Boston Globe
Review
By Jim Fusilli, 10/26/2003
''The Hell Screen: A Mystery of Ancient Japan''
By I.J. Parker
St. Martin's, 352 pp., $24.95
Eleventh-century Japan serves as the setting for I. J. Parker's
elegant and entertaining novel, ''The Hell Screen,'' which, like its
predecessor ''Rashomon Gate,'' features Akitada Sugawara, a government
official and occasional amateur detective. This time, on his way to his
ancestral home after serving in a cold, northern province, Akitada,
stumbles across a brutal murder in a monastery where he's spent a rainy
night. The victim is thought to be the wife of Nagaoka, a local antique
merchant whose brother is accused of the crime. That Nagaoka is more
concerned with his brother than his late spouse arouses Akitada's
sleuthing instincts.
Meanwhile, a different brand of disquiet awaits Akitada at home: His
pitiless mother, though on her deathbed, continues to treat him
bitterly, wounding the thoughtful man. Further, his youngest sister,
the dutiful Yoshiko, has resigned herself to a spinster's fate, in
contrast to the life enjoyed by their petulant sister Akiko, married to
an affable nobleman. And Akitada must assume the duties of his late,
seemingly callous father, whose memory brings him even more anguish.
Perhaps happiness will accompany his wife, Tamako, and their son, Yori,
when they arrive at his side. |
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| Parker has created a wonderful protagonist
in Akitada, who, bound by tradition, finds himself in conflict with his
benevolent nature. Her ancillary characters, such as the stout acrobat
Miss Plumblossom, Akitada's quarreling aides Tora and Genba, and the
painter Noami, who brings visions of hell to earth with his horrific
creations, are as vividly drawn. And with her steady, mature narrative,
she puts us at ease in a Japan of 1,000 years ago by showing us the
similarities between then and now: the territorial policeman, the
haughty forensic specialist; the latest balms and potions, the soothing
aftereffects of a sip of wine; the timelessness of familial strife,
greed and lust, danger and murder. And how a good man can be dissuaded
from doing what he knows in his heart is right.
Jim Fusilli is a novelist and critic.
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Publishers Weekly Starred Review (July 21,2003)
THE HELL SCREEN: A MYSTERY OF ANCIENT JAPAN
I.J. Parker. St. Martin's Minotaur, $ 24.95 (352p)
 Fascinating historical detail and
well-drawn characters distinguish Shamus-winner Parker's second Japanese
mystery (after 2002's well-received Rashomon Gate). On his way back to the
capital city of Heian Kyo (now Kyoto), Lord Sugawara Akitada, a government
official with a knack for stumbling into crime, stops at a monastery to shake
off the cold and get a few hours sleep. Other guests of the Buddhist monks
include a well-dressed woman and her companion, a troupe of actors and a
renowned artist.
After Akitada views the artist's work-in-progress, aptly called the "Hell
Screen," his sleep is filled with nightmarish images and a bloodcurdling
scream. Not sure whether he was dreaming, Akitada wanders around the monastery
but finds nothing amiss. After an early morning departure, Akitada arrives at
his ancestral home to visit his dying mother and soon learns of a heinous
murder. Realizing the crime took place at the monastery where he slept,
Akitada can't resist investigating. Many complications and subplots ensue, all
rendered in expertly evocative prose.
Parker's remarkable command of 11th-century Japanese history -- from the
rituals of the royal court to the minutiae of daily life within Japan's often
rigid caste system -- makes for an excellent whodunit. Readers will be
enchanted by Akitada, an honorable sleuth who proves more progressive than his
time.
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Parker, I.J. - THE HELL SCREEN - Book Review by
Kirkus
The Hell Screen, by I. J. Parker Eleventh-century Japanese sleuth Akitada (Rashomon
Gate, 2002) faces family turmoil and multiple mysteries in a richly appointed
historical yarn. A brutal prologue depicts a quartet of anonymous characters.
A woman orders a man to cut the throat of another woman, apparently sleeping
deeply, then to mutilate her face with the same sword and place it in the
hands of another loudly snoring man.
This opening crime stays on a back burner while Parker follows the odyssey
of government clerk/nobleman/amateur detective Sugawara Akitada, who's
summoned from his work in the northern provinces to the capital, where his
mother lies gravely ill. As he suffers the characteristic abuse of the dying
Lady Sugawara, Akitada copes with other family crises. Toshikage, the husband
of Akiko, his elder sister, stands accused of pilfering government treasures.
Akitada's other sister, Yoshiko, loves Kojiro, a landowner whose social status
makes him an unacceptable husband. But those are the least of his problems.
At length, Kojiro is implicated in the novel's opening murder, which
Akitada realizes he was an earwitness to. As in Akitada's previous adventure,
obtuse police inspector Kobe bristles at Akitada's meticulous sleuthing. An
amusing subplot keeps Akitada's retainer Tora running afoul of jumbo lady sumo
wrestler Miss Plumblossom. Plot and mysteries aplenty. Though his prose could
still use less starch, Parker effectively captures this colorful ancient
culture. --Kirkus Reviews 6/15/03
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From Booklist
Parker has crafted another exotic and compelling mystery set in
eleventh-century Japan and featuring government official and sometime
detective Akitada Sugawara. Journeying home to attend to his dying mother,
Akitada seeks shelter at a monastic temple during a storm. Exhausted and
disoriented, he is inextricably drawn to an artistically rendered, yet
horrifically realistic, hell screen depicting a variety of gruesome death
scenes. When a young woman is murdered during the night, Akitada becomes
embroiled in a complex investigation that involves members of his own family.
Exposing the brazen theft of an identity, the wily Akitada is able to untangle
the strands of a cleverly plotted series of murders. This intiguing
combination of history and suspense is distinguished by a wealth of authentic
cultural detail.
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From Library Journal
Sugawara Akitada (Rashomon Gate) returns to Heian Kyo, the capital city of
11th century Japan, because his mother is desperately ill. On his way, he
stops at a monastery, where he views a brilliantly painted screen depicting
the torments of hell and later hears a woman's scream in the night. He
discovers that the scream came from a dead woman supposedly murdered by her
alleged lover. Akitada gravitates to the case immediately, all the while
investigating for his new brother-in-law the mysterious disappearance of
treasures from the imperial collection. A wealth of colorful detail --
artistic, social, historical, and personal -- breathes life into an excellent
historical. This will appeal to readers who enjoy the samurai mysteries of
Dale Furatani [sic].
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Order The Hell Screen
In Print:
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