The University of Chicago Press' free book this month is The Chinese Maze Murders ($9.79 Kindle), by Robert Van Gulik. If you are willing to go a bit above free, you can also get two more in the series on sale at Fictionwise (see below), both in DRM free formats.Book Description
Poisoned plums, a cryptic scroll picture, passionate love letters, and a hidden murderer with a penchant for torturing and killing women lead Judge Dee to the heart of the Governor’s garden maze and the answers to three interwoven mysteries. The Chinese Maze Murders represents Robert van Gulik’s first venture into writing suspense novels after the success of Dee Gong An, his translation of an anonymous Chinese detective novel from the sixteenth century.
Click HERE to sign up for the free book. You'll need to enter your email address, then check your email for the link to download the book. Mine arrived within seconds -- you get a .ACSM file, which, when opened, will load the EPUB book inside of Adobe ADE. This is a DRM'd EPUB and is not compatible with the Kindle. If you downloaded it the very first day it was available, then you probably got a DRM'd PDF and may want to redownload (the EPUB is better formatted for reading on smaller screens like the nook or Kobo/Sony readers.) There are two titles (Murder in Canton and The Red Pavilion ) you can get at 30% off on the same page (using coupon code DEE30, which drops them just below the Kindle prices (although not in a Kindle compatible format).
The Haunted Monastery ($7.38 Kindle) is the first of the two ebooks available at Fictionwise for $5.99, less 60% using the coupon code below (which I expect to work all day today, but not tomorrow).Book Description
Judge Dee and his entourage, seeking refuge from a mountain storm, become trapped in a Taoist monastery, where the Abbott Jade mysteriously dies after delivering an ecstatic sermon. The monks call it a supernatural experience, but the judge calls it murder. Recalling the allegedly accidental deaths of three young women in the same monastery, Judge Dee seeks clues in the eyes of a cat to solve cases of impersonation and murder. A painting by one of the victims reveals the truth about the killings, propelling the judge on a quest for justice and revenge.
The Poisoned Bride and Other Judge Dee Mysteries is the second of the titles available at Fictionwise. This one is available as a paperback at Amazon under the title Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee ($8.95) or from Audible ($14.95) or as an audio CD ($76.00!).Book Description
Authentic 18th-century Chinese detective novels. Dee and associates solve 3 interlocked cases: The Case of the Double Murder at Dawn, The Case of the Strange Corpse, and The Case of the Poisoned Bride.
Click HERE for the two books at Fictionwise. You can still use coupon code 070111 today for 60% off, which means they are $2.40 each (less for members). Best of all, they are multiformat, which means no DRM and you can download the format of your choice.
