The Chinese Nail Murders. This fifth novel I wrote in Beyrouth
in the summer of 1958,during the hectic days of the civil war
there,and something of the terror of that time has crept into
this novel. My residence was just between the government and the
rebel lines,and although both sides did their best not to hit it,
I still got a few dynamite sticks in my garden,and most of my
windows were broken by continuous gun-fire. I had sent my wife
and children away to the mountains,together with the servants,
and spent the long curfew-nights writing this novel in a corner
room,the only one outside the range of the firing.The novel was
published practically as it was drafted.Since I meant this to be
my last Judge Dee novel,I gave much thought also to the minor
characters,trying to make them real,living people;but I still
needed no less than 22 persons for the plot. I added a long
Postscript, explaining how I came to write these novels, and my methods.