When Red is Black: Inspector Chen 3

Description

When Inspector Chen Cao agrees to do a translation job for a Triad-connected businessman he is given a laptop, a 'little secretary' to provide for his every need, medical care for his mother. There are, it seems, no strings attached . . . Then a murder is reported: Chen is loath to shorten his working holiday, so Sergeant Yu is forced to take charge of the investigation. The victim, a middle-aged teacher, has been found dead in her tiny room in a converted multi-family house. Only a neighbour could have committed the crime, but there is no motive. It is only when Chen returns and starts to investigate the past that he finds answers. But by then he has troubles of his own.

Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai. He was selected for membership of the Chinese Writers' Association and published poetry, translations and criticism in China. He has lived in the United States since 1989 and has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature awarded by Washington University. His work has been published in many literary magazines in America and in several anthologies. He has been the recipient of the Missouri Biennial Award, the Prairie Schooner Readers' Choice Award, a Yaddo and a Ford Foundation Fellowship. He lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter.

'This third novel offers further fascinating insights into a country and procedures so far neglected by mystery fiction. Chen is a great creation, an honourable man in a world full of deception and treachery who is trying hard to apprehend the new world of China in transition, where communism still reigns but blatant capitalism is also tolerated, with its ensuing waves of criminality ... Connections and motives unfold like clockwork, and make for a great read.' -- Guardian 'Chen is the fascinating creation of poet and translator Qiu Xiaolong ... As in Qiu's first two books, the ghosts of Mao's bloody Cultural Revolution ... lead to murder.' -- Chicago Tribune 'Read When Red is Black" for insights into understanding today's Shanghai and China.' -- St. Louis Post Dispatch 'Compelling' -- Times-Picayune (New Orleans) 'A vivid portrait of modern Chinese society ... full of the sights, sounds and smells of Shanghai ... A work of real distinction.' -- Wall Street Journal 'These are mysteries to savor.' -- Booklist (starred review) '[A] terrific series ... a cultural twist and unusual direction that make [Qiu's] books well worth reading.' -- Rocky Mountain News 'Shanghai in transition ... fascinating' -- Kirkus Reviews 'Insightful.' -- Publishers Weekly 'The most sophisticated of the series to date and one feels Qiu pushing the envelope of the detective series genre.' -- Asian Review of Books 'A terrific murder mystery.' -- Midwest Book Review 'Captivating and intriguing.' -- Mystery News 'With strong and subtle characterisation, Qiu Xiaolong draws us into a fascinating world where the greatest mystery revealed is the mystery of present-day China itself.' -- John Harvey 'As modern China's profile rises, so too does the stock of literature from and about it. But Shanghai-born Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen detective series is one of the freshest and most unpredictable of the lot. He is deft at delivering clever insights and plot twists that entangle both Communist Party officials and their critics. His protagonist, Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau, tracks down murderers and cheats against the backdrop of ordinary folks struggling to reconcile social upheaval and their lingering nostalgia for Chairman Mao. An honest cop whose personal ethics often conflict with the politically expedient orders from above, Chen embodies the confusion--both ideological and spiritual--that haunts modern China.' -- Newsweek 'Chen is a great creation, an honourable man in a world full of deception and treachery' -- Guardian 'With strong and subtle characterisation, Qui Xiaolong draws us into a fascinating world where the greatest mystery revealed is the mystery of present-day China itself.' -- John Harvey 'Aluminescent synthesis of a thriller and a literary novel' -- Independent on A LOYAL CHARACTER DANCER 'Chen stands in a class with Martin Cruz Smith's Russian investigator, Arkady Renko, and P.D. James's Scotland Yard inspector, Adam Dalgliesh.' -- Publishers Weekly (Starred review) 'As modern China's profile rises, so too does the stock of literature from and about it. But Shanghai-born Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen detective series is one of the freshest and most unpredictable of the lot.' -- Newsweek