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A review by lgpiper
Thief of Souls by Brian Klingborg
4.0
Basically, this is one of those police procedural books. Perhaps it's a bit hardboiled in that we have some crude language and sketchy situations.
But, there's a big difference from your garden-variety procedural: the action and events take place in northeast China, up near Mongolia. Yes, there is a large city nearby, Harban, but most of the activity takes place in a much smaller burg, Raven Valley Township. I don't know enough about modern China to know if the descriptions of life there is somewhat realistic, but I'm guessing the author did a decent job of research. Things feel realistic.
So, a young woman, Yang Fenfang, is found murdered in her house. She has also been eviscerated, i.e. her organs "harvested". In addition, her TV and laptop appear to have been stolen, and later on, we learn that she used to have a fancy pair of red shoes, which are also missing. The cops figure to finger a local, Zhang Zhaoxing, who seems to have had rather a fetish regarding Yang Fenfang. But Inspector Lu Fei isn't sure they guy has either the smarts to pull off the murder, nor the skills to do the evisceration, even though the guy worked as a butcher. So, he looks further afield.
It seems that Yang Fenfang had previously worked as a hostess of some sort in the large city near by, Harban. She had come home recently to help ease her mother's last days and prepare her for a proper funeral. In looking into the goings on in Harban, Inspector Lu discovers several similar murders of young women, each of whom were eviscerated, each of whom had some attachment to an item that was red, and each of whom had recently been involved in the funeral rights of a close family relative.
Well, no need to go on. It's a pretty engaging story which also involves a spot of romance, in that Inspector Lu Fei has become a bit soft on the young widow, Ms. Luo Yanyan, who is the owner of the Red Lotus, the bar where Inspector Lu likes to while away his idle hours drinking.
Assuming this novel turns out to be part of a series, I'll be looking forward to further adventures of Inspector Lu Fei.
#ThiefofSouls #NetGalley
But, there's a big difference from your garden-variety procedural: the action and events take place in northeast China, up near Mongolia. Yes, there is a large city nearby, Harban, but most of the activity takes place in a much smaller burg, Raven Valley Township. I don't know enough about modern China to know if the descriptions of life there is somewhat realistic, but I'm guessing the author did a decent job of research. Things feel realistic.
So, a young woman, Yang Fenfang, is found murdered in her house. She has also been eviscerated, i.e. her organs "harvested". In addition, her TV and laptop appear to have been stolen, and later on, we learn that she used to have a fancy pair of red shoes, which are also missing. The cops figure to finger a local, Zhang Zhaoxing, who seems to have had rather a fetish regarding Yang Fenfang. But Inspector Lu Fei isn't sure they guy has either the smarts to pull off the murder, nor the skills to do the evisceration, even though the guy worked as a butcher. So, he looks further afield.
It seems that Yang Fenfang had previously worked as a hostess of some sort in the large city near by, Harban. She had come home recently to help ease her mother's last days and prepare her for a proper funeral. In looking into the goings on in Harban, Inspector Lu discovers several similar murders of young women, each of whom were eviscerated, each of whom had some attachment to an item that was red, and each of whom had recently been involved in the funeral rights of a close family relative.
Well, no need to go on. It's a pretty engaging story which also involves a spot of romance, in that Inspector Lu Fei has become a bit soft on the young widow, Ms. Luo Yanyan, who is the owner of the Red Lotus, the bar where Inspector Lu likes to while away his idle hours drinking.
Assuming this novel turns out to be part of a series, I'll be looking forward to further adventures of Inspector Lu Fei.
#ThiefofSouls #NetGalley