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The Ghost Shift: A Novel
In the tradition of Gorky Park, John Gapper’s new thriller takes readers inside the secretive and dangerous world of modern China, as a young woman makes a haunting discovery—one that forces her to choose between duty to her government and a desperate desire to learn the truth about herself.
This wasn’t just a body in a field. The corpse’s shape was hers—same length, same curves. Then she knew, and everything else receded to nothingness. All she could see was a woman with the same nose, the same eyes, and the same face.
Her twin.
As an up-and-coming agent of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, Song Mei probes political corruption, not mysterious deaths. But that changes when she arrives on the scene of a grim police investigation and is confronted with a crime—and a victim—impossible to ignore. Despite strict orders and threats from superiors, Mei knows she can not turn away.
Breaking protocol, Mei undertakes a covert search for the truth about the mystery woman’s death—and life—by following in her footsteps from a factory plagued by worker suicides to a luxury hotel dealing in high-end escorts to an American home haunted by tragedy. But when Mei crosses paths with an ex–CIA operative on a shadowy mission of his own, her personal quest takes a jarring turn into political and industrial espionage that pits both agents against the highest ranks of communism and capitalism.
Praise for John Gapper’s A Fatal Debt
“Rarely does one read a first novel so self-assured, sharp, and compelling. It takes off like a rocket and doesn’t stop until its explosive conclusion.”—Joseph Finder, author of Suspicion
“An enlightening and grisly tale . . . tightly plotted and fast-paced.” —The New Yorker
“An ingenious thriller about the ruthless world of high finance.”—The Washington Post
“A fast-paced book that should entertain finance aficionados and fans of detective fiction alike.”—Fortune
“A neatly crafted and well-written thriller . . . an audacious, assured debut.”—David Ignatius, author of Bloodmoney
“[Gapper] knows when to put his foot on the narrative accelerator.” —Financial Times
“Intriguing . . . suspenseful . . . a web of deceit and betrayal.”—Booklist
From the Hardcover edition.
This wasn’t just a body in a field. The corpse’s shape was hers—same length, same curves. Then she knew, and everything else receded to nothingness. All she could see was a woman with the same nose, the same eyes, and the same face.
Her twin.
As an up-and-coming agent of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, Song Mei probes political corruption, not mysterious deaths. But that changes when she arrives on the scene of a grim police investigation and is confronted with a crime—and a victim—impossible to ignore. Despite strict orders and threats from superiors, Mei knows she can not turn away.
Breaking protocol, Mei undertakes a covert search for the truth about the mystery woman’s death—and life—by following in her footsteps from a factory plagued by worker suicides to a luxury hotel dealing in high-end escorts to an American home haunted by tragedy. But when Mei crosses paths with an ex–CIA operative on a shadowy mission of his own, her personal quest takes a jarring turn into political and industrial espionage that pits both agents against the highest ranks of communism and capitalism.
Praise for John Gapper’s A Fatal Debt
“Rarely does one read a first novel so self-assured, sharp, and compelling. It takes off like a rocket and doesn’t stop until its explosive conclusion.”—Joseph Finder, author of Suspicion
“An enlightening and grisly tale . . . tightly plotted and fast-paced.” —The New Yorker
“An ingenious thriller about the ruthless world of high finance.”—The Washington Post
“A fast-paced book that should entertain finance aficionados and fans of detective fiction alike.”—Fortune
“A neatly crafted and well-written thriller . . . an audacious, assured debut.”—David Ignatius, author of Bloodmoney
“[Gapper] knows when to put his foot on the narrative accelerator.” —Financial Times
“Intriguing . . . suspenseful . . . a web of deceit and betrayal.”—Booklist
From the Hardcover edition.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 13, 2015
10 people are currently reading
338 people want to read
About the author
John Gapper
6 books3 followersChief business commentator and an associate editor of the Financial Times. He was named one of the 100 most influential men in Britain by GQ magazine in 2009. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 20, 2015
Review copy
John Gapper's new novel, Ghost Shift, is a compelling corporate thriller set in modern day China. Considering John lives in London and is an associate editor and business columnist for the Financial Times you might think that's quite the jump, but as John explains in the acknowledgements, he is no stranger to China. He's been fascinated by the country for some twenty years and has received a lot of help in researching this story.
