The Spring and Autumn Murders
By: Laura Seeber
Blurb
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.
Buy Links
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Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-spring-and-autumn-murders-laura-seeber/1114035106?ean=2940016132617
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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
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My Review:
This is a great story about friendship. Through war, death, and everything else imaginable these friends still cared about each other. I liked the end and thought that it was fitting. The is definitely a lot of info on Chinese history that I did not learn about in textbooks. The plot was interesting and I did not expect what the secret was. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.
This is a great story about friendship. Through war, death, and everything else imaginable these friends still cared about each other. I liked the end and thought that it was fitting. The is definitely a lot of info on Chinese history that I did not learn about in textbooks. The plot was interesting and I did not expect what the secret was. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.
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