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A review by uutopicaa
The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee, S.J. Rozan
3.0
I bought this book on sale last year. I love mysteries and thrillers, so I figured it could be a good budget option for the winter.
The story follows two Chinese immigrants in London around 1920. They have to deal with a lot of discrimination and prejudice, which I found compelling because I could draw a direct line to the current situation where I live, where many people spread lies about immigrants for no reason other than fear of what’s different.
The dynamic between the protagonists is very similar to that of Holmes and Watson, with a narrator (Lao) who is very knowledgeable in his own profession but lacks many abilities and the common sense needed to solve a crime. Meanwhile, his companion (Dee, who is the true detective here) is not only smart and witty, but also great at martial arts and has contacts all over the city. Again, the way Lao tells the story, following Dee, makes it feel like reading Watson talking about Holmes.
The book is historically accurate as far as I can tell. It includes a lot of social and political messages related to that time period, with many upsetting British characters who think all Chinese people look the same. There are a lot pf philanthropists who love “Chinese art and gadgets,” even though they can’t understand what any of those items are really used for. The story discusses the Opium epidemic and other topics you’d probably already be familiar with if you’re a fan of stories set in Victorian England.
The mystery itself is okay. It begins with a Chinese shop owner being killed in his own store, followed soon after by another death of an immigrant. These two victims knew each other and arrived in England together, with two other men. So, our protagonists need to find the other two, either to prevent them from being killed or to figure out if one of them is the killer.
All in all, the setting and plot feel a bit generic. And the martial arts fighting scenes were too much for me in a book. Maybe they look cool in movies, but getting five pages of non-stop action in every chapter was overwhelming and took a lot away from the mystery for me.
Not a bad book. Just not for me.
The story follows two Chinese immigrants in London around 1920. They have to deal with a lot of discrimination and prejudice, which I found compelling because I could draw a direct line to the current situation where I live, where many people spread lies about immigrants for no reason other than fear of what’s different.
The dynamic between the protagonists is very similar to that of Holmes and Watson, with a narrator (Lao) who is very knowledgeable in his own profession but lacks many abilities and the common sense needed to solve a crime. Meanwhile, his companion (Dee, who is the true detective here) is not only smart and witty, but also great at martial arts and has contacts all over the city. Again, the way Lao tells the story, following Dee, makes it feel like reading Watson talking about Holmes.
The book is historically accurate as far as I can tell. It includes a lot of social and political messages related to that time period, with many upsetting British characters who think all Chinese people look the same. There are a lot pf philanthropists who love “Chinese art and gadgets,” even though they can’t understand what any of those items are really used for. The story discusses the Opium epidemic and other topics you’d probably already be familiar with if you’re a fan of stories set in Victorian England.
The mystery itself is okay. It begins with a Chinese shop owner being killed in his own store, followed soon after by another death of an immigrant. These two victims knew each other and arrived in England together, with two other men. So, our protagonists need to find the other two, either to prevent them from being killed or to figure out if one of them is the killer.
All in all, the setting and plot feel a bit generic. And the martial arts fighting scenes were too much for me in a book. Maybe they look cool in movies, but getting five pages of non-stop action in every chapter was overwhelming and took a lot away from the mystery for me.
Not a bad book. Just not for me.