discovered as he foiled a plot to bring the cities various factions to war.

And since then it seems he has become a very in demand fella, and the owner of a theatre (which he did sort of get burnt down). And when a powerful friend asks him to investigate the circumstances of a murder in another city.

The murderer is in custody and her execution is called for by the family of the man she killed, but the local magistrate is holding her as he attempts to figure out why the incident occurred as he tries to avoid the two families from coming to blows in the street.

With a woman’s life on the line, Shin throws himself into the case and ends up getting caught up in a sinister plan by a group of revolutionaries that wish to change the empire forever.

Conclusion

I am gonna put my cards on the table here, and say that whilst I liked this book, I felt is should have come further down the line.

The City of the Rich Frog was so well established in the last book, so well developed with an interesting cast of background characters who made it so deeply interesting, that I really missed that in this book.

Don’t get me wrong, Josh did a wonderful job in establishing a new city and new characters, but I just didn’t gel with them as well as I did those from the previous book.

He has set up some interesting possibilities for future books however with this novel.

Again we continue that Holmesian tribute act that Shin is, and it’s a very good one, the case may be straightforward but Shin needs to understand the why, not simply the how. He tenacity not only leads to a resolution that’s best for all the families.

I really enjoyed this book, knowing what happened did lend the twist as we tried to figure out the reasons for the crime, because they really do matter, and whilst there was some general predictability, it wasn’t glaringly obvious.

Instead the book makes you feel smart as you go “ahh I think I know”, then leads you to they why, what giving it’s all a bit of a twist.

This novel felt a bit more pulpy than the last one, not a bad thing, but it was an easy and enjoyable read that was hard to put down.

Josh has built a very interesting little corner of Rokugan and I really want to spend more time there.

I am actually currently thinking about perhaps running an RPG campaign in the City of the Rich Frog, I am that enamoured with the work Josh has done.

It’s 4 out of 5 for me and I only drop a star because I feel like the characters life in the City of the Rich Frog needed more development before he went elsewhere.

This feedback is for an advanced copy of Death’s Kiss, which was sent to me in return for a review. While this is the second in the Daidoji Shin Mystery series and the fourth of Aconyte’s Legend of the Five Rings novels (a 25+ year old franchise set in Rokugan, a heavily Japanese inspired fantasy setting with other East Asian elements), this book stands alone and doesn’t necessarily require reading earlier entries or an introduction to the world or characters. However, an appreciation of samurai-based fantasy fiction would definitely help the uninitiated.
The novel is competently written and the characters are fairly interesting, though there are some odd turns of phrase (rewriting “a man’s bread and butter” as “a man’s fish and rice”? Really?) and the pacing seems somewhat off. While billed as a mystery, there isn’t much mysterious happening at the outset. A murder occurs and the titular Daidoji Shin is asked to investigate as a favor to a friend. The murder, however, is mundane and everyone (literally everyone) knows the facts of the incident from the very beginning—the only mysterious part (from both reader and character perspectives) is why Shin is involved in the first place. That there is a hidden truth that undergirded the motive for the murder (while telegraphed from the outset) is not apparent until the midpoint of the book, and by then readers may have given up. After the midpoint, however, the novel begins to pick up steam and really begins to come to life, though the conclusion feels a bit rushed.
Those looking for a Holmesian mystery where the detective outwits everyone through perception and deduction, solving the crime with a flourish, will be disappointed. This is more a novel of political intrigue and infighting featuring a detective more in the vein of the hard boiled tradition—that is, even though Shin is an aristocrat, he lowers himself into the mean streets and criminal underbellies that pervade his society in service of Truth. A samurai pulp detective hero—which is a great sentence I never expected to write.
One small note: as mentioned, I read an ARC. As such, there were several clear typos (including missing and redundant words). This is not something that affected my rating or review (as this is pretty typical). But I can understand that future readers may be disappointed if these make their way into the published version.
Given the slow start, the last half turns out to be surprisingly good, which made the whole of the novel relatively enjoyable—enough that I will definitely check out future Daidoji Shin Mystery novels. This is a pretty easy recommend for L5R fans. While the setting isn’t exactly necessary for this story, it represents the more day-to-day adventures of the world instead of the more typical, universe-altering fantasy fare—which is fun. For fans of samurai or East Asian inspired fantasy who may be intrigued by the cover, I’d only recommend this if the detective genre or local level political intrigue is in your wheelhouse—it is branded a mystery for a reason. Though for hardcore mystery aficionados, this would probably be a pass since everything about the novel’s mystery is fairly obvious from the beginning and remains so throughout the course of the narrative.

Death’s Kiss, by Josh Reynolds is published on 1st June by Aconyte and is a crime novel set in the fantasy world of the Legend of the Five Rings role playing game, which is losely based on feudal Japan. It follows Diadoji Shin, a bored aristocrat who has become a sleuth. Shin travels outside the capital, City of the Rich Frog to the Unicorn lands, to find out what set in motion the events leading to a recent death, which threatens to engulf the area in war.

While Legend of the Five Rings is a highly popular fantasy game, Death’s Kiss does not quite forfill it’s promise when it comes to a work of crime fiction. The main issue is that while it is set in a complex built world it unfortunately has not extended the same complexity to it’s charactors. I only found myself drawn to one of them, who I suspect as a member of the supporting cast is not likely to appear in other Daidoji Shin mysteries. Unfortunately this charactor is not strong enough to carry the whole narrative, which is down to the rather paint-by-numbers personality of detective Shin, whose two dimensional predictability tends to flatten rather than enhance any tension or mystery.

The world has a commendable amount of women in roles more important than just wife or girlfriend, has several LGBTI+ charctors who are not just there to die tugging at our heart strings, and presents an array of diffrently abled bodies. However this worthiness is not enough on it’s own to propell the crime afficionado forward. While the core political intregue showed a spark of something that could possibly be developed to gain more depth, it feels like several books would be needed to do so, and without compelling charactors or mystery it may be difficult for die-hard crime fans to commit.

Having said that, for those who are fans of Legend of the Five Rings or are craving a bit of escapisim with a quicky pulpy read, then this maybe a book you will really enjoy. Although Death’s Kiss will not gain a place in my recommendations, I would be hesitant to throw it out completely. If all books conformed to only one person’s standards it would make a very poor reading world indeed. It’s not for me, but it may be for you.

If you are craving worlds based on east-asian cultures I would highly recommend Yoon Ha Lee’s collection of sci-fi and fantasy short stories A Conservation of Shadows, availible in the TCF Bookshops recommended shelf.