Necklace and Calabash: A
Judge Dee Mystery –by Robert van Gulik
Mystery
144 pages
Footnotes/Endnotes: No
Illustrations: Yes (line drawings by author)
Suitable for eReaders: Yes
4 Stars
Judge Dee mysteries are based on an historical person in
China, having lived from 630-700AD (Tang Dynasty). He earned fame both as a
detective and as a great statesman.
My Sis sent me this book, and it's the first of his several
books I've read. I'll probably read the others. Gulik was born in The
Netherlands, and was quite a student of the Orient, so he was familiar with the
culture, language, and customs. Van Gulik was a Dutch Diplomat.
The vocabulary is, at times, stilted, and sounds almost
British, but the books were written in the 1950s and 1960s, probably in Dutch
and then translated.
The book opens with Judge Dee arriving in a small town, and
he wants nothing more than to have a few days of rest and relaxation, a chance
to catch up on some fishing, etc., before his men catch up and they travel
home. (His men are hunting) Instead, he is thrown into mystery upon arrival,
first with a young man found brutally murdered, then the Emperor's favorite
daughter, Third Princess who lives near by asks him to find a priceless
necklace that was stolen, and gives him no clues, and all this while he is
incognito as a Doctor.
A quick and enjoyable read, Necklace and Calabash is worth
the time investment. Mr. van Gulik died in 1967, so there are no new books out
there, but some are in electronic format, and most are available as used books.
And, of course, there is always the library;-)
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