I gave this book 5 stars not necessarily because it was the best book I’ve read all year but because it was just so rich in detail about the experience of Chinese immigrants in London post World War I and the ironic dichotomy of collecting and praising their cultural significance in art and food, while simultaneously degrading even the most upstanding Chinese citizens. The racism could feel heavy handed at times, but that felt fitting considering the setting, and appropriate to point out when we so often ignore the racism against Asian and Pacific Islanders in the West.

I agree with other reviews on there being a great deal of fighting in this book, but I found it fascinating rather than dull. I’ve never practiced any martial art so I found myself looking up the moves the author wrote in to be able to picture them and it ended up teaching me a great deal more than any fight scenes I’ve ever read in any other book! I loved the awe people had of Dee in how gracefully he moved and I found the banter that the characters often partook in afterwards to help lighten the mood afterwards and get it back on track to the witty murder mystery I initially signed up for.

The relationship between Hoong, Dee, and Lao was what really made this book for me and the way that they all helped each other grow into more understanding and loving people. They didn’t change who they were at their core, but instead learned how to see things from alternate perspectives, and rethougt how they were approaching one another in the process. It was a wonderful dynamic and I truly hope for more stories following this trio in the future.

I haven’t read the original Judge Dee series and while I can see the heavy Sherlock Holmes influences, I found the meta reference to this in the book extremely helpful for cutting my ties to the stories that inspired this. Pointing out our tendency to say “the Chinese Sherlock Holmes” instead of honoring the story for what it is was brilliant in my opinion, though I can see where it feels like a spoon fed message to others.

Overall I just had a lot of fun reading this book and it’s been a while since a book has just felt fun. Realistically it may be more 4.5 rounded up, but that’s still a solid endorsement to give it a try if you love period piece who done its.