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lizardwilson's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
To quote my elementary school report on Murder On The Orient Express, "I liked it but I didn't really understand it a lot". Maybe because it took me a year to finish it.
"There were also too many french expressions" doesn't really apply, on the other end. Maybe too much poetry, as my father says, but I enjoyed it.
"There were also too many french expressions" doesn't really apply, on the other end. Maybe too much poetry, as my father says, but I enjoyed it.
liberty_bojangles's review against another edition
4.0
Chief Inspector Chen has to deal with two cases at the same time. First, a body is found in a park with 18 axe wounds, and then he has to try to find a woman who has disappeared. The woman is the wife of a witness to a human-snuggling traffic, imprisoned in the USA. So, on top of all of this, Chen has to deal with a U.S. Marshall, Catherine Rohn, who has come to fetch the woman. Juggling between Chinese politics, being a good cop and dealing with the sentimental tension between him and Catherine, Chen has a lot on his plate. Full of Confucian references, Chinese history and Chinese food, a very enjoyed reading.
https://redheadwithabrain.ch/index.php/2024/02/02/a-loyal-character-dancer-qiu-xiaolong-2000/
https://redheadwithabrain.ch/index.php/2024/02/02/a-loyal-character-dancer-qiu-xiaolong-2000/
ritabriar's review against another edition
informative
tense
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
I enjoy this book as an intricate and beautiful puzzle. Settings, action, and people are described clearly, at the perfect pace for the moment. "Playing tour guide" for U.S. Marshall Rohn allows Inspector Chen (and Qiu Xiaolong) to show us the best of what China has to offer and compare with various people's daily lives.
Each character is a different person with their own motives and resources. They all interact to create a shifting puzzle Inspector Chen navigates through as well as he can, doing what good he can. Many of the side characters are fully developed, as well, including Detective Yu and Inspector Rohn.
As a bonus, fake relationship and eventual real feelings.
Each character is a different person with their own motives and resources. They all interact to create a shifting puzzle Inspector Chen navigates through as well as he can, doing what good he can. Many of the side characters are fully developed, as well, including Detective Yu and Inspector Rohn.
As a bonus, fake relationship and eventual real feelings.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Stalking, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Attempted vehicular homicide in detail; some gang activity, including a very tense shoot-out; a bit of "is it paranoia, or is someone really after us"alevssia's review
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
ragnatela's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Once again an interesting description of Chinese society, but I'm quite annoyed by Chen's impossible flirts: the back cover describes the inspector as the "Chinese Montalbano", but as far as I can remember the Italian's approach is characterized by less poetry and more action.
(May 2024)
(May 2024)
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Book two in the Chief Inspector Chen Cao mystery series set in Shanghai. This one starts with a body found in Bund Park. But before Chen had really get started on investigating this murder, he’s tasked with a politically sensitive assignment. A U.S. Marshall, Catherine Rohn, is on her way to China to collect an important witness who has now disappeared. Chen must show Rohn a “modern China” and also find the missing woman.
I like this series. Chen is a complicated man. Educated and a poet, he walks the tightrope between political correctness and professional police duty. Like a master of chess, he is always thinking several steps ahead. While Xiaolong give the reader the same view of clues as Chen has, the reader is not always privy to Chen’s thinking about what he has observed.
This makes for a more slow-moving work than is typical for mysteries. But I didn’t mind that so much. I’ve been to Shanghai and other cities in China, and I appreciated the time spent on the history of this complex culture.
I really like Chen’s “apprentice,” Detective Yu, as well as Yu’s father “Old Hunter,” and hope they’ll continue to make appearances in future installments.
I like this series. Chen is a complicated man. Educated and a poet, he walks the tightrope between political correctness and professional police duty. Like a master of chess, he is always thinking several steps ahead. While Xiaolong give the reader the same view of clues as Chen has, the reader is not always privy to Chen’s thinking about what he has observed.
This makes for a more slow-moving work than is typical for mysteries. But I didn’t mind that so much. I’ve been to Shanghai and other cities in China, and I appreciated the time spent on the history of this complex culture.
I really like Chen’s “apprentice,” Detective Yu, as well as Yu’s father “Old Hunter,” and hope they’ll continue to make appearances in future installments.
bluestarfish's review against another edition
3.0
Inspector Chen is out and about in his second book and gets to travel around various bits of China as a police officer/tour guide for a US Marshal who has come over to help finish up a case to help tackle human smugglers. Things get trickier than anticipated when the woman at the centre of the case disappears. I could have quite happily taken half the number of proverbs and poetry lines and still believed Chen was a poet/police, and sometimes the changing China point get laboured a bit much, but it was still a very entertaining read.
soph_or_sofa's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I think the best part about this book is the fact that both the author and main character are poets. The author slips in a lot of old Chinese poems and sayings, that lend a lot to the atmosphere and give more depth to the characters. I really enjoyed this, as well as learning bits of Chinese history that was relevant to the plot.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Violence
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
I've enjoyed the crime genre for years but recently felt it all felt the same and got easily tired of the series I was reading. Decided to keep my eye for crime novels that had one or more different aspects of it. This series is definitely good and I'm somewhat glad it such a long series. (11 books I think). The books are interesting to listen to and easy to get invested in
pillywiggin's review against another edition
5.0
This is another engaging "Inspector Chen" mystery. I enjoyed the characters, imagery, and investigationshe in the story. My favorite aspects, though, are the translations of Chinese poetry, proverbs, and idioms in context. Not only are they liberally used to add to the sense of character and place, they are explained in such a way that the meaning clearly comes through in English. The translation is not just words, but spirit. Reading an Inspector Chen mystery is not just an enjoyable reading experience--it is like getting a small introduction to Chinese literature as well.