The Chinese Nail Murders Author:Robert van Gulik A young wife is found murdered in her home, her bloody body headless. A champion boxer is poisoned in a public bath. And Judge Dee has suspicions that a supposedly respectable widow murdered her husband, although the doctor in attendance ruled it a natural death. This case threatens to be the death of Judge Dee. — The story is replete with fascin... more »ating glimpses of life in imperial China. We witness the reverence for ancestors. We see instances of parents selling their daughters to brothels. We hear intimations of the occult powers supposed to be held by Tartar women. Pei-chow, where Judge is posted in this book, used to be the supply center for the Tartar tribes.« less