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The China Thrillers #4
Snakehead
'The plot twists and turns like the tail of a Chinese dragon. A cracking good read ... Highly recommended' Shots Magazine.
'Fast, exciting ... an entertaining read that will also give food for thought.' Irish Times.
'(May's novels are) part police procedural and part thriller and they succeed wonderfully on both levels ... I have enjoyed all of the books in the series and consider Snakehead the best of the bunch' Deadly Pleasures.
A truck housing dozens of dead Chinese immigrants is found in southern Texas.
Pathologist Dr Margaret Campbell thought she'd escaped her past by returning to the US from China; but assigned to this investigation she finds herself confronted with her former associate Detective Li Yan, dispatched to investigate the trade in illegal labourers.
Forced together again by the case, they soon discover a link to a much wider threat - a biological time-bomb that links gangsters, politicians and migrants in Beijing, Washington and Texas, and puts the lives of millions at risk.
Peter May is the author of The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man and The Chessmen. Snakehead is the fourth of his China thrillers. Peter was an award-winning journalist at the age of just twenty-one. He left newspapers for television and screenwriting, creating three prime-time British drama series and accruing more than 1,000 television credits. He now lives in France.
'Fast, exciting ... an entertaining read that will also give food for thought.' Irish Times.
'(May's novels are) part police procedural and part thriller and they succeed wonderfully on both levels ... I have enjoyed all of the books in the series and consider Snakehead the best of the bunch' Deadly Pleasures.
A truck housing dozens of dead Chinese immigrants is found in southern Texas.
Pathologist Dr Margaret Campbell thought she'd escaped her past by returning to the US from China; but assigned to this investigation she finds herself confronted with her former associate Detective Li Yan, dispatched to investigate the trade in illegal labourers.
Forced together again by the case, they soon discover a link to a much wider threat - a biological time-bomb that links gangsters, politicians and migrants in Beijing, Washington and Texas, and puts the lives of millions at risk.
Peter May is the author of The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man and The Chessmen. Snakehead is the fourth of his China thrillers. Peter was an award-winning journalist at the age of just twenty-one. He left newspapers for television and screenwriting, creating three prime-time British drama series and accruing more than 1,000 television credits. He now lives in France.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
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906 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 202 reviews
September 9, 2016
The 4th book in the 'China Thrillers' series by Peter May.
I have now completed four of the six books in this series and although I enjoy the writing of Peter May and the character development, I do think generally that the excitement factor is a little low. The earlier plots in the series were a lot stronger but it is definitively the relationship interest and the Chinese angle that make this series.
In this book a truck full of dead Chinese in southern Texas draw together American pathologist Margaret Campbell and Beijing detective Li Yan, with whom she once shared a turbulent personal and professional relationship. Together they try to to identify the Snakehead who is behind the trade in illegal Chinese immigrants which led to the tragedy in Texas. The problem is increased when they discover the victims were carrying a deadly virus. This virus threatens the lives off potentially millions of people and Li and Margaret have a fight against time.
I recommend that if you do plan to read this series you take the trouble to read them in the correct order to really appreciate the sub plots and the character development.
I have now completed four of the six books in this series and although I enjoy the writing of Peter May and the character development, I do think generally that the excitement factor is a little low. The earlier plots in the series were a lot stronger but it is definitively the relationship interest and the Chinese angle that make this series.
In this book a truck full of dead Chinese in southern Texas draw together American pathologist Margaret Campbell and Beijing detective Li Yan, with whom she once shared a turbulent personal and professional relationship. Together they try to to identify the Snakehead who is behind the trade in illegal Chinese immigrants which led to the tragedy in Texas. The problem is increased when they discover the victims were carrying a deadly virus. This virus threatens the lives off potentially millions of people and Li and Margaret have a fight against time.
I recommend that if you do plan to read this series you take the trouble to read them in the correct order to really appreciate the sub plots and the character development.
January 21, 2019
While I am in the midst of a project with a Goodreads friend, reading virtually anything and everything Peter May has written, Quercus US, the publisher, has been re-releasing some of his early titles including Snakehead, the 4th in his China series, re-released just this month. Because I wanted to read this book now, I skipped over books 2 and 3 in the series. I will definitely return to them very soon.
