Welcome to my stop on Laura Seeber's Tasty Review Tour for The Spring and Autumn Murders. Please leave a comment or question for Laura below to let her know you stopped by. You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.
The Spring and Autumn Murdersby Laura Seeber
Publisher: Direwolf Design and Publishing
Release Date: December 7, 2012
Genre: Historical Mystery/Chinese
Buy Links Print & Ebook: Amazon, Writer's Thread/Direwolf
Book Description:
Set in a time of uneasy peace and opportunistic alliances in ancient China, The Spring and Autumn Murders tell the story of three friends, Hai, Lei and Zian. With a friendship forged in military training and battle, they are sent from their home kingdom of Zhou to a village in the northern area of Jin to help patrol the border against barbarians from the surrounding mountains under the direction of Lord Nianzu, the local magistrate. It appears to be a normal assignment, but the three friends soon discover that nothing about this new detail is routine.
While Hai and Lei make their first nightly patrols in the area, Zian is surprised in camp by a panic stricken, bloody Hua, fiancé of their employer’s son. Zian sets out to find his comrades, and returns with them, only to find Hua missing, and mercenary soldiers riding into their camp intent on finding the murderers who have terrorized the village below, killing to only son of Lord Nianzu.
Now it’s a race to find Hua and the truth between the three friends, the military that is chasing them, the grief stricken Lord Nianzu, and the real killer, who each have their own motives for finding the girl. The trails lead each group through quite a number of surprises, uneasy alliances, the ever present spirit world, and more bloodshed to find the truth that sometimes even the most quiet of villages hide the darkest secret imaginable.
Excerpt
Zian opened his eyes and felt the coarseness of the tree beneath his back. He had spent many hours, hell days trying to master that technique. It did not come naturally to him. No real fighting style did, really. Most of the time he was more prone to simply attack wildly like a wolverine or badger.
Snap
Zian stopped moving for a moment. There was something off to his right, something made some noise. Zian shook his head.
“Probably just some animal,” he grumbled as he sat down to feed the fire that he had made.
Snap. Crack.
Zian frowned. No forest animal would be making this much noise. He placed his hand on the handle of the jian, and slowly drew it from its scabbard. With a practiced step he moved toward the source of the sound.
Thump!
Something soft hit Zian in the side. It felt sticky and wet, much like the inside of the dumplings that Lei’s mother had made all those years ago. Zian looked down to see two small arms wrapped tightly around his waist. They looked different somehow, even in the light of the moon and stars; they looked somehow darker than they should be. There was also that sticky sweet smell, almost metallic.
Zian raised his head carefully and sniffed again. He knew that smell – he had smelled it on enough battlefields. It was blood. He looked down once more and followed the arms wrapped around his waist to the trembling shoulders, small and frail, up the neck to the face buried and sobbing in his side. He jerked the young girl away from him, the scent of blood still fresh in his nostrils. She squealed as he ripped her arms from around him. Zian looked down in shock to find the panicked face of Hua staring up at him.
“Be quiet!” he hissed, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her roughly. She cried out once more, and Zian pulled her fiercely into him to muffle the sound. At first she struggled, clawing instinctively at his back, but then Zian felt her shudder, and finally relax her shoulders, her fear and exhaustion over-riding her will to fight. He felt her pulse slow.
“There, now sit down,” he ordered, pushing her gently down to the ground. His eyes searched her body and face for any injuries, and marveled at the amount of blood that was on her clothes. The blood covered her arms, her chest and splattered onto her face. Zian tore her robe and looked closely for the knife wounds that he was certain that existed. He found the skin pale and trembling, but unmarked. Her eyes flashed a fearful, vacant look in the passing moonlight. Zian swallowed quickly and with unsteady fingers tried to return her robe to the original condition. Once Hua was properly covered, Zian leaned back and moved away. He shook his head, angry with himself for being such a fool. Tearing off the clothes of a woman, one who was engaged to Lord Nianzu’s son. Even Hai would have an issue with this.
Author Info
Laura Seeber
has worked as a geologist, an environmental consultant, and a freelance
writer. She currently divides her time
between her own environmental consulting business, handling various
ghostwriting and freelance writing projects, and her own fiction writing. Her interests include history, outdoor
activities, martial arts, mysteries, and non-fiction material. The Spring and Autumn Murders is her first
novel. She currently lives in Illinois
with her husband, Michael.
Author Links
My Review
Three soldiers sent on a mission, a murder committed in silence, and political upheaval all play a part in Laura Seeber’s The Spring and Autumn Murders, a historical mystery set during the Zhuo Dynasty’s rule in China. Interesting characters, betrayal, plenty of action and a well paced plot kept me turning the pages to discover what was going to happen next. Ms. Seeber’s descriptions of the time period and what her characters encounter , both during their travels and while completing their task, are very well done.
Hai, Lei and Zian, whose friendship was forged during their time in the army, are sent by their employer, Magistrate Hong Li, to help a village in a neighboring region deal with random attacks by a band of “barbarians”. Upon their arrival, the local magistrate, Lord Nianzu, welcomes them, feeds then and then sends them off into the woods to deal with the scum attacking his villagers. Only their first night in the woods quickly proves that nothing about their assignment is quite what it seems.
The three friends soon find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation, a search for a missing bride to be and an intrusion by the army of another local magistrate. Trying to stay together, solve the crime and stay out of trouble themselves, Hai, Lei and Zian find themselves pushed to their limits as they try to get to the truth of what has taken place. It’s only by relying on the strength of their friendship, that Hai, Lei and Zian will discover the truth and make the alliances they will need to survive in the end. Ms. Seeber does a very good job developing their friendship and letting us get to know Hai, Lei and Zian on their own and as a group. I personally liked Hia the best, though Lei and Zian were both excellent characters.
Will Hai, Lei and Zian be able to solve the murder before the murderer claims another victim? Will they be able to help Lord Nianzu when he needs it the most? You’ll have to read The Spring and Autumn Murders to find out.
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Crowns
Tour Schedule
July 15th- Book Bling
(Stop 2) Queen of All She Reads
July 16th- The Avid Reader
July 17th- Deal Sharing Aunt
July 18th- The Guardian's Hangout
(Stop 2) Once Upon a Book
July 19th- 3 Partners in Shopping
(Stop 2) Deb Deb Reviews
This sounds really interesting. It is gratifying to see something that has a location other than the US or England!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reviewing my book! I'm glad you liked Hai- he was one of my favorite characters to write.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting today!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read!!
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