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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
The brutal lust-murder of a woman whose head had been cut off to prevent identification; the foul killing of a champion boxer; a corpse on which the medical examiner could find no signs of violent death – three sensational crimes confronting Judge Dee, the long-beaded, bewhiskered detective of Ancient China. Yet it seemed he could only unravel one of them. Torn by an emotional conflict, deeply shocked by the loss of his best friend and confronted with the imminent uprising of a hostile population, the imperturbable Judge Dee lost his composure and started to doubt himself and others.
Judge Dee’s become the magistrate of Pei-chow, a northern town on the fringes of the Empire, where dissent is easy to stir thanks to its Tartar roots. Life is quiet with the most serious case that of the disappearance of Miss Liao Lien-fang, a betrothed young woman who everyone assumes has eloped with another lover. But life becomes more complicated when the headless and naked body of Pan Feng’s wife is found in a locked room. Judge Dee’s associates, Sergeant Hoong and lieutenants Ma Joong, Chiao Tai and Tao Gan immediately begin investigating but Mrs Pan’s death is the start of a murder spree in the small town, which strikes close to Dee himself and threatens to see the whole town descend into riots and chaos unless he can solve the mystery …
The last in Robert van Gulik’s Judge Dee series is a deftly crafted historical mystery set in 7th century China, based on a real judge who rose to prominence in Imperial China and using real cases from the time. It’s a cosy, twisting mystery with some brutal murders and hidden melancholy as Dee becomes interested in the wife of the local pharmacist and medical examiner. Perfect reading for a rainy Sunday afternoon …
I liked how the book cross-refers to Dee’s earlier mysteries to develop his character and there are some interesting hints at his domestic arrangement with his three wives. Yet he’s emotionally shaken by his attraction to the capable and enigmatic Mrs Kuo and even his formidable intellectual powers are confounded by three different but inter-related murders that strike at his closest friend and threaten everything he stands for. Dee is very much an isolated character, a point that’s made explicit at the end, which adds a bittersweet note to the book’s final triumph.
The mysteries themselves are fascinating and for a short book there’s a surprising number of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. van Gulik does particularly well at interlinking them, showing how each impacts on the others with an incredibly deft skill.
I was sad at the death of Sergeant Hoong and would have liked to see van Gulik show Dee and the lieutenants dwell on it a little more than they do, but that’s a small complaint. All in all though this is a great cosy read and I remain a big fan of the series.
The Verdict:
The last in Robert van Gulik’s Judge Dee series is a deftly crafted historical mystery set in 7th century China, based on a real judge who rose to prominence in Imperial China and using real cases from the time. It’s a cosy, twisting mystery with some brutal murders and hidden melancholy as Dee becomes interested in the wife of the local pharmacist and medical examiner. Perfect reading for a rainy Sunday afternoon …
The brutal lust-murder of a woman whose head had been cut off to prevent identification; the foul killing of a champion boxer; a corpse on which the medical examiner could find no signs of violent death – three sensational crimes confronting Judge Dee, the long-beaded, bewhiskered detective of Ancient China. Yet it seemed he could only unravel one of them. Torn by an emotional conflict, deeply shocked by the loss of his best friend and confronted with the imminent uprising of a hostile population, the imperturbable Judge Dee lost his composure and started to doubt himself and others.
Judge Dee’s become the magistrate of Pei-chow, a northern town on the fringes of the Empire, where dissent is easy to stir thanks to its Tartar roots. Life is quiet with the most serious case that of the disappearance of Miss Liao Lien-fang, a betrothed young woman who everyone assumes has eloped with another lover. But life becomes more complicated when the headless and naked body of Pan Feng’s wife is found in a locked room. Judge Dee’s associates, Sergeant Hoong and lieutenants Ma Joong, Chiao Tai and Tao Gan immediately begin investigating but Mrs Pan’s death is the start of a murder spree in the small town, which strikes close to Dee himself and threatens to see the whole town descend into riots and chaos unless he can solve the mystery …
The last in Robert van Gulik’s Judge Dee series is a deftly crafted historical mystery set in 7th century China, based on a real judge who rose to prominence in Imperial China and using real cases from the time. It’s a cosy, twisting mystery with some brutal murders and hidden melancholy as Dee becomes interested in the wife of the local pharmacist and medical examiner. Perfect reading for a rainy Sunday afternoon …
I liked how the book cross-refers to Dee’s earlier mysteries to develop his character and there are some interesting hints at his domestic arrangement with his three wives. Yet he’s emotionally shaken by his attraction to the capable and enigmatic Mrs Kuo and even his formidable intellectual powers are confounded by three different but inter-related murders that strike at his closest friend and threaten everything he stands for. Dee is very much an isolated character, a point that’s made explicit at the end, which adds a bittersweet note to the book’s final triumph.
The mysteries themselves are fascinating and for a short book there’s a surprising number of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. van Gulik does particularly well at interlinking them, showing how each impacts on the others with an incredibly deft skill.
I was sad at the death of Sergeant Hoong and would have liked to see van Gulik show Dee and the lieutenants dwell on it a little more than they do, but that’s a small complaint. All in all though this is a great cosy read and I remain a big fan of the series.
The Verdict:
The last in Robert van Gulik’s Judge Dee series is a deftly crafted historical mystery set in 7th century China, based on a real judge who rose to prominence in Imperial China and using real cases from the time. It’s a cosy, twisting mystery with some brutal murders and hidden melancholy as Dee becomes interested in the wife of the local pharmacist and medical examiner. Perfect reading for a rainy Sunday afternoon …
