Jan's Reviews > The Snow Empress

The 12th in the Sano Ichiro series, this was a slight departure from the series in that it takes place in far northern Japan, where Sano and Reiko's son has been kidnapped, apparently to lure him away from the capital. The lord of the province seems crazy after the murder of his mistress, and Sano must solve the crime to have any hope of finding his son. Themes include racial discrimination and spiritual possession.

I think I'm losing patience with the characters...finally. It began a few volumes back and is catching up fast. There is too much political infighting for my taste, and Reiko seems to be a much weaker character than she was at the beginning of the series.