“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

“The China of old, in Mr. van Gulik’s skilled hands, comes vividly alive again.”

Allen J. Hubin | New York Times Book Review

“Entertaining, instructive and oddly impressive. Judge Dee, the officers of his tribunal and the people with whom he and they are concerned are interesting folk, and the world of crime, mystery, violence, lust, corruption and ceremony in which they move is formidably picturesque.”

Times Literary Supplement