The Lacquer Screen: A Chinese Detective Story

This novel, written by the author both in English and in Dutch ("Het Chinese Lakscherm") 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", or "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. In this episode, a nice twist is provided by the fact that Judge Dee is visiting a neighbouring district where his counterpart, Judge Teng, ask him for help: he has become both the victim and the main suspect of a crime! How this can be, and how the plot is developed towards an elegant surprise finish, reveals Van Gulik's skills as a writer. This novel makes great bedtime or vacation reading!