MURDER OF MR. MA

John Shen Yen Nee is a half Chinese, half Scottish American media executive, producer and entrepreneur who was born in Knoxville, grew up in San Diego, and is now based in Los Angeles, with a penchant for very long run-on sentences. He has served as president of WildStorm Productions; senior vice president of DC Comics; publisher of Marvel Comics; CEO of Cryptozoic Entertainment; and cofounder of CCG Labs. You can read more about him at www.johnnee.com.

SJ Rozan is the best-selling author of twenty novels and over eighty short stories, and editor of three anthologies. Her multiple awards include the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, Macavity; Japanese Maltese Falcon; and the Private Eye Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award. She’s served on the national boards of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and as president of Private Eye Writers of America. She was born in the Bronx and lives in Manhattan.

“The Murder of Mr. Ma is a refreshingly unique mystery featuring a Chinese detective and his somewhat unwitting partner in 1920s London, combining classic elements from both British and Chinese detective stories in a thrilling romp that doesn’t shy away from the realities of life under colonial dynamics. Lao She and Dee Ren Jie are a hilarious and compelling duo to follow!”
–Xiran Jay Zhao, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Iron Widow

“The Murder of Mr. Ma is a joy, with this Chinese Sherlock Holmes and his Watson bringing a thrilling, complex, and thought-provoking new take on 1920s London.”
–Laurie R. King, bestselling author of The Lantern’s Dance

“Fans of Sherlock Holmes, devotees of intricate crime, and lovers of historical London will thrill over The Murder of Mr. Ma, the new gift to mystery readers bestowed by John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan. With a plot as clever as Chinese veteran of WWI turned independent investigator Dee, and pacing as light-footed as the martial artists engaged in the frequent fisticuffs, this case has it all–even romance and authentic food, if you can stomach such things. I’m only miffed because I don’t know when the next in the series will land on my doorstep.”
–Lyndsay Faye, author of Dust and Shadow

“The compelling plot moves along swiftly. Further, it’s filled with booby-trapped buildings, masterful disguises (including Springheel Jack), the click of mah-jongg tiles, and the awful prejudice that pervaded the times in which the novel is set. Forget the time anomaly: take a journey back a hundred years with a 1,300-year-old character. You won’t regret it.” —Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

“A bewitching series kickoff . . . The intricate plot, which is bolstered by vivid period detail and playfully riffs on real-life figures in Chinese history (including Lao), is enhanced by healthy doses of humor and well-orchestrated action. Readers will be clamoring for a sequel.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Rozan and comics exec Nee create a distinct sense of time and place in this brisk adventure . . . Lao narrates their adventures as Dee impersonates a street legend, ‘Springheel Jack, the Terror of London, ‘ swinging from lampposts and launching himself across rooftops in search of a killer. Fans of the Sherlock Holmes canon will appreciate this fast-paced, exciting novel.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review

“A high-energy, rambunctious tale . . . The authors do a wonderful job of depicting the bustling London of the ’20s, the Chinese community and the relentless racism and stereotypes it is a victim of, and absolutely fabulous displays of martial arts. There’s word that Dr. Dee may be returning to solve another case; here’s hoping he does!”
–First Clue Reviews

“Judge Dee, though fighting his addiction to opium, manages to come up with a plausible reason why so many members of the battalion have met sudden deaths and to excel in the bouts of martial arts in which so many scenes of conflict end . . . First of a series that’s acutely attuned to British racism between the two world wars.”
—Kirkus Reviews

1. What are your thoughts and feelings about Judge Dee Ren Jie and Lao She, both as individuals and as partners? How did their similarities or differences inform or affect their partnership and the investigation?
2. Did you suspect the killer(s)? If so, what evidence led you to believe they were the killer(s)? If not, whom did you suspect and why?
3. What did you think of Dee’s use of the villainous character Springheel Jack, the Terror of London, to aid his investigation? Do you think there is a narrative connection between the idea of Springheel Jack and the “Yellow Peril”?
4. What did you make of the tontine scheme? Would you ever enter into such an arrangement? Why would someone participate in a tontine, and why did Captain Lu’s labor band?
5. What are some examples of the racist stereotypes and the discrimination that the Chinese community faced in 1920s London? How did it affect Lao and Dee’s investigation? How has this discrimination changed or remained for the Chinese community today?
6. Dee often accuses Lao of taking “the side of the Britisher” against his countrymen. Did you agree with Dee’s accusation? Why do you think Dee felt this way?
7. Through the book, many British characters deride the Chinese for their opium usage, even though the British Empire had created and encouraged their addiction. Dee’s use of opium began when he turned to the drug to treat symptoms of (what was yet to be known as) PTSD. What are your thoughts about opium’s impact on Dee and the Chinese, both in China and in England?
8. In response to Mrs. Russell’s questioning of his rationality for listening to advice he receives in dreams, Dee responds, “Good advice is useful no matter where it comes from.” Do you believe there is truth in dreams? Do you have any experiences of receiving good advice, or insight, from a dream? How does it affect this very logical, analytical character (and his work) to have a more spiritual, less quantifiable avenue of investigation or inspiration?
9. This book features fictionalized depictions of several real-life historical figures, such as British mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell and American poet Ezra Pound; it also depicts the Chinese immigrant community in 1920s London. How did this contribute to your enjoyment of the story? Did you learn anything new about these figures, or about this time period?
10. In the authors’ essay “It Takes a (Chinese) Village” at the back of the book, they describe their collaborative process. Have you been part of a collaboration like this, and if so, how did it go? If not, what do you think it might be like—challenging, or enjoyable?