Unlike the action of Firemaker, book 1, Snakehead is set entirely in the United States. Margaret Campbell has returned home to the U.S. after a few years in China, having found life as an American in China remained difficult and her relationship with Li Yan did not appear to be realistic. She has been home for some eighteen months and now works as a forensics chief in Houston. So she is front and center when an abandoned tractor trailer is found in a parking lot nearby with almost 100 illegal immigrants inside. They are all Chinese and all dead. This leads to a massive multi-agency investigation which also ropes in Li Yan who, coincidentally, now is attached to the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.
Yes there are coincidences, as there are in virtually any mystery but they advance the story and relationships. And in this book, I have come to see that the relationship between Margaret and Li is central and important to furthering the action.
One detail that can be a touch disorienting at times is that this novel is not set in the present. (It was the present when it was written of course.) George Bush is President and some aspects of life just feel a bit different though issues related to immigration are very current. Interesting that life can seem to change so much in 20 years.
Overall, while I liked Snakehead, I prefer Firemaker with its inclusion of so much information on China and the Chinese people. Snakehead does have its share of action scenes and a lot happening. It also presents a lot of science on various illnesses. Peter May does enjoy educating his readers and he does it well. There were surprises along the way for the characters and me, as reader.
3.5* rounded to 4*
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Unlike the action of Firemaker, book 1, Snakehead is set entirely in the United States. Margaret Campbell has returned home to the U.S. after a few years in China, having found life as an American in China remained difficult and her relationship with Li Yan did not appear to be realistic. She has been home for some eighteen months and now works as a forensics chief in Houston. So she is front and center when an abandoned tractor trailer is found in a parking lot nearby with almost 100 illegal immigrants inside. They are all Chinese and all dead. This leads to a massive multi-agency investigation which also ropes in Li Yan who, coincidentally, now is attached to the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.
Yes there are coincidences, as there are in virtually any mystery but they advance the story and relationships. And in this book, I have come to see that the relationship between Margaret and Li is central and important to furthering the action.
One detail that can be a touch disorienting at times is that this novel is not set in the present. (It was the present when it was written of course.) George Bush is President and some aspects of life just feel a bit different though issues related to immigration are very current. Interesting that life can seem to change so much in 20 years.
Overall, while I liked Snakehead, I prefer Firemaker with its inclusion of so much information on China and the Chinese people. Snakehead does have its share of action scenes and a lot happening. It also presents a lot of science on various illnesses. Peter May does enjoy educating his readers and he does it well. There were surprises along the way for the characters and me, as reader.
3.5* rounded to 4*
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
September 11, 2023
For about two thirds of the book I would have given this 4 stars. I enjoyed the writing, the characters, and the educational value of learning about the human trafficking from China along with all the lingo and hierarchy, virus warfare, flus, and also the numerous US police forces and international liaisons. But the last quarter or more got into the thriller chases and more than necessary coincidences just to add to the thriller scene. For those reading this series for that genre then it's great, but for me it was a bit much and it lost my interest. Overall I enjoyed the book and am glad I read it. A 4 star for most of the read it good.
September 19, 2019
Snakehead is the fourth book in Peter May’s China thrillers, and this one offers a scenery change. We’re no longer in China, but in America, where we experience another addictive story.
Although I enjoyed Snakehead, I’m going to be honest and say it’s my least favourite of the books so far. It’s a rounded up four-star rating rather than a solid four-star rating. It certainly had me gripped throughout, but it didn’t quite grab me in the same way the prior books did.
If asked why I wasn’t gripped in quite the same way, it would be difficult to say. I think, mostly, this one didn’t quite have the same level of intensity to it. There was the race to find out the details, but it never felt as close as it should have. It was certainly an interesting story, I enjoyed the way things developed for the characters, but it felt a bit slower than I would have liked.
Overall, a fun read. It certainly has you desperate for book five with the ending.
Although I enjoyed Snakehead, I’m going to be honest and say it’s my least favourite of the books so far. It’s a rounded up four-star rating rather than a solid four-star rating. It certainly had me gripped throughout, but it didn’t quite grab me in the same way the prior books did.
If asked why I wasn’t gripped in quite the same way, it would be difficult to say. I think, mostly, this one didn’t quite have the same level of intensity to it. There was the race to find out the details, but it never felt as close as it should have. It was certainly an interesting story, I enjoyed the way things developed for the characters, but it felt a bit slower than I would have liked.
Overall, a fun read. It certainly has you desperate for book five with the ending.
January 19, 2019
“Snakehead” by Peter May opens with the recovery of a submarine from the icy waters. “The Seadragon” looms overhead the carcass of some giant beached whale as observers wonder how it was possible that twenty-two men had once lived and died aboard her. The scene quickly shifts to Texas as Deputy J. J. Jackson follows the bumpy road up to the parking lot on a big empty stretch of dusty tarmac. A large refrigerated food tractor-trailer sits unattended, its back doors slightly ajar. Jackson approaches with caution, his gun drawn. Inside he finds produce scattered around and something else, bodies, ghostly pale Asian faces. Margaret Campbell receives the call from the sheriff’s office in Walker County. They need her help with ninety people dead in a truck. Campbell teams with past “associate” Detective Li Yan, and they soon find that the crime scene hides another secret, a biological time bomb, the flu, and a particularly nasty form of flu.
The plot is fast-paced and engaging as the team races against time to solve the crime, uncover human traffickers, and decode the medical time bomb, thus averting a widespread bio-terrorist attack. The book is chilling, disquieting, and filled with surprising twists, but discerning readers might pick up a few clues along the way. The characters are multi-faceted and believable as they struggle with personal emotions as well as international politics. They are resilient, and yet at times vulnerable and human.
May also paints a vibrant picture of the setting of all this terror and potential destruction.
The plot is fast-paced and engaging as the team races against time to solve the crime, uncover human traffickers, and decode the medical time bomb, thus averting a widespread bio-terrorist attack. The book is chilling, disquieting, and filled with surprising twists, but discerning readers might pick up a few clues along the way. The characters are multi-faceted and believable as they struggle with personal emotions as well as international politics. They are resilient, and yet at times vulnerable and human.
May also paints a vibrant picture of the setting of all this terror and potential destruction.
“The sky was a clear, pale blue. Dew lay white on the grass of Sam Houston Park. The long shadows of downtown skyscrapers reached across the tiny patch of parkland like dark protective fingers. The sun peeped between the glass and concrete structures, flashing off windows, lying in long yellow strips. A mist rose off the pond like smoke, sunlight playing in the water of the fountain.”Even though “Snakehead” is not set in China, May still weaves lots of culture and international maneuvering into the plot line. I am a huge fan of May’s other books, and find the China Series to be just as compelling. I was given a copy of “Snakehead” by Peter May, Quercus, and NetGalley. Readers will not put down this thrilling, compelling book until finished. As a coffee-lover, I looked twice at my cup.
June 4, 2018
3.5 stars
Probably my least favourite in the series so far to be honest, it just didn't feel the same being set in the USA instead of China but I get why the setting had to move for this installment. Still enjoyable, but not the strongest.
Probably my least favourite in the series so far to be honest, it just didn't feel the same being set in the USA instead of China but I get why the setting had to move for this installment. Still enjoyable, but not the strongest.
September 19, 2017
Hodnocení: 3,5/5.
Hadohlavec sice patří mezi povedené, čtivé a návykové detektivní příběhy, ale bez exotického prostředí Číny, postrádá to, co ho v tomto žánru činilo originálním a výjimečným. I tak se ale nemůžu dočkat dalšího dílu (protože ten konec, to bylo jako co?) a jen doufám, že tentokrát se Li Jen a Margaret zase ocitnou v Číně. U Čínských thrillerů by se totiž slušelo a patřilo, ne?
Celou recenzi si můžete přečíst zde: http://www.suzannesworldofbooks.cz/cl...
Hadohlavec sice patří mezi povedené, čtivé a návykové detektivní příběhy, ale bez exotického prostředí Číny, postrádá to, co ho v tomto žánru činilo originálním a výjimečným. I tak se ale nemůžu dočkat dalšího dílu (protože ten konec, to bylo jako co?) a jen doufám, že tentokrát se Li Jen a Margaret zase ocitnou v Číně. U Čínských thrillerů by se totiž slušelo a patřilo, ne?
