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Back Bay Investigation #1
The Mystery of Moutai
A teenager returns home from school to find a gruesome scene: the apartment he shares with his mother, Shao Mei, in Boston’s Chinatown has been ransacked and she is dead. There is a bottle of Moutai—the most exotic and expensive Chinese liquor—left at the scene and traces of rat poison in one of the two shot glasses on the kitchen counter. This was evidently a homicide, but who could possibly be the killer?
Ann Lee and Fang Chen, close friends of the victim, team up with the Boston police to solve this mystifying crime: why would anyone want to murder a harmless middle-aged woman, one who worked as an unassuming mailroom clerk, with no money, no connections, and presumably, no enemies?
Realizing that important clues behind the motive may be buried deep in the victim’s past, they travel to Beijing, where Shao Mei spent more than fifty years of her life. While there, surrounded by the antiquities of China’s rich and complex history, they stumble unwittingly into a cobweb of mystery and danger. Fearing for their lives but determined to press on, they end up unearthing a scandal more deceptive and far-reaching than either could have imagined.
Ann Lee and Fang Chen, close friends of the victim, team up with the Boston police to solve this mystifying crime: why would anyone want to murder a harmless middle-aged woman, one who worked as an unassuming mailroom clerk, with no money, no connections, and presumably, no enemies?
Realizing that important clues behind the motive may be buried deep in the victim’s past, they travel to Beijing, where Shao Mei spent more than fifty years of her life. While there, surrounded by the antiquities of China’s rich and complex history, they stumble unwittingly into a cobweb of mystery and danger. Fearing for their lives but determined to press on, they end up unearthing a scandal more deceptive and far-reaching than either could have imagined.
225 pages, Paperback
First published April 14, 2014
12 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
About the author
G.X. Chen
14 books34 followersG.X. Chen (晓明), author of the Back Bay Investigation mystery series and other novels, is a freelance writer and a graduate of Fudan University and University of New Mexico. She has taught literature at Fudan as well as Shanghai Foreign Language Institute. Her publications in China included novellas “春鸣” (The Sound of Spring), “一个留学生的自白” (The Story of a Foreign Student); and the translations “荆棘鸟” (The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough) and “一个演员的自白” (Confessions of An Actor by Laurence Olivier). A world traveler and an amateur photographer, she lives in Boston and Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 1, 2014
4.5 stars
Did I enjoy this book: Yes.
The Mystery of Moutai is a really interesting, unique, fun story to read. The first mystery is figuring out what Moutai is. Early on in the book we learn that it’s a very expensive, highly desirable Chinese liquor. It plays a central role in the murder of the Shao Mei.
The rest of the book is dedicated to solving her murder. The investigation takes us from California academia through the Chinese Cultural Revolution and ends up in modern China where our characters catch the bad guy.
Most of the story moves along through dialogue. There’s a little violence. There’s just enough description to keep the reader in the scene. But this book employs lively, meaningful dialogue for the majority of the storyline – interesting.
I love how this book taught me a lot about history and Chinese culture while keeping me thoroughly entertained.
I went with 4 1/2 instead of 5 stars because I had trouble keeping the characters and their relationships to one another clear. It could be due to the Chinese names being unfamiliar. I’m not sure. But since so much of the story unfolded through dialogue, it’s really important to keep the characters straight. I struggled with that.
Would I recommend it: Absolutely.
As reviewed by Belinda at Every Free Chance Book Reviews.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
http://everyfreechance.com/2014/04/re...
Did I enjoy this book: Yes.
The Mystery of Moutai is a really interesting, unique, fun story to read. The first mystery is figuring out what Moutai is. Early on in the book we learn that it’s a very expensive, highly desirable Chinese liquor. It plays a central role in the murder of the Shao Mei.
The rest of the book is dedicated to solving her murder. The investigation takes us from California academia through the Chinese Cultural Revolution and ends up in modern China where our characters catch the bad guy.
Most of the story moves along through dialogue. There’s a little violence. There’s just enough description to keep the reader in the scene. But this book employs lively, meaningful dialogue for the majority of the storyline – interesting.
I love how this book taught me a lot about history and Chinese culture while keeping me thoroughly entertained.
I went with 4 1/2 instead of 5 stars because I had trouble keeping the characters and their relationships to one another clear. It could be due to the Chinese names being unfamiliar. I’m not sure. But since so much of the story unfolded through dialogue, it’s really important to keep the characters straight. I struggled with that.
Would I recommend it: Absolutely.
As reviewed by Belinda at Every Free Chance Book Reviews.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
http://everyfreechance.com/2014/04/re...
