Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claws of the Cat | 2013 | Susan Spann | Buy |
| 2 | Blade of the Samurai | 2014 | Susan Spann | Buy |
| 3 | Flask of the Drunken Master | 2015 | Susan Spann | Buy |
| 4 | The Ninja’s Daughter | 2016 | Susan Spann | Buy |
| 5 | Betrayal at Iga | 2017 | Susan Spann | Buy |
| 6 | Trial on Mount Koya | 2018 | Susan Spann | Buy |
| 7 | Ghost of the Bamboo Road | 2019 | Susan Spann | Buy |
| 8 | Fires of Edo | 2022 | Susan Spann | Buy |
Susan Spann’s Shinobi Mystery series is a run of eight mystery novels set in feudal Japan, published between 2013 and 2022. The series begins with Claws of the Cat and follows a shinobi (ninja) through investigations steeped in Japanese history and culture. Titles like Blade of the Samurai, Flask of the Drunken Master, and The Ninja’s Daughter give a clear sense of the setting and tone.
The books came out at a steady pace of about one per year from 2013 through 2019, with a longer gap before the eighth entry, Fires of Edo, arrived in 2022. Each title references a different aspect of Japanese life, from samurai to bamboo roads to the historic city of Edo. For readers who like their mysteries with a strong sense of place, this series offers eight cases to work through in order, starting with Claws of the Cat.