Deception: A Novel of Mystery and Madness in Ancient China

T'ang Trilogy #1

by Eleanor Cooney, Daniel Altieri

A Confucian investigator and dedicated judge puts his own life in jeopardy by exposing the bloody machinations of the emperor's concubine, who is murdering her way to the top of seventh-century China's T'ang dynasty. Reprint.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Historical, China

628 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

Eleanor Cooney is the coauthor (with Daniel Altieri) of three novels set in 7th-century China: IRON EMPRESS (formerly DECEPTION)--A Novel of Murder and Madness in T'ang China; THE COURT OF THE LION: A Novel of the T'ang Dynasty; and SHORE OF PEARLS--A novel of Murder, Plague and the Prison Island of Hainan.

Her critically-acclaimed memoir DEATH IN SLOW MOTION, My Mother's Descent Into Alzheimer's (HarperCollins), was published in 2004 to rave reviews and was translated into four languages. She's recently completed a dark-but-funny literate thriller called THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, set in Wisconsin in the present and in the 1890s. In Oct. of 2019, her true-life memoir MIDNIGHT IN SAMARRA, The True Story of WMD, Greed, and High Crimes in Iraq was published by Skyhorse, NYC.

Her work has appeared in Harper's and Mother Jones magazines. She lives in Mendocino, California.

Daughter of Mary Durant

Reviews

[Wuxia Wanderings · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dates used in the book are about 20 years too early, but it's basically historical. The plot jumps around a lot with seemingly no hope of connecting it all together, but it does eventually come together, and it does so wonderfully. The book never really took my interest and held it until the last part, which somehow made up for it.

One thing I can say for this book is that it doesn't read like it was written by a Westerner who doesn't know what she is talking about, someone who maybe looked a few things up on Wikipedia and read a few Amy Tan books. The authors clearly put effort into this book; it really shows. It's not sentimental or melodramatic like so many other Western-written Chinese stories, and the reader isn't hit over the head with how foreign and strange everything is.

Deception: A Novel of Mystery and Madness in Ancient China is definitely worth a read.

[bkwurm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is set in Tang dynasty China, during the period when Wu Zetian began her rise to power from concubine to Empress, to Empress Dowager to Emperor in her own right.

Following the Confucian official Di Renjie, who has been popularized in fiction as Judge Dee, and Wu Zetian, the book tracks how Wu crushed the Confucian bureaucracy's opposition to her and promoted Buddhism for popular support and the career of Di, at first a minor member of the Confucian bureaucracy, as he deals with the rise of religious beliefs and practices which he, as a good Confucian, sees as irrational.

Tying the two otherwise disparate threads together, is a murder mystery and in the background, unknown to the protagonists, is a wager.

I enjoyed the book and even on re-reading it, still found it a good read.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before Sherlock Holmes there was Inspector Dee, a 7th century magistrate who handled his cases with the same powers of deduction as Sherlock Holmes. This novel tells of the reign of the Empress Wu and her time of terror. Inspector Dee is hard pressed to prevent all of her evil doings but for over 600 pages she is in his sight. The differences between the attitudes of the followers of Confucious and the Buddhists is woven into the story and ultimately brings the book to a very odd ending. If you are interested in ancient China, oriental religions and sleuthing then you might find this story of Inspector Dee, who was a real person, of interest. A lot of murders can happen in 600 pages

[Sugarpop · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took a good 100 or so pages for me to settle into this book. It picked up for a bit and then I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the end of it. I came very close to abandoning the book.

[MissNYix · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I officially can't finish reading this. I'm going to stop here...

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This long, twisted mystery is set in 7th century China. Magistrate Dee is the detective and Madame Wu and her mother are the evil doers, Wu becoming Empress of China. A form of Buddhism with deep ties to magic and superstition is at the end silenced by the practical Confucianism of Dee.


I schlepped this 640 page (hard cover version) book on several flights before finishing it, and it never lost my interest.

[Blas Malo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una historia absorbente, llena de detalles y convincente. Personajes atrayentes, atmósfera cuidada, trama bien atada... Y sin embargo, siendo una gran novela le falta algo que haga devorarla.

[Marty Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judge Dee battles corruption, evil Buddhists and dynastic collapse.

[Cal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow start. Rewarding to those who stick with it. Interesting discussion of Buddhist influence in 7th century China.

[Rachel Kauflin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was aptly titled, as the real deception was that I thought this was going to be a good book. I have not read something this slow and boring in a long long time.

[Natalie Petchnikow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Des piles de cadavres aux quatre coins des villes, des têtes se balançant au bout de piques, des secrets qui partout fleurissent, des temples somptueux à la gloire du bouddhisme...
Telle est la Chine du VIIème siècle, la Chine de Wu Tse-tien, une femme fantasque, mégalomane, exaltée. Une courtisane qui a ensorcelé l'empereur, a pris les rênes du pouvoir et est devenue l'unique impératrice de Chine. Une femme qui, à l'apogée de son règne dépravé, s'acoquine avec une secte redoutable qui sème la terreur dans tout le pays...
Cette situation révolte le juge Ti, Sherlock Holmes du Moyen Âge, qui décide de tout mettre en oeuvre pour sauver l'Empire. La tâche est gigantesque mais elle n'effraie pas cet ennemi de la corruption, du crime et du charlatanisme religieux.

Traduit par Alexis Champon

[Dave Rankin · Rating 1 out of 5]

No. Just don't.

[MissNYix · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I officially can't finish reading this. I'm going to stop here...

[Tomaž]

I liked it initially, but I abandoned it for technical reasons. The lack of scene breaks where there clearly should have been some, made it for a too dense reading and it started to irritate me.