The Chinese Nail Murders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 University of Chicago Press - 1997 |
|
| Author | Robert van Gulik |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Ed Lindlof |
| Series | Judge Dee |
| Genre(s) | Mystery, Detective Novel |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
| Released | 1961 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 200 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-226-84863-9 |
| Preceded by | The Chinese Gold Murders |
| Followed by | The Haunted Monastery |
The Chinese Nail Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China (rougly speaking the Tang Dynasty). It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee (Ti Jen-chieh or Di Renjie), a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.
[edit] Plot introduction
Judge Dee, and his four helpers, solve three murders: that of an honored merchant, a master of martial arts, and the wife of a merchant, whose corpse has no head. Judge Dee soon comes under pressure from higher ranking officials to end his investigation. Naturally, Judge Dee refuses to give up until he has learned the whole truth.
The case of the headless corpse was based on an actual thirteenth-century Chinese murder casebook.
