Intrigue, romance and danger fill this lively, well-plotted mystery by the author of The Lotus Palace and The Sword Dancer. THE JADE TEMPTRESS is set in 848 AD in Tang Dynasty China. In the capital city of Changan, Constable Wu Kaifeng looks over a derelict spot, envisioning a teahouse. He is then told by a superior that his job is at risk. Later that evening he speaks to a courtesan, Mingyu, who has been summoned from the Lotus Palace house to entertain wealthy guests. Wu mainly arrests street thieves, but once he had call to arrest Mingyu, and he suspects that she spoke against him to a man of influence. She denies the charge.

Mingyu was sold for a small handful of coins to Madam Sun who runs the Lotus Palace and she works off her indentured costs, wondering if a man will ever buy her or if she will rely on her own resources. Music, dance and the tea ceremony are important for a silken courtesan to learn, and she must also please men who can afford her company. One such, General Deng, is expected back in town soon. He is bound to call for his favourite. When he does, Mingyu regrets ever meeting the man - she finds him lying beheaded in his home. Wu Kaifeng is summoned to investigate.

I enjoyed details such as ink and brush being used to record a statement on paper, which bring the world of medieval China to life. The hardened policeman and the dainty courtesan work together to find who might have killed the general, for the alternative - that Mingyu will be tortured on suspicion of involvement - is too horrible. Constable Kaifeng naturally has his own sword at hand to test out beheading strokes on a pig carcass, while the girl is more familiar with the qin, a stringed musical instrument. The courtesan's life is much more luxurious and respected than the ordinary wife's, doing backbreaking farmwork on a basic diet. At the ghost market, the unregulated night-time trading site, the scents of hot oil and roasting nuts fill the air, as beggars, merchants and pawnbrokers do business - and Mingyu steals down alleys to warn Wu that both of them are now in danger from treasonous conspirators.

While I preferred The Sword Dancer it's clear that Jeannie Lin has again worked her magic and given us believable characters at home in their world, a world she invites us to explore along with THE JADE TEMPTRESS in this adult romance.