April 24, 2014
Chen once again has written a fascinating mystery with well developed characters and a plot of intrigue. Fast paced and coupled with exotic locale and culture, making reading her story a total enjoyment. “A conventional murder mystery made truly exceptional thanks to the charismatic and refreshingly unconventional protagonists.” (quote from Kirkus Reviews)
April 23, 2014
It was a slow start, but a friend encouraged me to read on. I am glad I did, it was quite interesting and exciting. I ended up finishing it at one sitting toward the end. A very well written book indeed. Great for long flight reading, definitely.
May 29, 2014
One thing I've really loved about Chen's novels so far is that there is always a strong bond between the characters. Shao Mei's two friends, Fang Chen and Ann Lee, are so dedicated to solving the murder of their long-time friend that they end up following a lead in the case all the way to Beijing. Their dedication and bravery calls forth familiar themes from Forget Me Not, chasing down answers in an involved and organized murder plot for someone whom they consider family. John, as is customary in many Asian cultures according to the author, refers to his mother's friends as Aunt and Uncle, further cementing an admirable and enviable bond.
G.X. Chen always manages to evoke strong emotions for me when I'm reading her work, whether it be sentimental or anxious feelings. She's one of those writers that writes from her heart, builds characters from the ground up as if they were people in our three-dimensional world, and you can never go wrong with someone who writes like that. Not only does this novel give you a headrush from the suspense and mystery, but Chen's characters stick with you even after you've finished. At least, that tends to be the case for me. The people she creates so clearly are what drives the story forward, and that separates this novel from a typical mystery, They are what rounds out the story, makes it three-dimensional and tactile. Chen doesn't fall into any of the traps writers might encounter when working with a relatively straightforward scenario, and this is just another novel that I really enjoyed. There are so many facets to the story that it's difficult to wrap it all up in a succinct review -- Chen paints portraits with her characters, so to speak. And there are more than a few times in reading this that I found myself unable to put the book down. I'm one of those people who has to know the ending and fast, so that didn't help restrain me in any way, but with Chen it's just inevitable that I want to read the whole book in one sitting. With this particular novel, she manages to evoke the traditions of the genre without being predictable.
This one was good stuff. It was a really fantastic mystery and may have actually revived my interest in the genre.
G.X. Chen always manages to evoke strong emotions for me when I'm reading her work, whether it be sentimental or anxious feelings. She's one of those writers that writes from her heart, builds characters from the ground up as if they were people in our three-dimensional world, and you can never go wrong with someone who writes like that. Not only does this novel give you a headrush from the suspense and mystery, but Chen's characters stick with you even after you've finished. At least, that tends to be the case for me. The people she creates so clearly are what drives the story forward, and that separates this novel from a typical mystery, They are what rounds out the story, makes it three-dimensional and tactile. Chen doesn't fall into any of the traps writers might encounter when working with a relatively straightforward scenario, and this is just another novel that I really enjoyed. There are so many facets to the story that it's difficult to wrap it all up in a succinct review -- Chen paints portraits with her characters, so to speak. And there are more than a few times in reading this that I found myself unable to put the book down. I'm one of those people who has to know the ending and fast, so that didn't help restrain me in any way, but with Chen it's just inevitable that I want to read the whole book in one sitting. With this particular novel, she manages to evoke the traditions of the genre without being predictable.
This one was good stuff. It was a really fantastic mystery and may have actually revived my interest in the genre.
May 24, 2014
This is the third book I read written by G X Chen. She never ceases to surprise me with her story. The mystery keeps me going and eager to find out who and why. In the mean time, I like to take my time to read all the details presented. In addition to the twists and turns of the story, the narration of the scenery, the food and the people in China is so interesting. It is like an extra bonus of learning about China.
I enjoyed reading this book from the beginning all the way to the end.
I enjoyed reading this book from the beginning all the way to the end.
June 18, 2014
I have a major problem with THE MYSTERY OF MOUTAI. The story itself isn’t bad, a murder mystery that has to be solved by amateur sleuths. The problem is the police in this case ignore the most prominent clue thereby making it necessary for the amateurs to “Do their duty” to their friend.
The clue is the title bottle of Moutai, a very, very expensive bottle of Chinese liquor that the victim could not have afforded. Ann Lee and Dr. Fang Chen, the friends investigating, know she couldn’t have bought it on credit and that the bottle would be drunk at only great celebrations. When the body was found, the bottle was empty.
There is some muddling around, a lot of poor dialog, and then the story moves to China for more poor dialog and finally the hidden solution to the riddle.
