The Railway Conspiracy
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- ¥2,400
発行者による作品情報
Judge Dee and Lao She must use all their powers of deduction—and kung fu skills—to take down a sinister conspiracy between Imperial Russia, Japan, and China in a rollicking new mystery set in 1920s London.
The follow-up to The Murder of Mr. Ma, this historical adventure-mystery is perfect for fans of Laurie R. King and the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes films.
London, 1924. Following several months abroad, Judge Dee Ren Jie has returned to the city to foil a transaction between a Russian diplomat and a Japanese mercenary. Aided by Lao She—the Watson to his Holmes—along with several other colorful characters, Dee stops the illicit sale of an extremely valuable “dragon-taming” mace.
The mace’s owner is a Chinese businesswoman who thanks Dee for its retrieval by throwing a lavish dinner party. In attendance is British banking official A. G. Stephen, who argues with the group about the tenuous state of Chinese nationalism—and is poisoned two days later. Dee knows this cannot be a coincidence, and suspects Stephen won’t be the only victim. Sure enough, a young Chinese communist of Lao’s acquaintance is killed not long after—and a note with a strange symbol is found by his body.
What could connect these murders? Could it be related to rumors of a conspiracy regarding the Chinese Eastern Railway? It is once again all on the unlikely crime-solving duo of Dee and Lao to solve the case before anyone else ends up tied to the rails.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rozan and Nee's fiendishly clever second whodunit featuring Tang Dynasty magistrate Judge Dee (after The Murder of Mr. Ma) establishes the series' staying power. In 1924, Judge Dee returns to London from China and meets with his friend, Professor Lao She, just in time to tackle a pair of cases with international ramifications. First, the duo successfully tracks down a stolen Chinese mace on behalf of businesswoman Wu Ze Tian. To thank them, Wu hosts a banquet with high society guests, including Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank director A.G. Stephen. Partway through the dinner, Stephen steers the conversation toward China's future on the international stage and details of the country's controversial Eastern Railway. Two days later, he turns up dead. Then another murder, with eerie echoes of the first, set Dee and Lao on the hunt for a killer who may have a stake in China's railway project. The authors maintain a lively pace without sacrificing character development or plot plausibility. It's a fair-play treat for mystery readers who prefer their deduction with a dash of adrenaline.
