Popular mystery and thriller writer S.J. Rozen and novelist and former publisher at Marvel Comics, John Shen Yen Nee, team up for a meaty and fast-moving historical mystery set in London in the 1920s.
The authors engagingly repurpose two actual historical personages for this “bewitching series kickoff,” as a Publishers Weekly reviewer dubbed The Murder of Mr. Ma in a starred review.
Lao She, here a shy academic lecturer, is the pen name for an actual Chinese novelist in mid-twentith century, known best for his novel, Rickshaw Boy. The other major character in The Murder of Mr. Ma, Judge Dee Ren Jie, is also based on a semi-historical figure who was a county magistrate and statesman of the Tang court. If the name sounds familiar, it should: Judge Dee was previously put to service in a series of detective novels by Robert van Gulik.
Rozen and Nee set their series launch in 1924 London. Lao She is summoned by famed mathematician and philosopher, Bertrand Russell, when Judge Dee, a friend of Russell’s, is arrested with a group of Chinese protestors. Russell wants Lao She to help him free Judge Dee, who has come to London to investigate the murder of shopkeeper Ma Za Ren. This is personal for Judge Dee, as he knows Ma from World War I when serving with the Chinese Labour Corps.
Judge Dee ultimately escapes prison, and he and Lao She team up to investigate the deaths of Ma and a series of others, all killed with the same butterfly sword. Along the way, the reader is served a good measure of humor and action scenes, as well as accurate period and historical detail.
The novel has won praise from Library Journal, whose reviewer felt that “fans of the Sherlock Holmes canon will appreciate this fast-paced, exciting novel.” A critic for the Washington Post concurred, calling the novel an “appealingly unusual, action-packed Sherlock Holmes pastiche with deep roots in both Chinese crime fiction and the history of early 20th-century England.” Further praise was offered by bestselling authors Laurie King, who called it a “joy,” and New York Times bestselling author Xiran Jay Zhao, who dubbed The Murder of Mr. Ma a ” refreshingly unique mystery,” and further noted that “Lao She and Dee Ren Jie are a hilarious and compelling duo to follow!”
Release date for The Murder of Mr. Ma is April 2. This is one to watch.
Scene of the Crime 