Through mystery and intrigue, No Way To Die transports the reader into the complex and engaging world of early Ming China. When a peddler finds a partially mutilated body of a stranger, the unlikely duo of a young scholar and a local women’s doctor once more join forces to discover who killed him and why. In probing the highly gendered world of early Ming China, unanticipated questions surface, … surface, complicating their investigation.
As their case rapidly transitions into the unexpected, they find all roads leading away from the victim, forcing them to consider alternate routes. Was the death the result of inexorable bad karma and beyond their purview, or merely the result of mortal foul play? Was the murdered man the intended victim? If not, who was and why? The investigation leads to a growing list of potential suspects: a lustful herbalist, an unscrupulous neighbor, a vengeful farmer, a jealous husband, a scorned wife, and a band of thieves. Who is innocent and who is the culprit? To solve the murder and bring peace to the victim’s spirit, the duo must untangle the truth and do it before the murderer strikes again.
Paige Turner, an Amazon reviewer, said of P.A. De Voe’s Ming Dynasty Mysteries: “Just as Ellis Peters wrote the immensely popular brother Cadfael mystery series set in Medieval England, P.A. De Voe is establishing quite a reputation for her imaginative and clever mysteries set in early Ming Dynasty China.”
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No Way to Die by P.A. De Voe is a complicated tale of murder, sexist rights, personal responsibility, and lack of morals.
Will Xiang-hua and Shu-Chang find the unknown man’s murderer?
The Sleuthing Team
Xiang-hua is a young, unmarried woman’s doctor. She has trained under her grandmother and is a talented healer. Xiang-hua is brilliant, has compassion, and knows how to get women to accept her treatments.
Shu-Chang is the young men’s teacher who is also studying for his third examination for civil jobs. He is also a smart, yet still somewhat sexist gentleman in their society. I believe that he and Xiang-hua have feelings for each other.
Xiao-ren is a young man enrolled in Shu-Chang’s class. However, he doesn’t like studying or going to class. He reminds me of Batman’s sidekick Robin.
The Mystery
The mystery is very different from what I usually read. The socially accepted roles defined by sex, in this time, weren’t fair at all. There is also the belief about unsettled spirits, which I found a bit scary.
Three Stars for No Way to Die by P.A. De Voe
The story is well written, and the mystery was plotted well with lots of red herrings, and the culprit was quite a surprise. I understand the reasoning but didn’t care for the way it ended. I know that is how it was back then, and I am glad that it isn’t as bad in the present time.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of No Way to Die by P.A. De Voe.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
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Author P.A. De Voe is a cultural anthropologist and expert in the history and culture of China’s Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In this book, we follow a young doctor, Xiang-hua, who was trained by her much-respected grandmother in medical practice, and who is now acting as a coroner in a murder mystery. She joins forces with a young scholar named Shu-chang. Separately and together they solve the murder mystery with the promise of a growing relationship between them.
Along the way, we learn a considerable amount about Chinese Ming-era culture, the rigid social structure and gender roles, health and spiritual beliefs, criminal justice system, and Confucian values system. Also there were peculiarities of this time that were new to me, such as the practice of gegu which the author defines in her appendix as the “cutting a piece of flesh from the arm or thigh, cooking it in a broth and feeding it as medicine to a close family member.” Oddly, what is not addressed is the practice of foot binding which predates the Ming Dynasty, but which was common during the Ming. The most severe cases of foot binding came later in the Ming Dynasty, and the practice continued into the last dynasty, the Qing, even into the early twentieth century. I couldn’t help but wonder if Xiang-hua was subjected to this practice because of her social status, even in foot binding’s less brutal form in the early Ming era.
For a China geek like me, this historical mystery was a pleasure to read in its very descriptive passages on everything from clothing to food to social interactions. It was also entertaining to see the ways some Ming cultural practices have persisted into China’s twenty-first century. As a mystery reader, the book was less successful with its meandering and often repetitive plot that had almost no suspense or action.
Recommended for the historical and cultural insights, if not as a typical mystery read. No Way to Die is the second in De Voe’s A Ming Dynasty Mystery Series