The Chrysanthemum Tiger

November 1, 2024
It's 1605, and Gabriel Taverner has settled into life as an English country doctor after he began suffering terrible nausea while traveling the high seas. Then one day, his seasickness disappears. Delighted--and without much forethought--he sets off to collect a shipment of near-priceless goods on a voyage he thought was headed to the Eastern Seas. Gabriel is surprised to end up in Japan but happy to experience the atmosphere, people, food, and customs, including the Japanese bathhouse. One night, a beautiful woman he thought was a bathhouse servant comes to his room, and Gabe spends an evening of unexpected pleasure with her. Months later, when his ship is ready to head home, he receives two mysterious bundles. The contents of those bundles will change his life--and the lives of his shipmates and those he left behind in England--in magical and violent ways. Clare's latest book in this excellent series (after The Cargo from Neira, 2023) is the most gripping, intense, cryptic, and satisfying yet. Readers who enjoy historical mysteries with a touch of magical realism are sure to appreciate this gripping page-turner.

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November 15, 2024
In 1605, an English physician's trip to the Far East has unforeseen repercussions. Dr. Gabriel Taverner, who can't resist the lure of the sea, sets sail on the merchant shipLuipaard. The trip could make him wealthy, but adventure is what he craves, and he gets that adventure when he finds out that the ship is headed for Japan, which has been visited by hardly any Europeans except the Portuguese. The ever-curious Gabriel is both fascinated and dismayed when he realizes the ship will stay in Japan a year or more. Romeu Silvestre, the Portuguese merchant they're dealing with in a port town near Nagasaki, was married to the daughter of Aroto Tagauchi, a powerful man who's whispered to own a magical tiger--perhaps made of gold--whose claws can turn into chrysanthemums. Silvestre's wife died young, and their adult daughter, Chiyo, is unhappy with her grandfather's plans for her; she secretly slips into Gabriel's bed at night with plans of her own. Gabriel spends his days learning about Japan, and is entranced by the beauty of the land. The night before the Europeans finally depart, Natsu, one of Romeu's servants, brings Gabriel a small wooden crate with urgent instructions to keep it secret and open it on board. The next day, as the ship is about to leave, Natsu delivers another bundle--and then the ship is attacked, and she's killed. The speedyLuipaard escapes, but is dogged all the way back to England by Japanese ships, and Gabriel realizes why when he opens the packages. Things are also going badly back in England, where the doctor taking Gabriel's place, who's widely despised, is found murdered in a ditch. Slipping back into his native land, Gabriel relies on a friend to get safely home, and on his family and friends to protect him from ruthless opponents. Fans of period intrigue will delight in this highly adventurous tale.

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