I really enjoyed this detective novel set in feudal Japan. In addition to creating interesting characters that a reader can actually care about, Laura Joh Rowland provides lots of information about a time and place in history that I know little about, which made the setting a highlight of the book for me. She offers small details about the way of life for Japanese samurai and their families that enhance the action and make the story highly believable.The plot of this particular book is also well done. I usually have little difficulty figuring out "who done it," but with The Perfumed Sleeve I honestly wasn't sure until I got to the end of the book.This novel is part of a series about Sano Ichiro, a samurai who is the head investigator for the shogun, who is the chief ruler of Japan. I was very entertained by this installment, so will probably buy a more books in this series.