ABOUT THIS BOOK

The very first mystery in the beloved series starring Judge Dee, a detective whom the Los Angeles Times ranked with Sherlock Holmes!

Join the T'ang Dynasty detective Judge Dee on his very first full-length mystery! Poisoned plums, a cryptic scroll picture, passionate love letters, and a hidden murderer with a penchant for torturing and killing women lead Judge Dee to the heart of the Governor’s garden maze and the answers to three interwoven mysteries. This book kicked off Robert van Gulik's long-running series and introduced countless readers to a cozy, clever series and the incredible detective at its center. Read this one and you'll quickly find yourself seeking out the whole series.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Robert van Gulik (1910–67) was a Dutch diplomat and an authority on Chinese history and culture. His many works include sixteen Judge Dee mysteries, a study of the gibbon in China, and two books on the Chinese lute.

REVIEWS

“Entertaining, instructive and oddly impressive. Judge Dee, the officers of his tribunal and the people with whom he and they are concerned are interesting folk, and the world of crime, mystery, violence, lust, corruption and ceremony in which they move is formidably picturesque.”

— Times Literary Supplement

“The China of old, in Mr. van Gulik’s skilled hands, comes vividly alive again.”

— Allen J. Hubin, New York Times Book Review

“If you have not yet discovered Judge Dee and his faithful Sgt. Hoong, I envy you that initial pleasure which comes from the discovery of a great detective story. For the magistrate of Poo-yang belongs in that select group of fictional detectives headed by the renowned Sherlock Holmes.”

— Robert Hirsch, Los Angeles Times

TABLE OF CONTENTS

First Chapter
A strange meeting takes place on a lotus lake; Judge Dee is attacked on his way to Lan-fang

Second Chapter
Judge Dee opens the first session of the tribunal; He discovers in the archives an unsolved problem

Third Chapter
The judge witnesses a quarrel on the market; A young man forecasts his father's murder

Fourth Chapter
Tao Gan reports on a mysterious old mansion; An ingenious trap is set in the dark tribunal

Fifth Chapter
Twenty ruffians attack in the dead of the night; Judge Dee sets out on a dangerous excursion

Sixth Chapter
Four guildmasters are received in the main hall; Mrs. Yoo visits the tribunal with an old picture

Seventh Chapter
Three roguish monks receive their just punishment; A Candidate of Literature reports a cruel murder

Eighth Chapter
An old General is murdered in his own library; Judge Dee goes to visit the scene of the crime

Ninth Chapter
Judge Dee ponders alone in a dead man's room; The autopsy brings to light the cause of death

Tenth Chapter
Judge Dee pays a visit to an eccentric young man; He presides an artistic meeting in the tribunal

Eleventh Chapter
Tao Gan has an adventure in an old temple; Ma Joong meets his math in a drinking bout

Twelfth Chapter
Judge Dee discusses the secrets of two pictures; A young girl discovers passionate love letters

Thirteenth Chapter
Yoo Kee entertains a distinguished guest to tea; Judge Dee decides to revisit the General's studio

Fourteenth Chapter
A strange clue is found in a dead man's room; Judge Dee sends his men to arrest a criminal

Fifteenth Chapter
Painter Woo reveals his secret in the tribunal; Judge Dee orders a search of the Eastern city

Sixteenth Chapter
Ma Joong investigates the licensed quarter; He is made a partner in a nefarious scheme

Seventeenth Chapter
Mrs. Yoo pays a second visit to the tribunal; A queer discovery is made in an old mansion

Eighteenth Chapter
Judge Dee decides to consult an old hermit; Ma Joong catches his man in the Drum Tower

Nineteenth Chapter
A recluse discourses on the purpose of life; Judge Dee learns the old Governor's secret

Twentieth Chapter
A rebel chieftain confesses under torture; A mysterious stranger is at last identified

Twentyfirst Chapter
Judge Dee closes the case of the murdered General; Chiao Tai relates the story of a military disaster

Twentysecond Chapter
Judge Dee explains the murder of General Ding; He reveals the secret of the scroll picture

Twentythird Chapter
The judge leads his men to the heart of the maze; A gruesome discovery is made in a secret pavilion

Twentyfourth Chapter
A young girl goes to visit a famous artist; A criminal is caught in an unexpected place

Twentyfifth Chapter
Two depraved criminals suffer the extreme penalty; Judge Dee learns the secret of an abstruse couplet

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