The Haunted Monastery and the Chinese Maze Murders

The Haunted Monastery was one of the first of Dee's books I stumbled into while in highschool. Outstanding and complicated... full of period accurate and consistent elements that make it vastly superior to others of its kind... and sporting characters that you really begin to know. Fans of the development of jurisprudence, whodunnits, and historical fiction simply must try one of these series IMHO... but there's no reason that journey must take place with these excellent stories (that actually take place well after key character establishment in the series): van Gulik's first 4 (and Dee Goong An, his initial experiment) are surprisingly great reading.

Robert Van Gulik evidently had a lot of fun translating "Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee"; when he couldn't find any more Judge Dee mysteries, he decided to write his own. "The Haunted Monastery" takes place during one night (appropriately dark and stormy) in a Buddhist monastery where several young girls have disappeared without a trace; among the characters are a Taoist sage, a dissolute abbot, a performing bear, and a female impersonator, all set against a backdrop of dark winding corridors, secret rooms and a version of the Taoist Hell. By morning the storm outside has abated, and the mystery inside has been solved. "The Chinese Maze Murders" involves an overgrown, impenetrable (literally and figuratively) garden maze, a painting with a secret clue that will give the key to how to reach the maze's center; two young sisters, and a particularly vile murderer who specializes in torturing and killing young ladies. Of the two, I thought "Monastery" was more fun, but both books are excellent examples of the Chinese mystery genre and Van Gulik succeeds in capturing the essence of the original Judge Dee. Of all Van Gulik's Judge Dee novels, "Monastery" and "Maze" come closest to the unknown Chinese author and are therefore, for this reviewer, his two best original books.

I've read all of the Judge Dee Mysteries and this double novel is one of the best. The Haunted Monastery gives fans a fascinating glimpse into Judge Dee's family life, including relationships among his three wives. The plots all revolve around the loves and mores of the Chinese upper and lower classes. The Chinese Maze Murders follows Judge Dee's dangerous attempt to end a criminal overlord's stranglehold on the Judge's new district of Lan-fang. The story of how Judge Dee out maneuvers this ruthless godfather and his hidden backers provides an excellent read. Don't miss this economically priced complete edition of two of the best Judge Dee mysteries