Celou recenzi si můžete přečíst zde: http://www.suzannesworldofbooks.cz/cl...
October 19, 2018
3 stars
Doctor Margaret Campbell is a chief medical examiner and forensic pathologist in the Houston area and also lectures at the local university. Detective Li Yan is from China and has now been stationed in Washington, DC for about a year. He is the attaché to the embassy there and investigates crimes having to do with Chinese citizens and illegal aliens.
Li and Dr. Campbell are reunited in this boo k to investigate the ninety-eight dead Chinese illegal immigrants found abandoned in a parking lot in Texas in a refrigerated semi.
Dr. Campbell has gathered a huge team and with the assistance of an Air Force pathologist, the FBI and Immigration they begin the autopsies. They discover that the people were suffocated, but also they all have an injection site on the buttocks. Li translates a diary that was found and learns that the injection was for “West Nile Virus.” Since West Nile is not a problem in Texas, the pathologists suspect that the injection was really something else. The thing Li learns is that the writer of the diary was a police officer with the Beijing police and that Li was the one who gave him this assignment to infiltrate a people-smuggling operation. The leader of the operation, also known as the “snakehead” is someone named “Kat.”
Further investigation into the dead Chinese lead to the conclusion that the injection given the people was not West Nile, but something far more deadly. The bomb is dropped when the pathology team learns that a biological attack on the United States is immanent.
Frankly, by the time it came to identifying the snakehead, I really couldn’t have cared less. There was too much sex in the guise of intimacy in this book. I didn’t like Margaret - at all. Her cold, brusque manner alternating with something akin to humanness was off putting. The on-again/off-again relationship with Li was tiring at best. This is definitely not Peter May’s best. I suppose the novels set in China at least have the interest of the Chinese culture to support the story line. This is my first foray into Mr. May’s China series and I am afraid to admit it will be my last. I truly enjoy Peter May’s writing. I just don’t know what happened here. I am sorry to have to give the book a resounding 3 stars.
I want to thank NetGalley and Quercus US/Quercus for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read and review.
Doctor Margaret Campbell is a chief medical examiner and forensic pathologist in the Houston area and also lectures at the local university. Detective Li Yan is from China and has now been stationed in Washington, DC for about a year. He is the attaché to the embassy there and investigates crimes having to do with Chinese citizens and illegal aliens.
Li and Dr. Campbell are reunited in this boo k to investigate the ninety-eight dead Chinese illegal immigrants found abandoned in a parking lot in Texas in a refrigerated semi.
Dr. Campbell has gathered a huge team and with the assistance of an Air Force pathologist, the FBI and Immigration they begin the autopsies. They discover that the people were suffocated, but also they all have an injection site on the buttocks. Li translates a diary that was found and learns that the injection was for “West Nile Virus.” Since West Nile is not a problem in Texas, the pathologists suspect that the injection was really something else. The thing Li learns is that the writer of the diary was a police officer with the Beijing police and that Li was the one who gave him this assignment to infiltrate a people-smuggling operation. The leader of the operation, also known as the “snakehead” is someone named “Kat.”
Further investigation into the dead Chinese lead to the conclusion that the injection given the people was not West Nile, but something far more deadly. The bomb is dropped when the pathology team learns that a biological attack on the United States is immanent.
Frankly, by the time it came to identifying the snakehead, I really couldn’t have cared less. There was too much sex in the guise of intimacy in this book. I didn’t like Margaret - at all. Her cold, brusque manner alternating with something akin to humanness was off putting. The on-again/off-again relationship with Li was tiring at best. This is definitely not Peter May’s best. I suppose the novels set in China at least have the interest of the Chinese culture to support the story line. This is my first foray into Mr. May’s China series and I am afraid to admit it will be my last. I truly enjoy Peter May’s writing. I just don’t know what happened here. I am sorry to have to give the book a resounding 3 stars.
I want to thank NetGalley and Quercus US/Quercus for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read and review.
