Sometimes, I forget how much I love the Holmes/Watson character dynamic, and then I’m reminded in the manner of being hit by a truck (but in a good way). This was one of those times.

In The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Lee and SJ Rozan, it’s 1924. Lao She is a quiet academic man who is inadvertently swept up in an investigation when he meets Judge Dee Ren Jie. Dee has arrived in London to look into the murder of a man who served in the Chinese Labour Corps during the Great War. And then another Chinese man is found dead, and then another. All of them have been murdered with the same weapon, so Dee—along with Lao—are determined to find the connection before anyone else is killed.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Daniel York Loh, and it was wonderful. And for a take on Sherlock Holmes, this is one of the better versions, with a creative spin on the familiar character. Dee is still a clever, observant investigator, determined to get justice for the wronged and skeptical of the police’s competence. He also still has a drug addiction and a bit of a superiority complex due to his intelligence. But this is also now shown through the lens of what it was probably like to be a Chinese person in Europe, which was fascinating. But more on that later; for now I just have to gush about how much I love Dee. He’s serious most of the time (as one would imagine, since he’s investigating murders), but also has a mischievous, snarky, dry-humored side that I adore. He’s also a brilliant martial artist, which—while inspired by the original Holmes—is most certainly amped up due to the gong’an crime fiction that also inspired the writers. What more could you want from a protagonist? Not much, in my opinion, but then again, I’ve been a Holmes girlie for years now.

As for Dee’s Watson, I also quite liked Lao She. He resembles his Conan Doyle counterpart a bit less than Dee, though. I kind of wish he’d been a bit more competent, rather than bumbling, but he still did aid the investigation a lot, as well as became an excellent friend for Dee. And isn’t their friendship the real heart of these stories, rather than the mystery? It’s enjoyable to see them go from strangers to allies to friends, even if it’s a new friendship. I want more of them! I want to see how their friendship develops and deepens over time; I want Lao to have the chance to come into his own a bit more; I want more Dee!

Okay, moving on from the characters, I loved the setting. This is a very gritty version of London. There’s poverty contrasted with sumptuous wealth, struggle and prosperity, crime and secrets and vice. I loved the references to Spring-Heeled Jack, a sort of bogeyman from Victorian folklore. What the writers do with this figure is, without spoilers, marvelous, one of my favorite aspects of this book.

Beyond that, it’s heartbreaking and frustrating to see how racial minorities were treated in this time period (and sobering to see that we’re still dealing with some of the same struggles now). Lao and Dee, and the other Chinese characters, have to deal with lots of microaggressions, as well as outright violence due to their race, often. Still, I appreciated getting to learn about a piece of English history I haven’t seen explored much, and I always love when we call out colonizers and imperialists for taking advantage of the colonized for their own gain. Related to that, and related to Dee’s experiences, there is a lot in this novel about the effect of opium on China, after it was introduced to them by the Europeans. It’s honestly genius of the authors to make Dee’s addiction be to opium, as Holmes’ was to cocaine in the original stories. Genius seems like a weird word choice, but you know what I mean.

As for the investigation, I kind of wanted more evidence-gathering than we got. It felt as if it was mostly talking to people, chasing people, fighting people. Still, it was absorbing. I can tell the authors did a lot of research into not just the time period, but also into martial arts. And the ending of the mystery was satisfying, while also leaving me eager for the next investigation.

In the end, The Murder of Mr. Ma was a great novel. It’s clever, playful, serious, sympathetic to victimized people and furiously critical of cruel people and actions (whether these are fictional characters, or very real injustices of the past). Dee is a fabulous character whom I adore, and although Lao leaves a bit to be desired, I want another story with both of them! I also want to go rewatch the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies, reread the original stories, and maybe seek out some traditional Chinese gong’an stories. If I have time for all that, we’ll see.

The Murder of Mr. Ma is available now! And, since it’s Independent Bookstore Day in the US today, consider supporting your local indie, perhaps by getting a copy of this book! But any support you give them, even just following and engaging with them on social media, attending events, etc., is so appreciated.

PS, for anyone wondering, Elementary is my favorite tv/film version of the Holmes/Watson characters. Jonny Lee Miller for the win.