The Railway Conspiracy

By: John Shen Yen Nee, S.J. Rozan

Narrated by: Daniel York Loh

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 intercept 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 lovely 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 up to Dee’s brilliant investigative skills and Lao’s well-meaning but often bumbling assistance to get to the bottom of this before anyone else ends up tied to the rails.

©2025 Erasmus Fox (P)2025 Recorded Books

Gripping storytelling with lots of humor

A worthy addition to the Sherlock Holmes homages with a creative twist and sly winks to the canon.

well done period piece

An enjoyable, entertaining read. I thought it a shame that the author and publisher did not give a shout out to the Judge Dee novels of Robert van Gulik, written in the forties and fifties.