October 16, 2020
3.5 stars rounded up with series points.
Engaging detective fiction.
There are two aspects to reviewing this book; firstly this is an ongoing series I'm enjoying and secondly the plot here is very apt concerning current events in October 2020 regarding Covid.
I'm not sure you can separate one from the other but just a note to say it is better to have read all the books previously to understand the relationship between Margaret and Li Yan if that's the part you're interested in (they are a frustrating will they/won't they couple but with charm and brains to make it less annoying!).
Regarding the plot; it's a goodie and (small clue) it's about a virus deliberately manufactured and unleashed on the general public based on the 'Spanish flu'...yeah...all meticulously researched years ago and this book was published in 2002... discuss...!
Overall, I enjoyed this and aspects of dealing with the virus were really interesting (if only it were so simple), but the racism was difficult to confront and I fear for the main character's relationship in the light of said racism which is really sad.
We will see what happens! Looking forward to the next one - lots to resolve :/
Engaging detective fiction.
There are two aspects to reviewing this book; firstly this is an ongoing series I'm enjoying and secondly the plot here is very apt concerning current events in October 2020 regarding Covid.
I'm not sure you can separate one from the other but just a note to say it is better to have read all the books previously to understand the relationship between Margaret and Li Yan if that's the part you're interested in (they are a frustrating will they/won't they couple but with charm and brains to make it less annoying!).
Regarding the plot; it's a goodie and (small clue) it's about a virus deliberately manufactured and unleashed on the general public based on the 'Spanish flu'...yeah...all meticulously researched years ago and this book was published in 2002... discuss...!
Overall, I enjoyed this and aspects of dealing with the virus were really interesting (if only it were so simple), but the racism was difficult to confront and I fear for the main character's relationship in the light of said racism which is really sad.
We will see what happens! Looking forward to the next one - lots to resolve :/
December 3, 2018
Já vím, že se opakuju a píšu to u každého hodnocení detektivky ze série Čínských thrillerů od Petra Maye, ale ja tuto série mám moc ráda a patří mezi mé úplně nejoblíbenější detektivní série vůbec. I když jde o takový kulturní a národnostní mix jako byla doteď kombinace americké patoložky a čínskeho policajta vyšetrující zločiny v Číně. Kde kromě detektivky dostaneme aj různé informace o kulturních a jiných rozdílech v Číně a taky trochu toho romantického jiskření mezi dvěma hlavními představiteli. V Hadohlavci se děj tentokrát přesouvá do Ameriky, kde se najde kamion plný mrtvých čínských imigrantů a u tohoto příběhu se setkají zas jednou cesty Margaret a Li Jena, kteří si už mysleli, že se už nikdy neuvidí, i když o tom druhom věděli, že se nachází v Americe, ale ani jeden nenasbíral dostatek odvahy, toho druhého kontaktovat. Jenomže osud to zařídil jinak a oni se setkávají a pracují společně na případě mrtvých imigrantů, který na začátku vypadá mnohem jednodušeji, než se nakonec vyvine a oni musí řešit mnohem vážnější případ než jenom nelegální čínskou imigraci.
Peter May to zas jednou zamotává a do příběhu kromě svých klasických prvků detektivky a vztahu dvou hlavních představitelů tentokrát zapojuje tematiku nelegální imigrace a rasové nesnášenlivosti a celkově rasismu, který je v Americe velice častým jevem. Líbí se mi ,jak se mu to povede zapojit do příběhu a tentokrát hodně to najdeme v rozhovorech Li Jena s americkým policajtem s rasovými předsudky, kteří byli nucení fungovat společně. To bylo napsané fakt skvěle a za tohle dávám Petrovi Mayovi jedno velké plus. Baví mě, když autor dokáže čtenáři predostřít i komplikovanou problematiku nenuceně a tak, aby neměl pocit, že mu to podsouvá nasilu. K detektivce nemám co dodat, Peter May je skvělý a já si čtení dalšího dílu Čínských thrillerů užila. Mám je prostě ráda, tady není co dodat. A ten konec? Jsem zvědavá na pokračování. Peter May si pro nás určitě připravil další zajímavý příběh.