I mention the dialog twice in that it almost appears to be what you might find written by a non-Asian if they were trying to make the characters broad parodies of Orientals. In conversations there is the near constant iterations of what had just been said by the other character. Also there is the gratuitous use of strangulating “Englishisms”, phrases that are almost, but not quite, what would be said by native English speakers, this to include Americans. While the dialog may reflect the reality of this mystery’s world, it sounded odd and stilted to my ears causing me to lose interest in the reading itself, the reason it took almost a month to get through the book. For me, three days is usually considered a long time on any one book unless it is so wonderful I want to savor every moment, or, conversely, it is not so good.
I won this book through Goodreads and speaking only for myself, I was only impressed by the travelogue portion of the duo’s trip to China.
The clue is the title bottle of Moutai, a very, very expensive bottle of Chinese liquor that the victim could not have afforded. Ann Lee and Dr. Fang Chen, the friends investigating, know she couldn’t have bought it on credit and that the bottle would be drunk at only great celebrations. When the body was found, the bottle was empty.
There is some muddling around, a lot of poor dialog, and then the story moves to China for more poor dialog and finally the hidden solution to the riddle.
I mention the dialog twice in that it almost appears to be what you might find written by a non-Asian if they were trying to make the characters broad parodies of Orientals. In conversations there is the near constant iterations of what had just been said by the other character. Also there is the gratuitous use of strangulating “Englishisms”, phrases that are almost, but not quite, what would be said by native English speakers, this to include Americans. While the dialog may reflect the reality of this mystery’s world, it sounded odd and stilted to my ears causing me to lose interest in the reading itself, the reason it took almost a month to get through the book. For me, three days is usually considered a long time on any one book unless it is so wonderful I want to savor every moment, or, conversely, it is not so good.
I won this book through Goodreads and speaking only for myself, I was only impressed by the travelogue portion of the duo’s trip to China.
December 3, 2015
This is great book in an what promises to be an engaging series. I really enjoyed following Feng Chen and Ann Lee as they worked together to find out who killed their friend.
Even though I was pretty sure I knew who the killer was early on, it didn't keep me from turning the pages as Feng Chen and Ann Lee followed the clues and helped catch a killer.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a good mystery with solid characters and a lack of graphic violence or profanity. I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
Even though this book is titled Back Bay Investigation Book 1, there is another book – The Mystery of Revenge (A Prelude to the Back Bay Investigation Series) - before it that I believe first introduces the characters in this story. You may want to read the prelude first as I felt like I would had a better understanding of the interaction between Detective Paul Winderman and the main characters of this book if I had read had started with The Mystery of Revenge.
Even though I was pretty sure I knew who the killer was early on, it didn't keep me from turning the pages as Feng Chen and Ann Lee followed the clues and helped catch a killer.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a good mystery with solid characters and a lack of graphic violence or profanity. I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
Even though this book is titled Back Bay Investigation Book 1, there is another book – The Mystery of Revenge (A Prelude to the Back Bay Investigation Series) - before it that I believe first introduces the characters in this story. You may want to read the prelude first as I felt like I would had a better understanding of the interaction between Detective Paul Winderman and the main characters of this book if I had read had started with The Mystery of Revenge.
May 7, 2014
I received a free copy of this book from GoodReads.
I enjoyed reading this book. The author has a nice writing style that gives a sense of authenticity to her characters--the dialog, especially if read out loud, really sounds right. The novel takes place in 1994, starting and ending in Boston but spending considerable time in between in China and Singapore. The two principal characters are academics living in Boston but both were born in Asia, as was the author, so that gives an interesting flair to the novel.
The reason I gave this book a middling rating is that the characters often act dumber than I suspect they would in real life. No doubt the author didn't want to push the reader too hard, but I think she underestimates her audience. This book would have been a lot better had the characters been written smarter.
I enjoyed reading this book. The author has a nice writing style that gives a sense of authenticity to her characters--the dialog, especially if read out loud, really sounds right. The novel takes place in 1994, starting and ending in Boston but spending considerable time in between in China and Singapore. The two principal characters are academics living in Boston but both were born in Asia, as was the author, so that gives an interesting flair to the novel.
The reason I gave this book a middling rating is that the characters often act dumber than I suspect they would in real life. No doubt the author didn't want to push the reader too hard, but I think she underestimates her audience. This book would have been a lot better had the characters been written smarter.
February 9, 2017
Sharing my earlier review...
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January 5, 2015
3.5 stars. Read my full review here:
http://www.readingforsanity.blogspot....
http://www.readingforsanity.blogspot....
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews