A reread. Classic Chinese detective tale, almost verbatim from archival accounts. van Gulik was a world renowned sinologist and he had a passion for Chinese criminal justice. His hero Judge Dee is based on an historical judge and his adventures around the Empire starting around 663 AD. It's well done, the reader is put right inside the story and you get to learn a few interesting things about the Empire frontier life on the Korean borders. I love his original mysteries. The new adventures of Judge Dee are not to be even approached. It's like getting a slice of processed cheese when you had the real thing. ( )

Judge DEE is fashioned after the historical figure of a real Judge Dee, famous in ancient Chinese panels as a scholar and magistrate. Robert van Gulik who was born in the Netherlands and served in the diplomat Service in China and Japan for many years. His interest in Asian languages led him to the discovery of Chinese detective novels and to this historical character. This book details how Judge Dee began his career and how he met up with his constant companions who appear in all the subsequent books.

At the beginning of Judge Dee's career when he was 33 years old he obtained his first appointment to a post in the provinces. Dee went to a port city on the north east coast. He was sent to replace a magistrate who had been murdered. The previous investigation of this murder had been cut short for reasons unknown to the Judge. When Judge Dee finally got settled in his new lodgings several cases came to hand. The first was the case of a wife, the second was the case of a missing member of the magistrates court and finally it was the case of the murdered magistrate.

The judge uses his powers of deduction and insight to solve all these puzzles in a very interesting and informative way. I really enjoy the Judge Dee books. ( )

Great book about ancient Chinese culture and its judicial system, a must read for any history, world lit, or English class. Very well written, and easy to read perfect for middle school or high school students. The mystery element of the book can be expanded to create an entire lesson about genre. The plot and first person narrative provide a perfect way of studying narration styles and the elements of a novel. The characters are very diverse and bring many ideas into the story that could be a platform into discussions about race, class, crime, fantasy, empirical rule, the judicial system then and now. A teacher could create and entire unit off this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think it's a great teaching tool.

Although The Chinese Gold Murders is not the first book published in Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee mysteries, it tells of the beginning of Judge Dee's career as a magistrate. His first appointment takes him to the coastal town of Peng-lai to replace a recently murdered magistrate. His first task is to investigate his predecessor's murder. Soon two more cases require his attention: a missing person case involving a newly-married young woman, and another murder.

This is the first book I've read in this series, and it's one that will take some getting used to. The author has patterned this novel after Chinese detective novels, which follow different rules than the Western detective fiction I'm used to. The historical and cultural setting -- China's Tang Dynasty (with elements of the Ming Dynasty) -- is one I'm not very familiar with, and the English translation doesn't flow as well as it might if a native speaker had translated it.

It's probably worth the extra effort for me to read more in this series. The detective is based on a historical person, Di Renjie, who lived in the 7th century. Di is remembered for solving difficult crimes, and he was the hero of some Chinese detective novels, some of which were translated by Robert van Gulik. The author's illustrations are a nice touch to help readers visualize the characters and cultural setting.

Recommended for readers with an interest in historical mysteries and/or Chinese history. Its supernatural elements may appeal to readers who like paranormal fiction. ( )

Beware, these are very addictive books. Once I discovered Judge Dee, I bought the whole series and consumed them all like exotic bon bons. ( )