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The Willow Pattern

A Judge Dee Mystery

Judge Dee has been appointed emergency governor of the plague- and drought-ridden Imperial City. As his guards help the city fend off a popular uprising, an aristocrat from one of the oldest families in China suffers an "accident" in a deserted mansion.

In The Willow Pattern, the illustrious judge uses his trademark expertise to unravel the mysteries of the nobleman, a shattered vase, and a dead bondmaid. Along the way he encounters a woman who fights with loaded sleeves, a nearly drowned courtesan, and an elaborate trap set for a murderer. Packed with suspense, violence, and romance, The Willow Pattern won’t disappoint Judge Dee’s legions of loyal fans.

"The China of old, in Mr. van Gulik’s skilled hands, comes vividly alive again."—Allen J. Hubin, New York Times Book Review


192 pages | 16 line drawings | 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 | © 1965

Fiction

Table of Contents

Illustrations
Judge Dee and Chiao Tai
A meeting in a dark street
A girl assaulted by four ruffians
Judge Dee receives Mrs. Mei
A lady kneels before the judge
Judge Dee has tea in the Willow Abode
Ma Joong saves a drowning girl
Judge Dee in the boudoir of a dead lady
Ma Joong and Chiao Tai view two bodies
Coral’s dance
A cruel tyrant and his victim
Judge Dee in the guestroom of the Mei mansion
The judge questions a suspect
A man meets his dead mistress
A young girl takes vengeance
 

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