Ghost Shift is a complex tale, set in an unfamiliar world and as such was a challenging read for me, but one that was worth the effort. I found the descriptions of the country and life of the worker in China to be both rich and satisfying and the story of Song Mei and what happens after the discovery in the swamp to be believable right to the very last twist.
This wasn't just a body in a field. The corpse's shape was hers--same length, same curves. Then she knew, and everything else receded to nothingness. All she could see was a woman with the same nose, the same eyes, and the same face.
Her twin.
True, I'm a horror fan, through and through, but every now and again it's nice to step outside of one's comfort zone. This was one of those side trips and I'm very glad I got to read it.
Ghost Shift is available for pre-order in both hardcopy and ebook formats. Look for it to be released on January 20th, 2015, from Ballantine Books, a division of Random House Publishers.
Recommended.
John Gapper's new novel, Ghost Shift, is a compelling corporate thriller set in modern day China. Considering John lives in London and is an associate editor and business columnist for the Financial Times you might think that's quite the jump, but as John explains in the acknowledgements, he is no stranger to China. He's been fascinated by the country for some twenty years and has received a lot of help in researching this story.
Ghost Shift is a complex tale, set in an unfamiliar world and as such was a challenging read for me, but one that was worth the effort. I found the descriptions of the country and life of the worker in China to be both rich and satisfying and the story of Song Mei and what happens after the discovery in the swamp to be believable right to the very last twist.
This wasn't just a body in a field. The corpse's shape was hers--same length, same curves. Then she knew, and everything else receded to nothingness. All she could see was a woman with the same nose, the same eyes, and the same face.
Her twin.
True, I'm a horror fan, through and through, but every now and again it's nice to step outside of one's comfort zone. This was one of those side trips and I'm very glad I got to read it.
Ghost Shift is available for pre-order in both hardcopy and ebook formats. Look for it to be released on January 20th, 2015, from Ballantine Books, a division of Random House Publishers.
Recommended.
March 15, 2015
REVIEW: THE GHOST SHIFT BY John Gapper
An electrifying international thriller which brings vividly to life the "New China," from the perspective of a young Party official, Song Moe, a girl in her early 20's. Thrust unexpectedly into an increasingly bizarre investigation, Mei is metaphorically pinned between two warring long-term higher officials. When she is guided to the discovery of a body which could have been her twin (but the girl was several years younger), she begins to uncover evidence that the death is connected to a high.rates of suicides at a nearby technology plant. THE GHOST SHIFT is a truly engrossing thriller and I anticipate future novels from author John Gapper.
An electrifying international thriller which brings vividly to life the "New China," from the perspective of a young Party official, Song Moe, a girl in her early 20's. Thrust unexpectedly into an increasingly bizarre investigation, Mei is metaphorically pinned between two warring long-term higher officials. When she is guided to the discovery of a body which could have been her twin (but the girl was several years younger), she begins to uncover evidence that the death is connected to a high.rates of suicides at a nearby technology plant. THE GHOST SHIFT is a truly engrossing thriller and I anticipate future novels from author John Gapper.
October 3, 2014
The Ghost Shift
Description: In the tradition of Gorky Park, John Gapper's new thriller takes readers inside the secretive and dangerous world of modern China, as a young woman makes a haunting discovery, ��one that forces her to choose between duty to her government and a desperate desire to learn the truth about herself.
Song Mei works for The Commission for Discipline Inspection that deals with corruption among the Party elite. When she is summoned by Lang Xiaobo, "the Wolf," to a fish pond in the middle of a banana field to view a body, Song Mei is confused. This doesn't fall into her job description.
