The Red Pavilion: A Judge Dee Mystery

When Judge Dee meets Autumn Moon she is wearing a translucent robe. She strolls onto the veranda of the secluded suite of rooms where Dee is staying for night and flirts atrociously with him. Dee remains polite. He has been forced to break his journey at the resort of Paradise Island but he has every intention of going on in the morning. Then he learns that the suite of rooms, the Red Pavilion, has been the scene of murder in the past. And lately, Lee Lien, a distinguished scholar of a distinguished family, apparently committed suicide there. When Judge Dee returns from a dinner with the local notables, he discovers the body of Autumn Moon on the floor of the locked bedchamber! Judge Dee was a real magistrate and official of the Tang dynasty. In his fictional series about this great man, Robert Van Gulik searches out notable exploits and tales of the Chinese Imperial system and presents them to modern readers in a form that entertains as well as enlightens. Most of Gulik's Judge Dee stories take place with the magistrate in his district. This one shows Judge Dee on the road, acting as an assessor for a fellow magistrate. The setting is unique in all the Judge Dee books: a pleasure resort where the usual mores and laws are somewhat suspended. The denouement of this fascinating novel brings to mind the adage: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

The Judge Dee books are my favorites. I loved the Red Pavilion . Judge Dee is the Chinese Perry Mason-always delivering in amazing fashion.

The Judge Dee mysteries were a collection of 15 classic mysteries set in China based on a real magistrate and written by a Dutch scholar of Chines cuture. They are classic mysteries as well as excellent intros to Chinese culture. I am glad it was so easy to replace the books in the series that I had lost, taken from me by a friend. Easy and painless with excellent serice and easier thatn using a bookshop.

One of the most interesting things about Van Gulik's Judge Dee books is that the Judge is usually juggling three or four mysteries at once. Your brain definitely stays awake as he shifts his attention from one to the other. "The Red Pavilion" takes place on "Paradise Island", a town in which the main industry is the selling of pleasure--sort of a Las Vegas of ancient China. Between current murders and murders of the past, the Judge has his hands full, and with only one of his usual four assistants he is a busy guy. I enjoyed the interesting characters of the various courtesans, bouncers, businessmen, and mysterious beggars no end. His Excellency is not beyond making a guess at a solution and then proving himself wrong, which is quite refreshing in detective novels. If you like detective novels combined with ancient culture, you may well enjoy these books.

Oriental sleuth Judge Dee, based on a historical character, is brought to life in 'The Red Pavilion'. While Judge Dee shares many traits with traditional quirky Western detectives, this novel has a definite Chinese feel. The cultural interplay is very interesting, and allows for different scenarios than the typical mystery. A nice change of pace.