Seven Paths to Death

Eighteenth-century Japan: Seven men volunteered to have their backs tattooed with maps in exchange for money. Now, one by one, the men are turning up dead. To prevent more murders, sixteen-year-old Seikei and his foster father, Judge Ooka, must find the men and make copies of their maps before the ninja Kitsune gets to them. If Judge Ooka is correct, those maps, when pieced together, lead to a cache of outlawed weapons-weapons that Kistune's employer, Lady Osuni, plans to use to overthrow the shogun. Authors' note.