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milkokievl's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
paul_cornelius's review against another edition
5.0
Perhaps this is Van Gulik's Judge Dee masterpiece? I haven't read them all, yet, but this story completes every mystery goal imaginable. Yes, there are the three crimes, all interwoven, and with one leading to the unraveling of the others. So we once again have Van Gulik's masterful plotting and intricate storytelling. This time, we also have an unsurpassed sense of atmosphere. It's the very first instance when I've felt totally immersed in this fictional world of the 7th century A.D. (or CE, if you prefer), although Van Gulik has told us earlier that the Judge Dee stories, while set in the Tang dynasty, in fact, take place against a backdrop of China in the 17th or 18th century.
What else is there? The introduction of a new member of Judge Dee's investigative team, Tao Gan. Tao is a wiley, manipulative genius whose brain power balances out the strong arms of Chiao Tai and Ma Joong as well as the administrative ability of Hoong. All the while, Van Gulik is introducing some spicy material for a novel published in 1960. Earlier, in Judge Dee at Work, he had included a story sympathetic to the plight of a homosexual suspect, even though he did have him killed off. But in The Chinese Lake Murders incest rears its head and stands at the very center of the revealed story (I don't think I spoil anything by acknowledging this surprise, because even as I mention it, there are so many possibilities as to make this "knowledge" harmless to the reader). Accordingly, Van Gulik has also applied modern psychology to his characters. Too, Dee has his comeuppance in this novel, proving he is no infallible super detective but a man with flaws who only manages to work things out in a moment of desperation. Finally, there is a motivating tale of sexual jealousy and sexual revenge, all encapsulated within one woman's desire to see her family and herself made good. And it all comes together like clockwork.
What else is there? The introduction of a new member of Judge Dee's investigative team, Tao Gan. Tao is a wiley, manipulative genius whose brain power balances out the strong arms of Chiao Tai and Ma Joong as well as the administrative ability of Hoong. All the while, Van Gulik is introducing some spicy material for a novel published in 1960. Earlier, in Judge Dee at Work, he had included a story sympathetic to the plight of a homosexual suspect, even though he did have him killed off. But in The Chinese Lake Murders incest rears its head and stands at the very center of the revealed story (I don't think I spoil anything by acknowledging this surprise, because even as I mention it, there are so many possibilities as to make this "knowledge" harmless to the reader). Accordingly, Van Gulik has also applied modern psychology to his characters. Too, Dee has his comeuppance in this novel, proving he is no infallible super detective but a man with flaws who only manages to work things out in a moment of desperation. Finally, there is a motivating tale of sexual jealousy and sexual revenge, all encapsulated within one woman's desire to see her family and herself made good. And it all comes together like clockwork.
hahahahahahahahalol's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
readingrunner's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
writerlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
High treason mixed with kidnapping with a dash of conspiracy. Judge Dee has its hands full as soon as he steps into his new assignment. This tale takes the reader to a whole other world and time but human nature doesn't really change. Not really.
Another really good mystery.
Another really good mystery.
naverhtrad's review
5.0
Probably my favourite of the classic Judge Dee mysteries by RH van Gulik.
Part of the appeal is all in the setup. A small sleepy town at the foot of the hills, sixty miles away from Chang'an. Possibly a town with a very dark secret, given the beating and drowning of the dancing-girl and courtesan Xinghua, at an informal party held for Judge Dee by the local town magnates - right after she had hinted to him of an evil conspiracy. The suspects are the very same magnates and tradesmen of the town, who may or may not have been working together to kill her: Han Yongnan, Liu Feibo, Su Yicheng and Wang Yujue. A local elder statesman in retirement has taken to behaving in an irrational manner, much to the vexation of his poor nephew Liang Yide. A midnight attack on Han Yongnan leads Judge Dee to begin suspecting that a secret cult may be plotting against the Dragon Throne itself.
In addition to the evil conspiracy, the novel features two pairs of young lovers, of which one of these pairs - Jiang Youbi and his new bride Liu Yue'e - seems cursed with a string of incredibly bad luck, leading in all appearances to both of their demises on their wedding-night. Additionally, an unsolved riddle on the last page of a manual, written by a weiqi master who lived in the town over seventy years ago, may hold the key to the entire case. But in order to solve all of these vexing cases, Judge Dee must make another addition to his band of assistants: Tao Gan, a more-than-middle-aged vagrant swindler, gambler and petty crook with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the criminal underworld.
