The Killer on the Streets

The stakes are raised in the extraordinary second volume of Shotaro Ikenami's multi-million copy bestselling series of crime fighting samurai.

In the months since their last perilous quest, a fragile calm has settled over Edo. Daijiro dedicates his days to training his first pupil at his quiet riverside dojo, while his father Kohei – the famed swordsman whose name still inspires awe – wanders through an uneasy retirement, his razor-sharp mind too restless for leisure. But such peace never endures long in the shogunate.

One chill autumn night, Kohei is set upon by a band of tsujigiri – lawless ‘street slashers’ who test their blades on the innocent. To his astonishment, the gang’s leader proves to be no mere rogue, but one of the most important officials in the land. What begins as a chance encounter soon unravels into a deadly game of pursuit and vengeance, dragging father and son into the city’s pitch black heart. Other adventures soon follow, including the task of bringing to justice their most evil adversary yet, a villain of monstrous proportions…

The second instalment in Shotaro Ikenami’s bestselling historical fiction series, The Samuari Detectives: The Killer on the Streets is both tightly coiled mystery as well as a haunting portrait of honour, justice, and survival in the twilight of the Shogun’s world.