The Emperor's Pearl: A Judge Dee Mystery

I thought I had read all of the Judge Dee books and then I stumbled across this one. I absolutely love Van Gulik and this book does not disappoint.

This novel, written by the author both in English and in Dutch ("De Parel van de Keizer") is part of the second series of mystery books featuring Judge Dee as the sleuth. These novels are a bit shorter and a bit "lighter" than the first series of five books, which starts with "The Chinese Maze Murders" ("Labyrinth in Lan-Fang"). Once again Judge Dee solves three unrelated mysteries, using his skills of observation and logical thinking, employing casual conversations with various protagonists as his main approach. However, in this book Judge Dee also surprises the reader by an unusual gambit that almost misfires. What I liked most about this book were hints of the supernatural that nonetheless stay within the limits of the traditional mystery novel. This novel makes great bedtime or vacation reading!

All the "Judge Dee" books I have read are good. Some better than others, sure, but I like them all. Intelligent, well written, humane, and even sometimes with a touch of humor. A good mystery is worth a lot and these books by Gulik are certainly that.

ROBERT VAN GULIK HAS THE ABILITY TO HOLD YOU IN SUSPENSE FROM BEGINNING TO END. HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE AREAS OF CHINA AND THE PEOPLE HELP ONE TO IMMEDIATELY ENTER INTO THE STORY AS IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY THERE. I HAVE READ ALL OF JUDGE DEE MYSTERIES AND WISH THERE WERE MORE.

I have read several Judge Dee mysteries and this is one of my favorites. There are a lot of interesting plot twists and some sad and cruel surprises. Judge Dee has the help of Sargeant Hoong in this one, but Ma Joong and Chiao Tai are on leave so Dee must travel to some of the seedier places by himself. I stayed up until late at night to finish this one...enough said.