Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori #1) by Lian Hearn

“I learned embroidery," Kaede said, "But you can't kill anyone with a needle."
"You can," Shizuka said offhandedly. "I'll show you one day.” 

In his black-walled fortress at Inuyama, the warlord Iida Sadamu surveys his famous nightingale floor. Constructed with exquisite skill, it sings at the tread of each human foot. No assassin can cross it unheard.

The youth Takeo has been brought up in a remote mountain village among the Hidden, a reclusive and spiritual people who have taught him only the ways of peace. But unbeknownst to him, his father was a celebrated assassin and a member of the Tribe, an ancient network of families with extraordinary, preternatural skills. When Takeo's village is pillaged, he is rescued and adopted by the mysterious Lord Otori Shigeru. Under the tutelage of Shigeru, he learns that he too possesses the skills of the Tribe. And, with this knowledge, he embarks on a journey that will lead him across the famed nightingale floor—and to his own unimaginable destiny...

Not something I would usually pick up to read - the back cover blurb doesn't do the book justice. 

I was worried at first that I would get too confused by all the different names, and wouldn't be able to keep track of who was who, but it wasn't as issue. The characters were beautifully written.

I read a few reviews before I started so I already knew it was set in fictional times, I wasn't bothered at all that it didn't follow a true-to-life order.  

I loved it and will definitely keep reading to finish the trilogy and see how it ends.