There’s a rather long section where he goes over three possible solutions with Hoong, with limited evidence for any of the possibilities. Hoong, do look around the crime scenes, examine bodies, and interview various people, a lot of the Judge’s solving is really just guesswork. At any rate, I say this because although the Judge and his right-hand-man, Sgt. As is sometimes shared in the introductions of various books, the Chinese at the time believed in divine/supernatural connections in these situations, so it’s not always a matter of finding a clue, but of understanding a person’s fundamental character and societal standing. I use the word ‘mysteries’ lightly, because van Gulik tries to source his material from some of the legends, so there are different sensibilities involved. There were cool cloths one could dip and wrap around one’s neck, or large bowls of melting ice that were used to cool a room. This one takes place in the height of summer, and I found the mention of techniques used to cope with the heat very interesting.

Judge Dee is a historical literary figure that has a great deal of cultural importance and in his role as (fictional) magistrate, acting as detective, judge, and jury, he gives the reader insight into an earlier China. What is interesting about this series is that they tend to be rather fast-moving ‘mysteries’ wrapped up in a 7th century China setting.

Being magistrate-on-the-spot, the Judge takes control when the coroner rules it poisoning, and starts the investigation. Judge Dee and his wives are attending the annual dragonboat races when one of the drummers suddenly dies as his boat is about to win. Read February 2019 Recommended for people who like murders in ancient China ★ ★ ★

The Emperor's Pearl by Robert van Gulik