Blade of the Samurai: A Shinobi Mystery

Saburo, a key official in the shogun's inner circle, has been murdered, and Matsui Hiro's good friend Ito Kazu is the prime suspect. The shogun asks Father Mateo and Hiro for help, since they solved a murder the previous year. Hiro is trained as an assassin (shinobi), and while his undercover assignment is to act as translator for Mateo, he is really a bodyguard for the Portuguese priest. Hiro and Mateo learn much about the workings of the shogunate. Problem is, many (including the victim's widow, Lady Netsuko) had reasons to despise Saburo, and the motives are both personal and political. With the threat of an invasion by Lord Oda looming, a mysterious note suggests Oda's crew might have gained information from someone within the shogun's compound. Hiro's problems increase when Mateo is seriously injured and he must work solo.