Death of a Blue Lantern

The China Quartet #1

by Chris West

Set in modern China, West's mystery parallels the solution of a crime with the struggle of political loyalties in the mind of dedicated Beiging police detective Wang Anzhuang. Wang was a loyal party member, but his faith was shaken by the brutality of Tiananmen Square. Now when a murder points to Triad mob treachery leading to the Party, Wang must confront his faith once again, reconciling loyalty with duty, while fighting for his reputation, and his life.

Genres: China, Mystery, Crime, Asia

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

I grew up in a country village north of London. As a boy I filled endless notebooks with stories - not all of them finished! As a young man I played in various (unsuccessful) bands, then worked in the City of London. I studied philosophy and economics as a 'mature' student (though I wasn't very mature). After leaving uni I went backpacking in China, and wrote a book about that adventure which came out in 1991. Since then, writing has (along with family) been at the heart of my life, though I've had other jobs, too, largely in Marketing and PR, working with small businesses. In 2008, I found an old stamp album in the attic of my parents' old house, and became fascinated by the contents and the way they seemed to mirror history. Each stamp was a tiny, rectangular time machine! In the end, I had to write a book along these lines: A History of Britain in 36 Postage Stamps was the result. I have now done the same for the USA - a fascinating journey into American history (and a great pleasure to collect the nation's stamps). I live in North Hertfordshire with my wife and daughter.

a.k.a Christopher West|6453491].

Reviews

[Annerlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a murder mystery which is mainly set in Beijing, two years after the brutal quashing of student protests in Tiananmen Square (set in 1992 in fact).
The main character (in my edition anyway) is Bao Zheng, Deputy Inspector (Second Class) of the Chinese police. The story starts with his visit to a traditional Chinese opera and the discovery of a murder, which went unnoticed during the performance. The book follows Bao's attempts to solve this case and another investigation into ongoing thefts of Chinese artifacts from an archeological dig outside the city. A beautiful singer and the triads may also be involved...

As a member of the Communist Party, Bao needs to be seen to tow the party line; talk the talk / walk the walk. There's always the possibility that someone is watching and reporting back on any political misdemeanour and it takes some skill to know who to trust and how to deal with political constraints and still get your job done. According to his boss, for example, the chief suspect is the one who doesn't conform or whose background doesn't reflect the Party ideal.

What did I think?
The murder mystery was good, but I enjoyed the insight into Communist China the most. The political tightrope walk, the curious mixture of ancient Chinese culture mixed with strains of modern capitalism and the rule of the Omni-present Communist Party. In the story, Party members are asked to write about how they experienced events in Tiananmen Square, events which Bao has his doubts about. How Bao deals with this, is as much part of the storyline as his police work.

I also enjoyed the insight into internal Chinese prejudice.. views on the excesses of Westernised Hong Kong, the differences between the South and the North, ancient and modern, town and country, rice and noodles....

This was a quick, but very enjoyable read. I liked it so much, I've just started the second book in the series!

[Cathy Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

police procedural set in China in the 1990's; interesting story

[Sandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book takes place just a few years after the Tiananmen square incident and I really enjoyed the main character and the setting but the actual mystery plot was just a bit underdone

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 3.5