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Overview
Meet Judge Dee, the detective lauded as the "Sherlock Holmes of ancient China"
Fans of Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series will thrill to this reissue of the first volume in Robert van Gulik's classic Chinese Murders series. The Chinese Bell Murders introduces the great Judge Dee, a magistrate of the city of Poo-yang in ancient China.
In the spirit of ancient Chinese detective novels, Judge Dee is challenged by three cases. First, he must solve the mysterious murder of Pure Jade, a young girl living on Half Moon Street. All the evidence points to the guilt of her lover, but Judge Dee has his doubts. Dee also solves the mystery of a deserted temple and that of a group of monks' terrific success with a cure for barren women.
Synopsis
Meet Judge Dee, the detective lauded as the "Sherlock Holmes of ancient China"
Fans of Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series will thrill to this reissue of the first volume in Robert van Gulik's classic Chinese Murders series. The Chinese Bell Murders introduces the great Judge Dee, a magistrate of the city of Poo-yang in ancient China.
In the spirit of ancient Chinese detective novels, Judge Dee is challenged by three cases. First, he must solve the mysterious murder of Pure Jade, a young girl living on Half Moon Street. All the evidence points to the guilt of her lover, but Judge Dee has his doubts. Dee also solves the mystery of a deserted temple and that of a group of monks' terrific success with a cure for barren women.
Tricycle
"Taken together, the Judge Dee series gives a unique and entertaining look at China in the age when Buddhism was first taking root. Those interested in ordinary--and sometimes extraordinary--life in the Tang dynasty, and anyone who just loves a good mystery, will find much here to enjoy."
— Dan Zigmond
Editorials
Library Journal
Released back to back in 1958 and 1959, these are the first two outings in the author's multivolume Judge Dee mystery series. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Huffington Post
"When you're ready to cuddle up with a good book over the holidays, you will find no better companion than Dee. . . .A historical figure from seventh century Tang dynasty China, he comes to your living room or airplane seat courtesy of one Robert van Gulik . . . who penned a series of novels fictionalizing the exploits of what you might well think of as a Chinese Sherlock Holmes. . . . If you have an interest in ancient China or simply wish to better understand that country today, van Gulik's Judge Dee novels are especially attractive, but even without that dimension, they are truly addicting. As with any truly great crime fiction, the fifteen-odd novels and additional short stories reveal the great and true of the human condition along with the loathsome and the petty."
— Arthur Rosenfeld
Tricycle
"Taken together, the Judge Dee series gives a unique and entertaining look at China in the age when Buddhism was first taking root. Those interested in ordinary--and sometimes extraordinary--life in the Tang dynasty, and anyone who just loves a good mystery, will find much here to enjoy."
— Dan Zigmond