I must agree with several of the earlier (male) reviewers. To me, the gender roles in this book fit perfectly in American suburbia of the fifties and sixties, not in 17th century Japan. The behavior of Sano's wife is unrealistic and ridiculous for the time period in question.In general, the book doesn't feel very "Japanese" at all. Change Sano's horse for a car, the samurais' swords for guns and the tatami mats for wall to wall carpeting and you'll have an off the shelf modern mystery.Some reviewers claim that Rowland's other books are better, and I'll give her books one more try before I give up on them. After all, there aren't that many authors out there for a "japanophile" like myself.