The Demon in the Teahouse

By Tom Hoobler and Dorothy Hoobler

Fourteen-year-old Seikei accompanies his foster father, Judge Ooka, to help put out a fire in the city of Edo, military capital of 18th-century Japan. They find evidence that someone has set the fire deliberately, and their quest to find out who that person is leads them to Yoshihara--the shadowy city within a city that only comes alive when the sun goes down. Here Japan's famous geishas live and work, entertaining the rich and powerful. The mystery deepens when the Judge discovers that someone has been murdering geishas, and the rumor has spread that the killer is a demon who cannot be stopped. The Judge assigns Seikei to work in one of the teahouses and get to the heart of the mystery--a task that will test Seikei's courage and resourcefulness to the limit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tom Hoobler
• Release date: Feb 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310915437

Tom Hoobler

Tom Hoobler has published more than 90 books, most of them co-authored with his wife Dorothy. A majority of them were aimed at children or young adults. They won an Edgar for the Best Mystery of 2005 for their book, "In Darkness, Death," a mystery set in 18th-century Japan. Their latest book for adults was "The Crimes of Paris: a True Story of Murder, Theft, and Detection." It is set in Paris between 1900 and 1914, and one of the crimes described in the book is the theft of the Mona Lisa.

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Reviews for The Demon in the Teahouse

[rang777 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book “The Demon in the Teahouse” by Thomas Hoobler is a very interesting nonfiction book which describes the journey of a Samurai named Seikei and his foster dad The Judge Ooka during the 18th century in Japan solving a case about sudden mysterious Geisha murders. In their journey The Judge Ooka separates from his son and sends him to work undercover in a teahouse in which Geishas’ entertain people. While working in the teahouse Seikei tries to solve this mystery while being faced with many obstacles. Thomas Hoobler has succeeded in writing an extremely capturing book with his wonderful and deep descriptions of action and imagery in the book. Any person reading the book would immediately sink into the story of action, mystery and suspense with imagery that make the reader feel like he is Seikei himself in the journey to solve the horrific murders. Also, the book includes many different subjects such as culture and history which are the main themes in the book. The use of these themes in the book helps create an image of the story line in the reader’s mind and helps the reader understand and learn more about the culture of the 18th century in Japan. In conclusion I liked reading this book because it pulled me deeper and deeper into the story as I read. Even though it was a little bit scary I couldn’t stop reading it. The book enriched me with a lot of knowledge about Japan in the 18th century and made me feel like I was going to explode with excitement while walking in Samurai Seikei’s shoes. I recommend this book for any person who likes to read books about mystery and horror and is interested in the culture of Geishas and Samurais in Japan.

[chinquapin_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this sequel to The Ghost in Tokkaido Inn, Seikei has begun his training as a samurai at the home of his adopted father Samurai Judge Ooka. Judge Ooka and Seikei become involved in the investigation of some mysterious, suspicious fires in the nearby city of Edo, and also the death of two geishas. Seikei goes to work in a teahouse in the exotic, floating city of Yoshiwara where the geishas live and entertain at night. With his natural curiosity, quick intelligence, and eager desire to please Judge Ooka, Seikei is able to help solve the mysteries. This was a very enjoyable young adult mystery. It had an excellent plot that was well paced and several interesting characters. The setting in 18th century Japan was fascinating and felt very genuine. This book had a lot of information about geishas and the floating city and other cultural tidbits from this period in Japan. Highly recommended for those who like reading young adult mysteries and novels set in Japan.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book in the Samurai Mystery series; there are six books total in the series. If you enjoyed the first book you will enjoy this one. The two books are very similar in style.Seikei is busy training as a samurai when his master, Judge Ooka, gets a desperate call for help. Fires have been breaking out in Edo and Judge Ooka must find out why. The mystery will lead Jedge Ooka and Seikei deep into the geisha district; where Seikei must help figure out if the fires are being caused by a demon or by something more human in nature.Again the best part about this book is how it delves into Japanese culture. You learn a lot about the culture of Geisha's in this novel and a lot about the history of fire safety in Japanese cities. Seikei has a number of life-threatening close calls; making this book a bit more tense than the first one.The mystery is well woven and has a less predictable outcome than it did in the first book. The writing style is still nothing special; the books are written at a pretty basic reading level.Overall the book was engaging and enjoyable. Nothing incredibly special but I again enjoyed the Japanese history and enjoyed reading about Seikei. I look forward to reading the next book.

[jenson_aka_dl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fourteen year old Seikei is the adopted son of the famous Judge Ooka who is training him to become a samurai. When the Judge is called upon to discover who is setting fires in the city of Edo, they also unearth another facet of the crime involving the deaths of beautiful geisha women on "the floating world" of Yoshiwara. There Seikei goes undercover to look for clues to help Judge Ooka solve the deadly mystery.I don't often read mysteries, but once in a while one will catch my eye. This one I picked up mainly because I liked the title. Since I've been reading so much manga the idea of a story set in historical Japan appealed to me very much as well. It was also interesting to learn that Judge Ooka was, in fact, a real person and advisor of the Shogun who ruled Japan in the 1700s, and was known as the "Sherlock Holmes" of Japan. Seikei is a fictional character, but does well at drawing the reader in with his observations and dedication to sleuthing out the answer to the mystery. All in all I did enjoy this story, although once again, it appears I have picked up the second book of a series and only realized this after I started it. I imagine the first story must have been about the adventure which led Seikei to be adopted by the Judge. Another story I might have to check out in the future.I think this would be a great story for kids 5th grade and up who enjoy mysteries and/or historical novels.

[vortega_35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Demon in the Teahouse is a murder mystery, full of conflict, clues, dangerous situations and characters with varying motives. The historically based story takes the reader into 18th century Japan (Edo) where shoguns rule and samurai live by a strict code of rules and ethics. Judge Ooka, a famous samurai, is asked to lend his vast knowledge and problem solving skills to solve the murders of two geisha. This well written detective fiction unfolds as a puzzle and Judge Ooka and his adoptive son Seikei are up for the challenge. Japanese culture and vocabulary enhance the story.

[nhmidlib · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First there were the fires that appeared to be arson, then the geishas who died under suspicious circumstances. The people of the eighteenth-century Japanese city of Edo believe it is the work of a demon and they are afraid. Judge Ooka does not believe in demons, but he does believe that there is some evil at work, so he sends Seikei, a boy training to be a Samurai, to investigate. Seikei does not have much experience as a detective, but he is observant, brave, and determined to make his master proud. But when things begin to go wrong, will people believe that Seikei himself is the demon?