http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2020-05.html#hart ( )

For those folks that read to be transported to a place and time, this book will be right up your alley. Author Elsa Hart does an admirable job describing 18th century Beijing.

In the third book of this series, protagonist scholar Li Du has returned to Beijing where he would is a district office as a secretary to the Chief Inspector. He is biding his time to research the suicide of his mentor, and has asked his storytelling friend Hamza to join him after retrieving a rare book. Chief Inspector Sun and Li Du are called to the Black Tile Factory, where a Ministry official and the owner's wife have been murdered, with suspicion immediately falling on the drunkard husband. The Magistrate is all set to set the husband free as jealous rage (temporary insanity) is an allowable defense, when the husband commits suicide in jail. Li Du asks to prepare the final report, and sees several inconsistencies, a missing bag of silver and the autopsy report. Meanwhile, the city is getting ready for a many day exam to determine the scholars, who will be chosen for better lives. Li Du and Hamza unravel twisted threads, eventually landing Li Du back in front of the Emperor, where his very unorthodox theories surrounding the crime are vindicated. 4.5 stars. ( )

I was contacted by Ariana Carpentieri with Minotaur Books because I had read and reviewed a previous novel in this series and received an ARC advance copy from the publisher through NetGalley—so thanks to all involved and here is my honest review.

I read Jade Mountain—the first in the series, a while ago and was impressed by the faithful creation of the historical and cultural setting of 18th century China. I missed the second in the series, which I will find and read, but can say that I do not think that it lessened my enjoyment. These stories are true stand-alone novels much like Agatha Christie mysteries.

Too often novels of this type (historical novels) fall into one of two traps. They are either too heavy on the history to the detriment of a really compelling story. Slogging through these novels requires enduring endless “information dumps” that scream “Look how much research I have done!” The characters are often wooden and the stories less than compelling. On the other hand, you sometimes have novels in which the story could really be set anywhere and authenticity is hardly a priority and more of a gimmick.

It is a rare treat when you have a historical novel that tells a story that could only exist at a certain place in a certain time and drops you down so deep into the rabbit hole that it leaves you feeling the shift into a fully realized world. Such is the case with 18th Century Beijing in this very fine historical novel that is also a very well plotted mystery. I think it takes a special kind of writer—a historian who is also a storyteller, to pull this off. The atmosphere is finely rendered and the characters are compelling, with my favorite being Li Du’s loyal associate Hamza—the consummate storyteller and comic foil to Li Du’s intellectual purity. I read the last 40% of this e-book in one sitting because I had to find out how the many storylines resolved—and I was not disappointed. ( )

City of Ink is the third book in the Li Du mystery series set in eighteenth century China. In this installment of the series former imperial librarian Li Du is back in Beijing from exile. He is working as the assistant to the chief inspector of the North Borough Office of Beijing's Outer Office.

There are many new men in the city preparing to take exams that will qualify them for government positions when the wife of the owner of the Black Tile Factory and a man, who appears to be her lover, are found dead in the administrative office of the factory. Li Du and his boss, Chief Inspector Sun, begin an investigation into their murders.

The murdered bodies were found on page 12 which meant that most of the book could be devoted to finding the killer. I think that is important in a mystery novel. I hate it when the crime does not occur until a third of the way into the book.

The author used setting descriptions to maintain the historical features of the novel but kept the dialogue mostly contemporary for a quicker read. Some of the dialogue referred to a historical past but it was still contemporary. The reader was certainly able to get the feel of being in imperial China which showed the author's knowledge of the location and era.

City of Ink was much better than the second book in the series, The White Mirror. I think the reason is that City of Ink took place in Beijing and White Mirror took place while Li Du was on the road. In the first book in the series, Jade Dragon Mountain, Li Du was on his way out of Beijing into exile but there was a lot of back story taking place there. I think Beijing is the best setting for this series since the hero is, after all, a librarian. Li Du seems to be more in his element here.

City of Ink is a great whodunnit. I highly recommend it! ( )

Intriguing!

First up I am a huge fan of historical mysteries set in earlier times in China and other parts of Asia.
I have not read Hart's previous novels featuring Li Du, but I am now hooked and will remedy that mishap very soon.
The title 'City of Ink' is so fitting as one becomes aware of the novel's setting, with the frenzied hoards of scholars that have descended on the city of Beijing.
It's the early 1700's and Li Du, a scholar of some note, previously exiled from Beijing, returns to investigate his mentor's demise. His mentor was executed for conspiracy. Working as a humble clerk, the assistant to the Chief Inspector Sun of the North Borough Office, Li Du becomes involved with the murder inquiries into the death of a local factory owner's wife. As the investigation continues Li Du feels there is more to the death than it appears on the surface. However the city officials want things solved quickly. The husband is their obvious choice--but not necessarily Li Du's.
Beijing is swamped with candidates for the upcoming Civil Examinations. An occasion that can make or break a scholar and their family's future. Highly competitive, the city is rife with all sorts of high jinks and suspect practices. The Civil Examinations are the background that are part of the mix, part of the path of the investigations of the deaths and of the mystery around Li Du's private investigations. As Li Du references, "The paths to which I refer are not made of dirt and stone, but of paper and ink."
Bai Chengde an eminent scholar later says, "One cannot write the whole truth, even with an ink pot as deep as the sea.” I love that image! And the whole truth of these murders and what happened to Li Du's mentor will bring so much into the fore, into point and counterpoint. The depths of the truth are indeed multilayered.
Add to this the behaviour of various other parties that seem to touch on the subject, including the foreign priest, and Li Du finds himself walking on eggshells as past and present collide.
A captivating read!

A NetGalley ARC ( )