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drron's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
momotan's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
E niente, le avventure del buon Chan continuano a piacermi.
Qui abbiamo un caso di tratta internazionale, l'immigrazione clandestina negli USA. Quindi una collaborazione con gli americani per portare di là la moglie di un possibile "collaboratore"... solo che detta moglie è scomparsa, così Li assegna al nostro il compito di fare da cicerone all'agente (bella e poetica, ovviamente) giunta apposta dall'America, cercando di dare l'impressione che la Cina stia facendo di tutto per risolvere il caso rapidamente.
Chiaramente gli unici a impegnarsi saranno Chan e il suo gruppo di fidati agenti, che si destreggeranno tra talpe, triadi e sordide storie risalenti ai tempi della "rieducazione" nelle campagne.
Ho trovato in questo secondo volume più trama e meno Chan, che alla fine era il fulcro di tutto nel primo libro.
Certo viene da chiedersi quanto durerà la sua fortuna, vista la sua tendenza a non rispettare le politiche di partito...
Una sola cosa mi ha lasciato assai perplesso, cioè i riferimenti a qualcosa accaduto dopo la fine del primo volume, un caso cui avrebbe lavorato e che avrebbe danneggiato il padre di Ling. Però questo risulta essere il secondo volume, quindi i conti non mi tornano... Che sia qualcosa avvenuto fuori dalla narrazione? Mi sembra comunque uno strano espediente.
Qui abbiamo un caso di tratta internazionale, l'immigrazione clandestina negli USA. Quindi una collaborazione con gli americani per portare di là la moglie di un possibile "collaboratore"... solo che detta moglie è scomparsa, così Li assegna al nostro il compito di fare da cicerone all'agente (bella e poetica, ovviamente) giunta apposta dall'America, cercando di dare l'impressione che la Cina stia facendo di tutto per risolvere il caso rapidamente.
Chiaramente gli unici a impegnarsi saranno Chan e il suo gruppo di fidati agenti, che si destreggeranno tra talpe, triadi e sordide storie risalenti ai tempi della "rieducazione" nelle campagne.
Ho trovato in questo secondo volume più trama e meno Chan, che alla fine era il fulcro di tutto nel primo libro.
Certo viene da chiedersi quanto durerà la sua fortuna, vista la sua tendenza a non rispettare le politiche di partito...
Una sola cosa mi ha lasciato assai perplesso, cioè i riferimenti a qualcosa accaduto dopo la fine del primo volume, un caso cui avrebbe lavorato e che avrebbe danneggiato il padre di Ling. Però questo risulta essere il secondo volume, quindi i conti non mi tornano... Che sia qualcosa avvenuto fuori dalla narrazione? Mi sembra comunque uno strano espediente.
ladydewinter's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. The 2nd novel involving Chief Inspector Chen Cao. It's a good book, definitely - when reading mysteries I prefer the kind that's a bit different from the mainstream, and this series definitely fulfills that criterion. However, the case and what we learn about it felt a little unstructured and confusing at times, which is why I can't give it four stars. And I have to say that I could have lived without the romance part here (I mean the one between Chen and Rohn - I absolutely love Yu and Peiquin.). But overall I really liked it and I expect to be reading more of this series.
bioniclib's review against another edition
4.0
I'm really enjoying this Chinese take on the mystery genre.
On the mystery front, the plotting isn't quite fair. Some of the clues are left off until they're revealed and so I had no hope of figuring it out until he lead me to the answer. Or...I'm just not smart enough to catch the subtle clues. Entirely possible!
On the Chinese front, I'm loving learning about China after the Cultural Revolution and during Mao's days in power. It's fascinating to read! The dialog comes off as a wee bit stilted but I'm not sure if that's something being lost in translation (literally) or if it just sound foreign because it is.
On the character front, I enjoy how Chen is a poet and poetry played an even more important role in this story than the first story.
I'll most definitely be continuing in with this series.
On the mystery front, the plotting isn't quite fair. Some of the clues are left off until they're revealed and so I had no hope of figuring it out until he lead me to the answer. Or...I'm just not smart enough to catch the subtle clues. Entirely possible!
On the Chinese front, I'm loving learning about China after the Cultural Revolution and during Mao's days in power. It's fascinating to read! The dialog comes off as a wee bit stilted but I'm not sure if that's something being lost in translation (literally) or if it just sound foreign because it is.
