ISBN: 0-2268-4869-8 Order from: Amazon.com
Charming and mannered mystery with a traditional detective, this has as an added bonus the exotic setting of T'ang Dynasty China.
Reviewed by David on August 08, 2003
Genre: Mystery (Police Procedural, Historical, China)
Synopsis: During the Tang dynasty, over a thousand years ago, much of China was ruled by well-developed beauracrocy, staffed with scholarly officials who passed tough civil examinations. Nonetheless, despite the organization and booming trade, the country still had plenty of poverty and crime.
And thus much occupation for a district magistrate Judge Dee, well-known for his ability to investigate crimes.
See The Morning of the Monkey for the first novella.
In The Night of the Tiger, Magistrate Dee stops in a country manor house on the way to the Imperial Capital. Temporarily cut off by a rising flood, the judge confronts a mysterious death in the house, as well as a vicious and desperate band of robbers outside.
Full Review: As in other books of the series, the mysteries provide satisfying intellectual puzzles as well as colorful but not overwhelming look at China fifteen hundred years ago. The exotic culture, combined with familiar human passions, make for an entertaining mystery. The somewhat aloof nature of the detective allows little emotional intensity, but there is enough observation of human nature to infuse a measure of sympathy for both the victims and the criminals.
The author's illustrations, done in traditional (although much later) Chinese style, add to the pleasurable experience of the book.
Includes: The Morning of the Monkey; The Night of the Tiger
Overall: 6; Plot: 6; Characters: 5; Style: 6; World-building: 7; Originality: 7;
Copyright date 1965, University of Chicago Press, 1992, Mass paperback
ISBN: 0-2268-4869-8 Order from: Amazon.com