A review by johndiconsiglio
Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China by Paul French

3.0

China expert French’s historical whodunnit is a noirish true-crimer. A British schoolgirl is gruesomely murdered in 1937 Peking against the backdrop of a looming Japanese invasion & the onset of WWII. The murder remains unsolved—but not according to French. He uses newspapers, court records & the dad’s own sleuthing to crack the case. Journalistically, the recreations—including the murder scene itself—are questionable, to say the least. He’s also eager to show off his geographical mastery of the city—every rickshaw route, brothel & dive bar. Not uninteresting, but repetitive. There’s only enough material for half a book.