I.J. Parker's "Rashomon Gate"

[verbminx]

For the last two weeks, I've been trying to read a book by I.J. Parker, a mystery novel set in Heian Japan, called Rashomon Gate. Its hero is a minor court official. The writing suffers from too many adverbs, and it's stilted in spots. Otherwise, I'm enjoying it; Parker's love for the setting is made obvious by how well she's developed it.

Ms. Parker has a website where you can read a few short stories about Akitada, the hero. She also has six books in the series, and two more written, but the existing six are not selling well enough for the last two to be purchased and published. Such is the life of a mid-list novelist.