Scan barcode
mcasiraghi's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
berlinda52's review against another edition
2.0
The 'mystery' part was so-so. What is always interesting are the insights into Chinese culture and politics.
jascolib's review against another edition
3.0
This is a weakest chief inspector chen novel. The ending really leaves you wanting more, and chen really doesn't do anything . Yu is really the star of show.
andrew61's review against another edition
3.0
This is the fourth in a police series which features a very enjoyable character Inspector Chen of the Chinese police. The main thing I enjoy about the stories is the immersion in the culture as the author peppers his tale with various wonderfully described food , confuscist sayings and Chinese poetry, economic conditions and party hierarchy , and Chinese politics. I love the complexities of policing in a communist state where every crime has political implications so Chen is constantly looking over his shoulder.
Here a criminal has built up an empire on the back of property deals involving high up political figures before seeking asylum in the USA. The death of a police officer in unusual circumstances leads Chen to have an open letter allowing him to investigate the corruption and leads him to visit USA as head of literary delegation.
I will definitely be reading book 5 soon.
Here a criminal has built up an empire on the back of property deals involving high up political figures before seeking asylum in the USA. The death of a police officer in unusual circumstances leads Chen to have an open letter allowing him to investigate the corruption and leads him to visit USA as head of literary delegation.
I will definitely be reading book 5 soon.
mpetruce's review against another edition
3.0
Liked this one well enough. It was one of those books where you're reading and it doesn't seem close to a resolution even though you clearly have only 50 pages to go, then suddenly stuff wraps up. Not sure if some of the unresolved elements (and there are some big ones, at least for me) in this one get picked up again later. Still, as always, great fun to read. And Qiu brings Chen to St. Louis, where he lives and works. In fact, Chen visits the bookstore, or at least a fictionalized version of it, where I think I got a signed copy of The Mao Case (which I haven't read yet. Red Mandarin Dress is next).
blacksentai's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the beginning of this book when it was set in China more than when it moved to America. I wonder if that had to do with my general unfamiliarly with the working of Chinese bureaucracy and police work and me being very familiar with American police work. I do feel like the pacing definitely became less to my liking as we moved into the middle half of the book. The style of conversation definitely changed and I found it to be a bit less interesting. But ultimately it's a good book. I liked it.
linguisticali's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
The style took some getting used to - the dialogue often felt stiff and there's SO much quoting proverbs and poetry - but in the end I enjoyed it and I'd like to read more of the series.