In this third book of the Samurai Mysteries, Judge Ooka is called in to help investigate the murder of Samurai Lord Inabu, who was killed while he was sleeping in his palace in Edo. One clue left at the scene is a blood-stained paper origami butterfly. Ooka sends his adopted son Seikei with the ninja Tatsune on a mission to discover the origins of the paper of the origami butterfly, and to learn more about the ninja. They have many adventures on their journey, and one point Tatsune must even help Seikei escape from a palace dungeon. In the end, Seikei must encounter a powerful ninja in his home territory of Miwayami Mountain.

This was an excellent addition to the series. It had more action and suspense than the two earlier volumes, and the mystery was intriquing. The historical information and the 18th century setting in Japan was perfectly done. Seikei is developing as a character, in this novel he learns that the cherished Samurai Code of Honor is not always the best standard, that things are not always purely black or white. ( )

What kinds of justice are there in the world when it's filled with murder? Is there only one kind? In the 3rd book of this series, the book "In Darkness, Death" it all goes down in Medieval Japan where there are still ninjas and the shogun.
A 14 year old named Seikei, the apprentice of the famous Judge Ooka, Medieval Japan's Sherlock Holmes is called upon when Lord Inaba is mysteriously murdered even though he was under careful watch. Their only lead is a bloody paper butterfly that was found by one of the inn servants in Lord Inaba's room. The two seek information from villagers, servants & ride around many places and also found out that Lord Inaba was very hated on because he was quite the dictator. At the end, they confront the person in which they think commited the crime. Will he confess?
Dorothy makes a very interesting murder mystery that is perfect for Sherlock Holmes fans and murder mystery fans. Can you guess who did it? ( )

This is the third book in the Samurai Mysteries series; there are six books in this series. I think this was the best book in this series so far. There is more adventure and the plot is more complex.

Seikei is helping Judge Ooka to solve the mystery behind the murder of a samurai lord. In order to cover ground quicker Judge Ooka sends Seikei on an adventure with a ninja Tatsuno to track down the maker of some mysterious paper left at the scene of the crime. Seikei will learn many things on the journey but mostly he will learn that a samurai's honor is not as black and white as he had believed.

This book was a bit different than the other ones in that Seikei faces some very interesting moral decisions. He goes on more of an adventure than in the previous books and gets put into more dire situations than ever before.

Each of these books has focused on some aspect of Japanese history and for this book that was the way of the ninja. Seikie learns how ninja's think, he learns some of their tricks, and he learns what drives them. Along the way Seikei also learns some hard lessons about samurai. Not all of the samurai are the noble heroes he expects them to be.

As with the previous books the writing style is nothing special. This book is definitely aimed at kids, so the syntax and words used are dumbed down some (more than I think they need to be for this age group). As I have mentioned with previous books in this series I think that the writing could be more complex and then these books would be absolutely wonderful. In this book the story does get more complex, so that was nice.

Overall I enjoyed the book and the look into historical Japan. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books of this series because I find them very interesting. ( )

Synopsis:
Samurai Lord Inaba is murdered in his sleep while under the protection of the Shogun. Judge Ooka and his adoptive son, Seikei, attempt to investigate with a bloodstained origami butterfly as their sole clue. Judge Ooka enlists the aid of a "retired" ninja, Tatsuno, to accompany Seikei as he travels across Japan searching for the maker of the origami butterfly.

Their travels lead Seikei and Tatsuno to meet impoverished farmers, wary monks, and powerful daimyos. While Tatsuno attempts to warn Seikei to rein in his idealistic fervor, Seikei's code of honor win Tatsuno's respect. In the end, Seikei must flee from false imprisonment and face a dangerous and powerful ninja to find the truth behind the assassination.

Review:
In Darkness, Death introduces another interesting character in the series. Tatsuno, the "retired" ninja is cynical and resists having to accompany the young Seikei. Though Tatsuno could have abandoned Seikei numerous times, we find that Tatsuno follows a strict code of honor of his own. I enjoyed learning about Tatsuno and the lives of ninjas during the 1700s, their relationship to the monks and to the local farmers.
This adventure shared the wonderful balance of action and insight into Seikei's personality. His slow realization of the plight of the farmers, the power of the daiymo and the role of the Shogun and his officials was sad but very interesting. The dilemmas that he faced added further depth to fourteen year old Seikei's character. ( )

As part of a series, the book focuses on the mystery of Lord Inaba's murder in 17th century Japan. Judge Ooka, a samurai, with his adopted son, Seikei, a samurai in training, set out to solve the murder. The book follows Seikie as he works with a ninja to learn who the enemies of Lord Inaba are, leading him to a confrontation with a ninja on sacred Mount Miwa, occupied by kami (animal spirits with whom ninja commune). The book deals with adult themes, including the death of a village at the hands of a powerful and immortal lord, although the action takes place away from the Seikei's perspective.

Although part of a series, the book stands on its own adequately. ( )