London, 1924. When shy academic Lao She meets larger-than-life Judge Dee Ren Jie, his quiet life abruptly turns from books and lectures to daring chases and narrow escapes. Dee has come to London to investigate the murder of a man heâd known during World War I when serving with the Chinese Labour Corps. No sooner has Dee interviewed the grieving widow than another dead body turns up.
Then another. All stabbed to death with a butterfly sword. Will Dee and Lao be able to connect the threads of the murdersâor are they next in line as victims?
Blending traditional gongâan crime fiction with the most iconic aspects of the Sherlock Holmes canon, Dee and Laoâs first adventure is as thrilling and visual as an action film, as imaginative and transportive as a timeless classic.
âFans of Sherlock Holmes, devotees of intricate crime, and lovers of historical London will thrill over The Murder of Mr. Ma ⌠With a plot as clever as Chinese veteran of WWI turned independent investigator Dee, and pacing as light-footed as the martial artists engaged in the frequent fisticuffs, this case has it allâeven romance and authentic food, if you can stomach such things. Iâm only miffed because I donât know when the next in the series will land on my doorstep.ââLyndsay Faye, author of Dust and Shadow