The Samurai’s Octopus

Yes, finally! New book coming out on April 21, 2026!

For readers who loved the intrigue of Shōgun and the resourceful women in The Square of Sevens…

It’s the year 1784 and the shōgun rules with an iron fist…except within the walled pleasure quarter of Yoshiwara. Inside the Great Gate, samurai law does not apply, and it’s women who pull the strings. Magistrates bow to courtesans, prostitutes snub potentates, and those with the most power beg favor from those with the least. There is no greater spectacle in all the land.

But beneath the surface runs a deadly current of greed, deception…and murder.

Takahisa Takeda will never forgive the first shōgun for rewarding his ancestor’s loyalty with more honor than land. He’s the head of a samurai family who can barely make ends meet, until the night he witnesses a terrible crime and seizes his chance to turn tragedy into gold.

Birdie is just a child when she’s chosen to serve Yoshiwara’s number one courtesan and given a new name at the House of Treasures. Like every girl growing up in the pleasure quarter, she longs to become one of the beauties strutting down the promenade under a crimson parasol. But the higher she climbs, the more she realizes that those she trusts with her life might also betray her in a heartbeat.

Caught between two powerful men whose futures both hinge on the night that made Takeda rich, Birdie’s only way out is to discover why the victim had to die, and hunt down a witness whose life depends on not being found. Only then can she decide whose crime to punish and whose to keep hidden…

Advance praise for The Samurai’s Octopus…

“Patrick’s ability to draw the reader into the setting is masterful. I feel as if I time traveled to 18th Century Japan. An exhilarating plot and characters that step off the page make this a must-read novel.”
—Terry Shames, Macavity Award-winning author of the Samuel Craddock series

“…a resourceful heroine and a well-crafted plot in a brilliantly researched historical setting…a complete immersion in a world of beauty, drama, secrets, and betrayals.”
—Kim Hays, author of the Polizei Bern series with Linder and Donatelli

“…complex, vibrant characters and a twisting plot that will keep you guessing—and turning pages—all the way to the end. I couldn’t put it down!”
—Susan Spann, author of the Hiro Hattori mysteries

A note to my friends and faithful readers
I am so grateful to everyone who pre-orders The Samurai’s Octopus because publication day is its best chance of making some sort of Amazon bestseller list (and that matters more enormously than you might guess).

Order now and get it on April 21!