The Murder of Mr. Ma

In 1924 London, Lao She, a shy young academic, is summoned to the home of mathematician Bertrand Russell. When he arrives, Russell explains that a friend and colleague, Judge Dee Ren Jie, has been mistakenly arrested with a group of Chinese agitators. Russell is afraid that if Dee’s identity is discovered by Metropolitan Police inspector William Bard, whom Dee encountered during their shared service during WWI, the end result could be hazardous for Dee, so Russell enlists Lao in a plan to extract Dee from jail. While the plan isn’t executed as flawlessly as Russell hoped, Dee is freed. Now he is able to pursue his reason for coming to London: he is investigating the recent murder of a Chinese shopkeeper with whom he served in WWI. When Dee asks Lao for his assistance in discovering the identity of the killer, he is, at first, hesitant. Lao She teaches Chinese to English students and is an aspiring novelist. He is not an adventurer or a detective. Nonetheless, he agrees to assist Judge Dee in any way he can to solve the mystery of The Murder of Mr. Ma.

In their first collaboration, award-winning author SJ Rozan and debut author Shen Yen Nee tells a story that has its roots in the past, both historical and literary, with a strong cinematic quality and the perfect blend of thoughtful examination of the mystery in need of a solution and incredibly choreographed action sequences (the authors enlisted the expertise of Kung Fu fight choreographers to realize their vision). To all of this, throw in marvelously drawn post-WWI London, including the near mania that was affecting the country over anything associated with the exotic far-east, with just a tad of the British penny-dreadfuls thrown in for good measure. The result is a rollicking, page turning novel filled with wonderful characters (some of whom, like the novel’s two protagonists, are based on actual historical figures), edge of your seat action and a challenging mystery.

The novel’s forward begins with the line "Every story connects to all stories." The authors draw a number of parallels between Dee and Lao’s relationship with the well known partnership of Holmes and Watson, allowing readers both a shortcut to understanding Dee and Lao, but also the joys of discovering how these characters are markedly different from their predecessors. The result is something that seems simultaneously familiar and exciting.

That same forward also includes this: "A good friend once said that no story ever truly ends." The Murder of Mr. Ma is the first of a new series featuring Judge Dee Ren Jie and Lao She, and readers will be ready for the sequel the moment they turn the last page. Let’s hope the wait is not long...