What the Wolf wants Song Mei to see, however, is almost incomprehensible--the body of the young woman looks exactly like Song Mei. Shocked, Song Mei realizes that she had a sister, a twin, that she never knew existed. Raised in an orphanage, Song Mei never knew her parents, much less that she had a twin sister. The discovery is a momentous one, and she is determined to find out more.
Song Mei begins a covert investigation into the death of her mysterious twin that leads to the factory where her sister worked, an unusually high number of suicides, dangerous political espionage, and an ex-CIA agent.
A well-written and compelling novel that puts the reader in the middle of the sticky web of China's political and industrial system. Whom to trust? What secret machinations are just under the surface? What secrets can Song Mei uncover about her own past.
Recommended.
Read in Sept.; blog review scheduled for Jan. 1, 2015.
NetGalley/Random House/Ballentine
Mystery. Jan. 20, 2015. Print length: 320 pages.
Description: In the tradition of Gorky Park, John Gapper's new thriller takes readers inside the secretive and dangerous world of modern China, as a young woman makes a haunting discovery, ��one that forces her to choose between duty to her government and a desperate desire to learn the truth about herself.
Song Mei works for The Commission for Discipline Inspection that deals with corruption among the Party elite. When she is summoned by Lang Xiaobo, "the Wolf," to a fish pond in the middle of a banana field to view a body, Song Mei is confused. This doesn't fall into her job description.
What the Wolf wants Song Mei to see, however, is almost incomprehensible--the body of the young woman looks exactly like Song Mei. Shocked, Song Mei realizes that she had a sister, a twin, that she never knew existed. Raised in an orphanage, Song Mei never knew her parents, much less that she had a twin sister. The discovery is a momentous one, and she is determined to find out more.
Song Mei begins a covert investigation into the death of her mysterious twin that leads to the factory where her sister worked, an unusually high number of suicides, dangerous political espionage, and an ex-CIA agent.
A well-written and compelling novel that puts the reader in the middle of the sticky web of China's political and industrial system. Whom to trust? What secret machinations are just under the surface? What secrets can Song Mei uncover about her own past.
Recommended.
Read in Sept.; blog review scheduled for Jan. 1, 2015.
NetGalley/Random House/Ballentine
Mystery. Jan. 20, 2015. Print length: 320 pages.
April 9, 2015
In all honesty, I thought this book would be my type of read by the description, but it's not exactly what I normally read or even like. I can't fault the author just because this isn't my type of story. It was extremely well written & a very good start for a debut book
The book starts out in China where a woman, Song Mei works for the government. This is where the story, for me, turned unexpected & I got a bit lost. There's a lot in the book about different areas of governmental agencies like CIA where this book takes the reader to
Song Mei is taken aback when she's at a crime scene & the dead woman looks exactly like she. She thinks she must know this woman or be related to her since such a resemblance to herself. She delves deeper into finding out exactly who this woman is and now as the reader is when I got a bit overwhelmed with all the writing about CIA & government places.
This is not my "area" of reading & it's extremely unfair to judge the writing at this point just because it's above my level of understanding. As I wrote earlier, it's very well written & the author either did a great deal of research or is very well knowledges in this type world , and I am not
I would recommend this book to those that love & understand CIA & other governmental agencies & enjoy reading this type book. As for me, I'll leave the more expert in this field, to review this book properly
I received a copy of this book from Net Galley. I'd like to thank the publisher, author & Net Galley. I'm only sorry my review can't give the book the review it needs but it was well written
The book starts out in China where a woman, Song Mei works for the government. This is where the story, for me, turned unexpected & I got a bit lost. There's a lot in the book about different areas of governmental agencies like CIA where this book takes the reader to
Song Mei is taken aback when she's at a crime scene & the dead woman looks exactly like she. She thinks she must know this woman or be related to her since such a resemblance to herself. She delves deeper into finding out exactly who this woman is and now as the reader is when I got a bit overwhelmed with all the writing about CIA & government places.
