The Iris Fan (46 page)

LAURA JOH ROWLAND is the author of seventeen previous novels in her acclaimed series of thrillers set in feudal Japan; two of them have been named among the Best Mysteries of the Year by
Publishers Weekly
, while a third was declared one of the five best historical mystery novels by
The Wall Street Journal
. She lives in New York City.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE IRIS FAN.
Copyright © 2014 by Laura Joh Rowland. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.minotaurbooks.com

Cover design by Laura Klynstra

Cover photographs: woman © Ricardo Demurez / Trevillion Images; texture: © javarman / Shutterstock.com; flowers © graph / Shutterstock.com

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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Rowland, Laura Joh.

The iris fan / Laura Joh Rowland.—First edition.

pages cm (Sano Ichiro novels; 18)

“A novel of feudal Japan.”

ISBN 978-1-250-04706-9 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4668-4743-9 (e-book)

1. Sano, Ichiro (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Samurai—Fiction. 3. Japan—History—18th century—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3568.O934I75 2014

813'.54—dc23

2014027065

e-ISBN 9781466847439