I can’t remember how this made it on my “gotta read” list; chalk it up to “old” age and kids, right? Anyway, I wasn’t disappointed. This book, written by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, is geared toward middle-age readers, but that didn’t stop it from being incredibly interesting. It’s set in 18th-century Japan, the age of the samurai and the shogun, and is a great Sherlock Holmsian mystery. A 14- year-old boy, Seiki, the son of a tea merchant, longs to be a samurai. But, because he’s the son of a merchant, it’s not possible. That is, until he witnesses a “ghost” perform a theft at an inn he and his father are staying at. Seiki falls in with Judge Ooka (who was actually a real person), and assists in solving the crime. It’s an engaging book, with lots of great detail on samurai life and life in Japan at that time in general. A good book.