Peter May to zas jednou zamotává a do příběhu kromě svých klasických prvků detektivky a vztahu dvou hlavních představitelů tentokrát zapojuje tematiku nelegální imigrace a rasové nesnášenlivosti a celkově rasismu, který je v Americe velice častým jevem. Líbí se mi ,jak se mu to povede zapojit do příběhu a tentokrát hodně to najdeme v rozhovorech Li Jena s americkým policajtem s rasovými předsudky, kteří byli nucení fungovat společně. To bylo napsané fakt skvěle a za tohle dávám Petrovi Mayovi jedno velké plus. Baví mě, když autor dokáže čtenáři predostřít i komplikovanou problematiku nenuceně a tak, aby neměl pocit, že mu to podsouvá nasilu. K detektivce nemám co dodat, Peter May je skvělý a já si čtení dalšího dílu Čínských thrillerů užila. Mám je prostě ráda, tady není co dodat. A ten konec? Jsem zvědavá na pokračování. Peter May si pro nás určitě připravil další zajímavý příběh.
December 11, 2021
Illegal Chinese immigrants and a virus that has a hidden trigger. All the ingredients for a good topical thriller. Unfortunately, it fell way short of the mark for me. Dr. Margaret Caampbell starts off as a lead in the pathology section but then spends her time rushing between Houston and Washington meeting and fornicating with Li Yan but achieving little on the trail of how the virus is to be combatted. Indeed, by the end, the story is left very much up in the air with little resolution. There were dead bodies, shootouts and corruption but these all seemed to be side trails from the focus on Margaret and her sexual shenanigans. Loots of potential but came up short of the mark.
Am afraid that I can only muster one star for this and I really should have put the book down.
Am afraid that I can only muster one star for this and I really should have put the book down.
August 31, 2022
I enjoyed Peter May's other series set in Scotland, so I guess I was expecting more of the same. Unfortunately not. The story started out ok but my interest waned when I figured out what the "trigger" was. Sometimes solving mysteries is enjoyable for me, but this time the only reason I kept reading was to find out when Margaret would come to the same conclusion that I had a long time ago.
January 18, 2024
This is not my favourite Peter May series, but it’s still very good and is different to most crime settings.
August 24, 2017
Picked this book up from my local library on a whim as haven't read any Peter May before.
I wasn't aware this was part of a series until adding it to Goodreads.
Overall felt the plot was simple but effective, but really enjoyed how the two lead characters were written.
As this was the fourth book in the series, can't help but feel that I've jumped in at the wrong place. But liked this enough to want to go back and find the first one.
I wasn't aware this was part of a series until adding it to Goodreads.
Overall felt the plot was simple but effective, but really enjoyed how the two lead characters were written.
As this was the fourth book in the series, can't help but feel that I've jumped in at the wrong place. But liked this enough to want to go back and find the first one.
August 14, 2021
The continuing saga of two interesting protagonists. What is fascinating in this book is that we now know more about a pandemic than the author did when he described a potential recurrence of the Spanish flu. Combined with people trafficking, it makes for a compelling read all the same.
July 16, 2021
Really have enjoyed this series and gave 1, 2, and 3 four stars. The plots are all great but I'm getting tired of the on again off again situation between Margaret and Li.
July 19, 2019
My 4th book in Peter May's Yan and Campbell series.
Certainly as action packed as the others and I could even imagine a particular scene in a baseball stadium, being similar to a James Bond film confrontation.
The on/off romance is still off...........and on ............ and off............well, you get the picture.I
In the early stages of the story, Li Yan identifies a body as someone he knew. I am afraid that stretches the bounds of coincidence a bit thinly for me. However, later in the story, he stretches them even thinner by identifying a second person which, in view of the huge numbers we are told are involved, must be nigh on impossible.
For the above reason and also because I felt a loss of momentum early in the second half, I didnt enjoy this one as much as the last. Nevertheless, I still look forward to reading the next.
Certainly as action packed as the others and I could even imagine a particular scene in a baseball stadium, being similar to a James Bond film confrontation.