On the character front, I enjoy how Chen is a poet and poetry played an even more important role in this story than the first story.
I'll most definitely be continuing in with this series.
readbooks10's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second book in a terrific series featuring Chief Inspector Chen of the Shanghai police. A body is found in Bund Park, but Chen is asked to focus instead on entertaining and serving as translator for a visiting female U.S. marshal. The marshal is in China to accompany the wife of a witness to human trafficking to the States and into the witness protection program. The problem is that the wife has gone missing. Chen has to juggle his investigations with toeing the party line as a loyal comrade in this book set during the early 1990s following the Tiananmen Square massacre when China was beginning to open up its markets. Chen is a very interesting character, who also writes poetry. He needs to mount a shadow investigation with just a few hand-picked people he can trust when he is told not to try too hard to solve the cases. I find the information about the daily life of the period fascinating - the poverty, the food. I look forward to reading the next book in this intelligent series.
redants's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
andergraphen's review against another edition
4.0
Bel romanzo poliziesco ambientato in Cina negli anni 90. Descrive perfettamente la societa’ Cinese in contrapposizione alla societa’ occidentale. Bella narrazione. 8
gonza_basta's review
3.0
Il compagno ispettore Chen Cao rallenta e la Marsilio mette pagine a caso all'interno del libro.
Il primo romanzo era più carino, questo arranca ma "la cinesità" del libro lo rende ancora interessante, più come trattato sociologico che come giallo però. Le triadi e gli Stati Uniti e in mezzo il nostro poeta per scelta e commissario per caso, una specie di "Il buono, il brutto e il cattivo" in salsa di soia.
Il primo romanzo era più carino, questo arranca ma "la cinesità" del libro lo rende ancora interessante, più come trattato sociologico che come giallo però. Le triadi e gli Stati Uniti e in mezzo il nostro poeta per scelta e commissario per caso, una specie di "Il buono, il brutto e il cattivo" in salsa di soia.
katherynsimp18's review against another edition
5.0
Another amazing inspector Chen novel. Does a great job of mystery and setting the scene of Shanghai and china in transition. Plus they have poetry quotes that actually work in the story?
A great read.
A great read.
apechild's review against another edition
3.0
In usual style, I have read the first and third in this series and now I come to the second book. I do enjoy these, although honestly, I do find them a wee bit slow and not the most overly complicated of mysteries. But what makes these books so interesting is just being submerged into the 1990s Shanghai world, with all the little details you really get such a fantastic depiction of what life was like. The world of Communism and Capitalism meeting, overcrowding in the cities, and the people who lived through periods such as the cultural revolution, once again having to adjust to different lifestyles and ways of thinking. It's also a book with a clear love of Chinese poetry (Inspector Chen is a poet in his part time, and does like to tell us about the lines of poems he's thinking of) and a love of food. You're always told about the wierd and wonderful things people are having for their dinner. And this is proper Chinese food, not what we get at Chinese restaurants in the UK, which I suppose is a fragmented version to suit our tastes. Because in China everything is eaten. Everything. Duck blood soup anyone?
This is a proper culture clash for this book as Inspector Chen is assigned to look after US Marshall Catherine Rohn. She's come over to collect Wen Liping, wife of Feng who is already in the US and about to give evidence against the human traffickers. But he won't until he's got his wife with him. And she's disappeared....Wen Liping was a loyal character dancer and model citizen during the cultural revolution, but from what they find out has become a shadow of herself since that time. In the meantime a body that appears to have been murdered by one of the triad gangs turns up in Bund Park, Inspector Chen has a feeling they're being followed, and that the gangsters have an uncanny way of knowing what they're up to, when only police colleagues are supposed to know...
This is a proper culture clash for this book as Inspector Chen is assigned to look after US Marshall Catherine Rohn. She's come over to collect Wen Liping, wife of Feng who is already in the US and about to give evidence against the human traffickers. But he won't until he's got his wife with him. And she's disappeared....Wen Liping was a loyal character dancer and model citizen during the cultural revolution, but from what they find out has become a shadow of herself since that time. In the meantime a body that appears to have been murdered by one of the triad gangs turns up in Bund Park, Inspector Chen has a feeling they're being followed, and that the gangsters have an uncanny way of knowing what they're up to, when only police colleagues are supposed to know...