Murder in Canton

Name: Murder in Canton
Rating: 4.26 (1378 reviews)

by Robert Van Gulik Book 2 in the Judge Dee Mysteries series.

First published 1966

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Now a senior judicial official, Judge Dee travels to Canton after an imperial censor disappears in the southern port. The investigation expands through three murders and the commercial communities of a city where Chinese officials, foreign merchants and religious minorities meet under the authority of the Tang government.

Dee and his assistants uncover a scheme intended to place conspirators in strategically important offices. The mystery combines surveillance, political murder and maritime trade, forcing the judge to distinguish personal rivalry from a coordinated attempt to manipulate the administration of the empire.