The on/off romance is still off...........and on ............ and off............well, you get the picture.I
In the early stages of the story, Li Yan identifies a body as someone he knew. I am afraid that stretches the bounds of coincidence a bit thinly for me. However, later in the story, he stretches them even thinner by identifying a second person which, in view of the huge numbers we are told are involved, must be nigh on impossible.
For the above reason and also because I felt a loss of momentum early in the second half, I didnt enjoy this one as much as the last. Nevertheless, I still look forward to reading the next.
September 16, 2019
Další ze série čínských thrilerů jsem zase slupla jak malinu. Na rozdíl od předchozích dílů, celý děj Hadohlavce se odehrává ve Spojených státech, kam se Margaret vrátila z Číny po několika letech a nevydařeném vztahu s Lim. Ten je ale náhodou taky převelen na čínskou ambasádu do Washingtonu a tak se oba samozřejmě zase potkají tentokrát při vyšetšování smrti čínských ilegálních imigrantů. Nejdřív mi trochu chybělo prostředí Číny ale May opět vnesl do příběhu hodně kultrních odlišností a mezinárodních vztahů. A tak nakonec změna prostředí bylo zajímavě oživení.
Zakomponování smrtelného viru mi trochu připomínalo knížky Robina Cooka. Nicméně Hadohlavec je opět dobře napsaná krimi a určitě stojí za přečtení. A na Běžkyni se určitě taky brzo vrhnu.
Zakomponování smrtelného viru mi trochu připomínalo knížky Robina Cooka. Nicméně Hadohlavec je opět dobře napsaná krimi a určitě stojí za přečtení. A na Běžkyni se určitě taky brzo vrhnu.
May 20, 2018
Peter May writes so brilliantly about Chinese culture. In this book, Inspector Li is seconded to the USA where he meets Margaret, the American pathologist he loves bbut who he can't seem to keep. They get embroiled in a terrifyingly relevant plot about a biological attack on the States. It's superbly written, and I shall get on to the next one immediately!
February 28, 2025
Çin poisiyesi 4.kitaba geldik. Bu defa Amerika topraklarındayız ve Li misafir ataşe rolünde.Houston da Çin kökenli kaçakçılık şebekesinin çökertilmesi amaçlı maceranın detaylarına şahit oluyoruz. Hikaye konu olarak gayet güçlü. Kurgu ve işleniş bazen insanı boşlukta bıraksa da genel olarak memnunum seriyi okumaktan. Tavsiye ederim
January 17, 2025
Další napínavý díl. TOP
October 9, 2017
Z Číny se děj přesunul do USA, což mě úplně nenadchlo a ztratilo to na exotičnosti, ale pořád si to drží zhruba stejnou kvalitu. Pořád je to jen obyč thriller, spotřební materiál, ale proč ne. Další díl si zase ráda přečtu, i když to na žádné ceny za literaturu není.
March 10, 2023
A good read - interesting information on influenza and Texas woven into the story.
January 20, 2025
Bavi me to moc, ale je to teda prisny. S kazdou dalsi knizkou to autor posune jeste kousek dal.. Hoodne mrtvol a hoodne oskliva temata. Supr.
August 11, 2021
The saga continues, this time in the USA. Interesting plot twists and sometimes? The good guys are not who they seem to be….
June 18, 2017
I would give this 3.5 to show that it is my favourite of the series so far. Margaret and Li are now both in the US so the insights into China are missing from this book. A lorry is discovered with a large number of illegal Chinese immigrants trapped in the back. In true Peter May style, this is not just about immigration but there is also the threat of a world wide apocalypse! As usual, this is sort of brushed over at the end. I liked the return of Li's sister.
September 4, 2021
A real page-turner on the fascinating subject of Spanish flu and the potential for a man-made pandemic, propagated through the medium of Chinese illegal immigration into the USA. Peter May’s usual mixture of traumatic death, forensics and romance with, in this case, a few FBI and NSA characters thrown into the mix.
December 16, 2018
Snakehead by Peter May is the 4th book in his China series. Having enjoyed The Lewis Trilogy set in Scotland on the Isle of Lewis, I was expecting to like this more than I actually did.
