THE RED PAVILION

a JUDGE DEE mystery
by

ROBERT VAN GULIK

University of Chicago Press Edition (1994)

CONDITION:  Very good paperback book with slight shelfwear at edges and corners.

A chance encounter with Autumn Moon, the most powerful courtesan on Paradise Island, leads Judge Dee to investigate three deaths. Although he finally teases the true story from a tangled history of passion and betrayal, Dee is saddened by the perversion, corruption, and waste of the world "of flowers and willows" that thrives on prostitution.

About the author:

Robert Hans van Gulik was a Dutch diplomat best known for his Judge Dee stories. His first published book, The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, was a translation of an eighteenth-century Chinese murder mystery by an unknown author; he went on to write new mysteries for Judge Dee, a character based on a historical figure from the seventh century. He also wrote academic books, mostly on Chinese history.

Commentaries on line:

I just remembered this one recently. Some of the forgotten "old ones" pop up from time to time. I'm not sure which of the JD books I read (only one) so I picked this one. Very entertaining as I recall.

A neglected crime novel which is more than this, for people who like a good mystery and gain knowledge about a different culture. You are immersed in the day to day living from an ancient era and still feel how civilization continues its progress or lack of, the climb up above the clouds to a better world, is not always in a straight line.

During the several days that Judge Dee and his trusty lieutenant Ma Joong investigate, they not only learn the truth about Lee’s death but also resolve the murder of the beautiful but cruel courtesan Autumn Moon and yet another murder committed 30 years earlier. In those two cases, the victims, like Lee, died behind locked doors inside the self-same Red Pavilion. Readers won’t guess the murderer until the penultimate chapter. 

#9 in the series, so don't start with this one. Start with the first one. Recommended for people who want something different in their mystery reading; also, I think anyone who likes historical mystery should enjoy this series as well.

This might be my favourite Judge Dee novel (yes, I realize I have been saying this about each of the last two Dee books I've read). A very intriguing setting, a plot that isn't a political conspiracy (I tend to dislike those) and that reaches far into the fast - an interesting cast of characters and a really good riddle. The solution comes a bit out of the left field and I don't know how anyone could guess it (even though that I admit that some of the clues were there) and it's a pity only Ma Joong accompanies the Judge in this novel, but I still enjoyed it immensely. Now to get my hands on more of these novels...

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