The book delivers superbly on the promises of its set-up. The atmosphere and the high-stakes tension don't let up even until the end, when Judge Dee's whole career and possibly his life are laid on the outcome of the case. It features van Gulik's preference for puzzles with an antiquarian and Sinological twist, as well as the fisticuffs, shady hotel back rooms, dilapidated temples and sordid brothels that van Gulik's brand of storytelling relishes in.
And no mystery like this would work without a colourful cast of well-sketched characters: the blustering, oblivious and heavy-drinking town provost Han Yongnan; his talkative daughter Chuiliu; the somewhat stuffy professor Jiang Wenzhang; his skittish (but filial and protective) son Youbi, matched somewhat comically with his robust, fearless and tomboyish bride Yue'e; her jealous father Liu Feibo; the poor, careworn, lovestruck clerk Liang Yide; the sullen and brutish Su Yicheng; the sleazy man-of-business Wan Yifan; and of course the lovely but ill-fated murdered dancer Xinghua, whose backstory brings up more questions than it answers.
My only complaint with this book (and it's not really even that much of a complaint), was the slightly clichéd way in which the murderer is revealed at the end, with Judge Dee literally challenging him by ripping his masque off. But other than that, the book is completely brilliant - Robert Hans van Gulik was clearly on his A-game here.
Part of the appeal is all in the setup. A small sleepy town at the foot of the hills, sixty miles away from Chang'an. Possibly a town with a very dark secret, given the beating and drowning of the dancing-girl and courtesan Xinghua, at an informal party held for Judge Dee by the local town magnates - right after she had hinted to him of an evil conspiracy. The suspects are the very same magnates and tradesmen of the town, who may or may not have been working together to kill her: Han Yongnan, Liu Feibo, Su Yicheng and Wang Yujue. A local elder statesman in retirement has taken to behaving in an irrational manner, much to the vexation of his poor nephew Liang Yide. A midnight attack on Han Yongnan leads Judge Dee to begin suspecting that a secret cult may be plotting against the Dragon Throne itself.
In addition to the evil conspiracy, the novel features two pairs of young lovers, of which one of these pairs - Jiang Youbi and his new bride Liu Yue'e - seems cursed with a string of incredibly bad luck, leading in all appearances to both of their demises on their wedding-night. Additionally, an unsolved riddle on the last page of a manual, written by a weiqi master who lived in the town over seventy years ago, may hold the key to the entire case. But in order to solve all of these vexing cases, Judge Dee must make another addition to his band of assistants: Tao Gan, a more-than-middle-aged vagrant swindler, gambler and petty crook with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the criminal underworld.
The book delivers superbly on the promises of its set-up. The atmosphere and the high-stakes tension don't let up even until the end, when Judge Dee's whole career and possibly his life are laid on the outcome of the case. It features van Gulik's preference for puzzles with an antiquarian and Sinological twist, as well as the fisticuffs, shady hotel back rooms, dilapidated temples and sordid brothels that van Gulik's brand of storytelling relishes in.
And no mystery like this would work without a colourful cast of well-sketched characters: the blustering, oblivious and heavy-drinking town provost Han Yongnan; his talkative daughter Chuiliu; the somewhat stuffy professor Jiang Wenzhang; his skittish (but filial and protective) son Youbi, matched somewhat comically with his robust, fearless and tomboyish bride Yue'e; her jealous father Liu Feibo; the poor, careworn, lovestruck clerk Liang Yide; the sullen and brutish Su Yicheng; the sleazy man-of-business Wan Yifan; and of course the lovely but ill-fated murdered dancer Xinghua, whose backstory brings up more questions than it answers.
My only complaint with this book (and it's not really even that much of a complaint), was the slightly clichéd way in which the murderer is revealed at the end, with Judge Dee literally challenging him by ripping his masque off. But other than that, the book is completely brilliant - Robert Hans van Gulik was clearly on his A-game here.
mikhailrekun's review
4.0
As with so many classics, you read this, you have no idea why you read this since it violates every standard of how to write a proper mystery, and yet you can't stop.
I will also say that Robert van Gulik was one of those authors who is at *least* as interesting as his characters.
I will also say that Robert van Gulik was one of those authors who is at *least* as interesting as his characters.
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