Description: The macabre discovery of a truck full of dead Chinese in southern Texas brings together again the American pathologist Margaret Campbell with Li Yan, the Beijing detective with whom she once shared a turbulent personal and professional relationship. Forced back into an uneasy partnership, they set out to identify the Snakehead who is behind the 100-million-dollar trade in illegal Chinese immigrants which led to the tragedy in Texas - only to discover that the victims were also unwitting carriers of a deadly cargo. Li and Margaret have a biological time-bomb of unimaginable proportions on their hands, and an indiscriminate killer who threatens the future of humankind.
I found the main characters a bit difficult to care about, not that I disliked them, I just wasn't really taken with them. The basic idea of the plot is a good one, but the way the virus was to be triggered was weird. Human trafficking is despicable, and obviously there is much more of it than I was aware of for most of my life; however, the fact that Li arrives from China to find the case involves his sister who has been trafficked for the sex trade is quite the coincidence.
Read in Oct.
NetGalley/Quercus
Mystery/Thriller. Jan. 8, 2019. Print length: 416 pages.
Description: The macabre discovery of a truck full of dead Chinese in southern Texas brings together again the American pathologist Margaret Campbell with Li Yan, the Beijing detective with whom she once shared a turbulent personal and professional relationship. Forced back into an uneasy partnership, they set out to identify the Snakehead who is behind the 100-million-dollar trade in illegal Chinese immigrants which led to the tragedy in Texas - only to discover that the victims were also unwitting carriers of a deadly cargo. Li and Margaret have a biological time-bomb of unimaginable proportions on their hands, and an indiscriminate killer who threatens the future of humankind.
I found the main characters a bit difficult to care about, not that I disliked them, I just wasn't really taken with them. The basic idea of the plot is a good one, but the way the virus was to be triggered was weird. Human trafficking is despicable, and obviously there is much more of it than I was aware of for most of my life; however, the fact that Li arrives from China to find the case involves his sister who has been trafficked for the sex trade is quite the coincidence.
Read in Oct.
NetGalley/Quercus
Mystery/Thriller. Jan. 8, 2019. Print length: 416 pages.
June 17, 2019
Peter May’s Snakehead, the 4th in the China Thrillers left me ambivalent about this series. It’s the first not set in China, but in Texas and May takes the opportunity to employ every Texas and American stereotype to its most base archetype.
There is the racist law enforcement office replete with the cowboy hat and the Boss Hog belly. There is the corrupt politician and the incorrigible government agent who serves as his sleeper drone. They are all reprehensible and lacking in redemptive qualities.
Of course, we have the return of Margaret and Li and like books 1-3, they start the novel separated, Li having relocated from Beijing to DC and Margaret in Houston. Fortuitously, the path to each other is via a truck load of illegal immigrants found dead in a Houston parking lot. Margaret is brought in as the local medical examiner and Li is called from Washington to investigate the death of Chinese nationals.
I will give May his props, it’s an enthralling tale and each chapter is slightly more compelling than the other. But, May relies too heavily on soap opera tropes i.e. doomed lovers, bizarre family tragedy and my favorite the cliff hanger good versus evil climax.
I won’t spoil the plot. There are some curious twists that will mildly engage the Sherlockians out there.
It’s not my favorite, but it’s worth a read.
TD kinda recommends
There is the racist law enforcement office replete with the cowboy hat and the Boss Hog belly. There is the corrupt politician and the incorrigible government agent who serves as his sleeper drone. They are all reprehensible and lacking in redemptive qualities.
Of course, we have the return of Margaret and Li and like books 1-3, they start the novel separated, Li having relocated from Beijing to DC and Margaret in Houston. Fortuitously, the path to each other is via a truck load of illegal immigrants found dead in a Houston parking lot. Margaret is brought in as the local medical examiner and Li is called from Washington to investigate the death of Chinese nationals.
I will give May his props, it’s an enthralling tale and each chapter is slightly more compelling than the other. But, May relies too heavily on soap opera tropes i.e. doomed lovers, bizarre family tragedy and my favorite the cliff hanger good versus evil climax.
I won’t spoil the plot. There are some curious twists that will mildly engage the Sherlockians out there.
It’s not my favorite, but it’s worth a read.
TD kinda recommends
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