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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.
Prologue
Beijing, 1966
It seems every tale of Dee Ren Jie begins with a fight.
Dee himself is the most patient and just of men; yet in some places and in some times, patience and justice are not the virtues most prized by some men. In those times and places, preparing oneself for the rigors of physical combat is the way of wisdom, and Dee is also wise.
In years to come, men looking back on China in our day, as I am looking back now on England in an earlier one, may conclude that was how things were with us. I cannot say.
But with certainty, I can say this: it was how things were in London in the late summer of 1924.
CHAPTER ONE
London, 1924
I'm just telling yer, Mr. Dee, and with respect, o' course, I don't much like this place yer've brought us to. A mist so thick I can almost grab 'old of it, and trees way over me 'ead, with 'oo knows what's walking around in 'em. Monkeys and such, I'll warrant! And the smell in the air—it ain't natural, sir. With nary a streetlamp to be seen. Just shadows and the shadows o' shadows. And deer! Deer, Mr. Dee! With great sharp 'orns. Could we not do our business elsewhere, is all I'm asking."
"We could do our business anywhere, Jimmy." Judge Dee, unseen, answered the complaint of young Jimmy Fingers from deep in the darkness under a massive oak. "The men we've come to intercept, however, insist on doing theirs here. Don't worry. If all goes well, I'll have you back on the streets of London within the hour."
This promise was a touch superfluous, as we had not left London. To reach the streets, one would have had merely to stroll ten minutes from the Richmond Park clearing, in which we stood. Our errand had not brought us very far into that greensward, certainly not far enough to encounter the King's deer, with or without great sharp horns. The damp and loamy scent Jimmy protested was, in fact, that of man's original Arcadian state, in contrast to the scents Jimmy preferred and that awaited us beyond the park's walls: the smoke of coal fires and the exhaust of buses and motorcars, the aromas of cooked meat and horse dung and whatever was floating at the moment in the Thames. As for monkeys, the nearest were twenty-five kilometers away, asleep in their cages at the Regent's Park Zoo.
"Jimmy," I said, speaking in English as Dee had, for admire Dee as he did, the lad had yet to learn a word of Chinese, "does an evening in the greenery not suit you?"
"That it don't, Mr. Lao. The dark is too ... dark! And things is rustling—" He jumped as a thing rustled. "I 'aven't spent a great deal o' time in such places, see. Parks and trees and all don't 'ave much to offer a man engaged in my line o' work."
Although Jimmy had for a time been, and was now again, in the employ of Dee, Dee had lately been absent from London for some months. In April, he'd sailed for China, and none of us—myself, Jimmy, or Sergeant Hoong, who completed our foursome here in the clearing—had been sure he would return, and if he were to do so, when. Hoong had reverted to his shopkeeping, with which he claimed to be content. I could not say as much for my sentiments toward my own life lecturing in the basics of the Chinese language at the University of London. Classes, when I took them up again, I found no more stimulating than when I first began them upon my arrival in London the year previous. For his part, Jimmy Fingers asserted, whenever we three met for a bowl of noodles—to his credit, the young man had developed quite an appreciation for the cuisine of my homeland during his first stint in Dee's service—that he was tiptoeing the straight and narrow, that I am, sirs. However, according to Hoong's intelligence, Jimmy had happily resumed his career as a pickpocket. Pickpocketing, of course, requires pockets to pick, which are hard to come by amid tall trees and things that rustle.
"Lao," said Sergeant Hoong now, interrupting my reverie, "you are lollygagging. Do you intend to take ...
Excerpted from The Railway Conspiracy by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan. Copyright © 2025 by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan. Excerpted by permission of Soho Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
At the end of The Murder of Mr. Ma, the first book in S.J. Rozan and John Shen Yen Nee's Dee and Lao historical mystery series, Judge Dee Ren Jie has departed for China, leaving behind his friend, Lao She, to resume his career as a professor at the University of London. Book two, The Railway Conspiracy, has Dee returning to the city some months later as a representative of China's Nationalist party. Reunited, the pair set about investigating the theft of an ancient Chinese artifact—but as the plot thickens and the body count increases, it becomes clear there's much more at stake than the missing antique. Dee and Lao are joined in their endeavors by two characters they met during their previous adventure: shopkeeper and kung fu master Sergeant Hoong, and Jimmy Fingers, a (possibly) reformed pickpocket.
Many have compared Dee and Lao to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: Dee, like Holmes, is a savant, with extraordinary physical and observational skills; Lao, like Dr. Watson, is his well-intentioned and loyal sidekick, often clueless and a bit bumbling, who narrates their adventures. And although Rozan and Nee's books are set in the 1920s—a little later than Doyle's—the London atmosphere feels remarkably similar, both in its daily bustle and its dark, danger-filled nights.
But that's not to say the pair are carbon copies of Holmes and Watson. The two men are fleshed-out, individual characters, with lives outside of their partnership. Dee supports China's Nationalists while Lao is an avowed Communist; Dee is an atheist and Lao is a Christian; Dee is more culturally Chinese, while Lao, who lives in England, prefers some aspects of British culture. And because of vivid and well-drawn supporting characters like Hoong and Jimmy, as well as new characters who are added to the recurring cast by the end of the book, the world feels broader than Doyle's does.
While The Murder of Mr. Ma was concerned with social issues faced by people of Chinese descent in London during the era, like difficulty finding housing and employment, this second novel is more concerned with the politics of China. The characters do certainly face racial prejudice, but unlike in the first novel, it's not central to the plot. Instead, much of the book revolves around China's internal struggles at the time—namely, the rise of both the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party and the conflicts between the two groups. The authors describe the debate in compelling terms, and make it easy for those not familiar with China's history to follow the issues.
