Judge Dee Mysteries

A magistrate investigates the death of a nobleman in this historical mystery set in China's Tang Dynasty era. Judge Dee has been appointed emergency governor of the plague and drought ridden Imperial City. As his guards help the city fend off a popular uprising, an aristocrat from one of the oldest families in China suffers an "accident" in a deserted mansion. In The Willow Pattern, the illustrious judge uses his trademark expertise to unravel the mysteries of the nobleman, a shattered vase, and a dead bondmaid. Along the way he encounters a woman who fights with loaded sleeves, a nearly drowned courtesan, and an elaborate trap set for a murderer. Packed with suspense, violence, and romance, The Willow Pattern won't disappoint Judge Dee's legions of loyal fans. "The China of old, in Mr. van Gulik's skilled hands, comes vividly alive again." -New York Times Book Review "Entertaining, instructive and oddly impressive." -Times Literary Supplement This audiobook is expertly read by Peter Kim, with audio engineering by Sam Platt. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

A delectable collection of cozy puzzle mysteries starring the wonderful Chinese sleuth Judge Dee, whom the Los Angeles Times ranked with Sherlock Holmes. The eight short stories in Judge Dee at Work cover a decade during which the judge served in four different provinces of the T'ang Empire. From the suspected treason of a general in the Chinese army to the murder of a lonely poet in his garden pavilion, the cases here are among the most memorable in the Judge Dee series. A Dutch scholar, linguist, and diplomat who grew up immersed in Asian culture, Robert van Gulik discovered and translated an eighteenth-century Chinese crime novel he'd found in an antiquarian bookstore. Its success led him to write multiple mysteries featuring the same character. Based on a historical magistrate and statesman of the seventh-century T'ang Dynasty, his Judge Dee mysteries have entertained readers for decades. This audiobook is expertly read by Peter Kim, with audio engineering by Sam Platt. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

The latest puzzling mystery facing Jude Dee begins on the night of the Poo-yang dragonboat races in 699 A.D.: a drummer in the leading boat collapses, and the body of a beautiful young woman turns up in a deserted country mansion. There, Judge Dee-tribunal magistrate, inquisitor, and public avenger-steps in to investigate the murders and return order to the Tang Dynasty. In The Emperor's Pearl, the judge discovers that these two deaths are connected by an ancient tragedy involving a near-legendary treasure stolen from the Imperial Harem one hundred years earlier. The terrifying figure of the White Lady, a river goddess enshrined on a bloodstained altar, looms in the background of the investigation. Clues are few and elusive, but under the expert hand of Robert van Gulik, this mythic jigsaw puzzle assembles itself into a taut mystery. "If you have not yet discovered Judge Dee and his faithful Sgt. Hoong, I envy you that initial pleasure which comes from the discovery of a great detective story. For the magistrate of Poo-yang belongs in that select group of fictional detectives headed by the renowned Sherlock Holmes." -Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times This audiobook is expertly read by Peter Kim, with audio engineering by Sam Platt. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Set during the T'ang dynasty, the Judge Dee Mysteries feature a brilliant and cultured Confucian magistrate disdainful of personal luxury and corruption, who cleverly selects allies to help him navigate the royal courts, politics, and ethnic tensions in imperial China. Murder in Canton takes place in the year 680, as Judge Dee, recently promoted to lord chief justice, is sent incognito to Canton to investigate the disappearance of a court censor. With the help of his trusted lieutenants Chiao Tai and Tao Gan, and that of a clever blind girl who collects crickets, Dee solves a complex puzzle of political intrigue and murder through the three separate subplots "the vanished censor," "the Smaragdine dancer," and "the Golden Bell." Written by a Dutch diplomat and scholar during the 1950s and 1960s, these lively and historically accurate mysteries have entertained a devoted following for decades. Robert van Gulik modeled Judge Dee on a magistrate of that name who lived in the seventh century, and he drew on stories and literary conventions of Chinese mystery writing dating back to the Sung dynasty to construct his ingenious plots. This audiobook is expertly read by Peter Kim, with audio engineering by Sam Platt. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Set during the Tang Dynasty, this historical mystery features Chinese detective Judge Dee as he investigates a locked room mystery involving a prostitute. A chance encounter with Autumn Moon, the most powerful courtesan on Paradise Island, leads magistrate Judge Dee to investigate the murder of a man who spent his last week alive with the infamous prostitute. When the lady herself is murdered, the mystery deepens, leading Dee through a tangled history of passion and betrayal. This audiobook is read by Peter Kim, with audio engineering by Sam Platt. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

The very first mystery in the beloved series starring Judge Dee, a detective whom the Los Angeles Times ranked with Sherlock Holmes! Join the T'ang Dynasty detective Judge Dee on his very first full-length mystery! Poisoned plums, a cryptic scroll picture, passionate love letters, and a hidden murderer with a penchant for torturing and killing women lead Judge Dee to the heart of the Governor's garden maze and the answers to three interwoven mysteries. This book kicked off Robert van Gulik's long-running series and introduced countless readers to a cozy, clever series and the incredible detective at its center. Read this one and you'll quickly find yourself seeking out the whole series. This audiobook is expertly read by Peter Kim, with audio engineering by Sam Platt. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

An eerie tale, combining investigation, horror and surprise, Robert van Gulik's latest Chinese detective story is set in a remote western border province of the mighty Tang empire. There, in the district of Lan-fang, separated from the vast Tartar steppes of Central Asia by only a boundary river, Judge Dee faces and solves one of the most frightening cases of his long career. Outside the east city gate, on a wooded hill, stood a centuries-old Buddhist temple. It was there that the phantom stalked; and there also a series of brutal murders were committed. Judge Dee's inquiry into them is complicated by a mysterious dying message from a young girl and by the theft of a large sum in gold from an imperial treasurer. Judge Dee presided over his imperial Chinese court with a unique brand of Confucian justice. A near mythic figure in China, he distinguished himself as a tribunal magistrate, inquisitor, and public avenger. Long after his death, accounts of his exploits were celebrated in Chinese folklore, and later immortalized by Robert van Gulik in his electrifying mysteries. "Judge Dee belongs in that select group of fictional detectives headed by the renowned Sherlock Holmes. I assure you it is a compliment not given frivolously." -Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times This audiobook is expertly read by Peter Kim, with audio engineering by Sam Platt. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.