One of the most impressive aspects of the series is how much historical fact underlies the plot. The Railway Conspiracy was a slow read for me, not because it wasn't a page turner (it definitely is) but because I had to compulsively verify information in the narrative. Yes, I learned, there really was a Palaseum Theatre in London owned by a Mr. Ben Hur (formerly a boxer named Henry Ben Solomon). There was also a London Necropolis Railway that operated for the sole purpose of conveying corpses and mourners from London to a large cemetery to the north. Even Dee and Lao are based on real-life figures (Di Renjie of the Tang and Wu Zhou Dynasties, and 20th century novelist Lao She, respectively). The list goes on; historical fiction fans will absolutely rejoice in all the tiny details the authors include.
And readers who don't necessarily revel in historical detail will likely still enjoy the action sequences. There are at least five multi-page kung fu battles that are relayed with cinematic clarity:
"Isaki rolled into the crouching posture of an iaijutsu stance. In one swift action, he drew his katana from its scabbard and swept a one-stroke killing slash. Hoong sidestepped the flashing sword; no sooner had he than Isaki, almost faster than I could follow, swung the blade a second time. Hoong bent back almost double to avoid this cut…I saw Hoong shift his legs…and catch the katana in mid-third-strike, flat between his massive palms. He twisted his body and his arms and, with a grunt, snapped the blade in two."
These action sequences can be a double-edged sword, though (pun intended). Sometimes they seem a bit gratuitous; other times, too fantastical. The comic book atmosphere is reinforced by Dee's propensity to dress up as the legendary Spring-heeled Jack (see Beyond the Book) to intimidate others or disguise his identity; there's even one vignette that calls to mind a scene from The Incredible Hulk. These passages are amusing, but they distract from the truly fine mystery into which they're inserted.
The Railway Conspiracy can be read as a standalone novel, but I highly recommend starting with the first book in the series, which explains how the various partnerships were formed, provides a fascinating backstory for Dee, and is every bit as entertaining.
Reviewed by Kim Kovacs
Judge Dee Ren Jie, the protagonist of the Dee and Lao mystery series, frequently masquerades as Spring-heeled Jack, a legendary figure out of Victorian London. Sometimes Dee uses the costume to intimidate suspects into divulging information, but more often, he uses it to disguise his true identity while interacting with London's police force.
Tales of the figure who ultimately came to be known as Spring-heeled Jack first started appearing in and around London in 1837. In the first known report, a businessman returning home late one September evening was frightened by "a 'muscular man of devilish features' that included large, pointed ears and nose and protruding, glowing eyes." The phantom had leapt over the high railings of Barnes Cemetery with ease before landing in front of his victim; both parties fled after the encounter.
A few weeks later, a young woman out walking with friends was attacked in the same area; she reported that a "muscular man of odd appearance" accosted her, ripping her clothing and leaving scratches in her skin with his "iron-clad fingers." Another woman had a similar encounter a couple of nights later, with a creature that trapped her in his arms, kissed her, and tore at her dress with hands that were "cold and clammy as those of a corpse."
The following day, a figure matching the women's descriptions leapt out in front of a carriage, causing the vehicle to crash and injuring the coachman. Several witnesses claim to have seen the villain flee by jumping a nine-foot-high wall while emitting wild, high-pitched laughter. The remarkable vaults and weird cackling became the figure's trademark and gave rise to the name "Spring-heeled Jack."
As the number of attacks escalated, panic in the city increased to the point that the Lord Mayor of London, Sir John Cowan, addressed them at a Public House session on January 9, 1838. He said that the perpetrators were a group of wealthy young men playing pranks on the public, and he assured the citizens that the miscreants would soon be caught. (No responsible party was ever identified.)
Two widely reported cases added fuel to the fire soon after the Mayor's statement. On the night of February 20, someone claiming to be a policeman rang 18-year-old Jane Alsop's doorbell, saying they needed help. When she went out into the street with a candle, the figure began to tear at her clothes and skin with metal claws—the same treatment experienced by Jack's other victims. This time, however, he also breathed a blue flame into her face; her screams brought help and the phantom ran away. Eight days later, Lucy Scales was similarly assaulted on her way home; again, claws and a blue flame were featured in her description of the attack.
Before long, Jack seemed to be everywhere at once. Any time there was an unexplained catastrophe or whenever a person was assaulted, it was blamed on Spring-heeled Jack. Descriptions of this menace varied widely and over time his visage became more and more frightening. His skills, too, became increasingly outlandish as his legend grew. He evolved into a type of bogeyman, and London's children were warned that Spring-heeled Jack would steal into their bedrooms at night if they misbehaved.
The tales of his ever-more-fantastic abilities were helped along by the fact that he captured the imaginations of fiction writers of the day and subsequently became the subject of many "penny dreadfuls" over the next few years. In the ensuing decades Spring-heeled Jack gradually transformed from the villain of the story to an altruistic righter of wrongs—a sort of Victorian-Age Robin Hood. Eventually Jack's appearances petered out, with his last confirmed sighting in Liverpool in 1904, when "he was witnessed leaping up and down the street before jumping onto the rooftops and bounding away forever."
Image from Wikimedia Commons
Filed under Cultural Curiosities
By Kim Kovacs
With all the wit of a Jane Austen novel, and a case as beguiling as any in Sherlock Holmes' casebook, Paraic O'Donnell introduces a detective duo for the ages, and slowly unlocks the secrets of a startling Victorian mystery.
Lovers of historical mystery will relish this chilling Victorian tale based on real events and cloaked in authenticity. Best of all, it casts British literature's most fascinating and controversial figure as the lead sleuth. (UK title: Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders). Published in the USA simultaneously in hardcover and paperback.
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