This is not my "area" of reading & it's extremely unfair to judge the writing at this point just because it's above my level of understanding. As I wrote earlier, it's very well written & the author either did a great deal of research or is very well knowledges in this type world , and I am not
I would recommend this book to those that love & understand CIA & other governmental agencies & enjoy reading this type book. As for me, I'll leave the more expert in this field, to review this book properly
I received a copy of this book from Net Galley. I'd like to thank the publisher, author & Net Galley. I'm only sorry my review can't give the book the review it needs but it was well written
March 8, 2015
Received from LibraryThing.com for review.
This book is very well-written. It takes place in China, which makes it more interesting. The main character, Mei, is an investigator for the state (AKA the "Party"). Her boss has her come to a crime scene where the dead woman looks just like her. Could she be her twin? The story starts off slowly, but builds in intensity about 3/4 in. I like that Mei is tough but scared. She has loyalty to her country where the people are basically brainwashed to believe the Party is only about taking care of the people (even though everyone acknowledges the rampant bribery of officials) but she also sees corruption in her investigation and isn't sure how to proceed. The mystery extends way beyond the local politics and is actually a global situation. This book showed me a lot about how China operates and even though we know it's communist and corrupt in many ways, this was really a strong look into how the government works there. Very good story.
This book is very well-written. It takes place in China, which makes it more interesting. The main character, Mei, is an investigator for the state (AKA the "Party"). Her boss has her come to a crime scene where the dead woman looks just like her. Could she be her twin? The story starts off slowly, but builds in intensity about 3/4 in. I like that Mei is tough but scared. She has loyalty to her country where the people are basically brainwashed to believe the Party is only about taking care of the people (even though everyone acknowledges the rampant bribery of officials) but she also sees corruption in her investigation and isn't sure how to proceed. The mystery extends way beyond the local politics and is actually a global situation. This book showed me a lot about how China operates and even though we know it's communist and corrupt in many ways, this was really a strong look into how the government works there. Very good story.
February 19, 2015
Part 1 of THE GHOST SHIFT is difficult to follow. Probably, readers more familiar with China will be less perplexed.
It takes place in China. Apparently, a 23-year-old Chinese woman who works for the government becomes involved in something, we aren't sure what, but the twin sister,who she didn't know she had and who is now dead, had something, we aren't sure what, to do with it.
By Part 2, more is clear, so it is easier to follow. The mysteries first presented in Part 1 are still there. But, little by little, they are unraveled.
I won this book from the publisher through librarything.com.
It takes place in China. Apparently, a 23-year-old Chinese woman who works for the government becomes involved in something, we aren't sure what, but the twin sister,who she didn't know she had and who is now dead, had something, we aren't sure what, to do with it.
By Part 2, more is clear, so it is easier to follow. The mysteries first presented in Part 1 are still there. But, little by little, they are unraveled.
I won this book from the publisher through librarything.com.
March 18, 2015
John Gapper’s newest novel “The Ghost Shift” is an enjoyable, well-paced, and original thriller/mystery. The novel does a great job exploring the unique dance that occurs in modern China between capitalism and governmental communism. At times the plot does tend to rely too much on a monologue to give you background needed, and the solution is fairly predictable. But he overcomes this by crafting interesting characters and superb pacing. The novel flies along, and the premise and subject matter is unique and fresh.
March 25, 2015
In the beginning the book was somewhat tedious due to the introduction of many differing locations and characters. The author does eventually bring the characters and situations into a cohesive plot. In the end it is a real page turner.
January 11, 2015
Great read, strong characters, well thought out and researched. Mei is a character I would love to read more of. Learned a bit about China and it's policies. Will definitely pick up this author again.
March 17, 2015
This is a great book! I really enjoyed it. The storyline grabbed me from the beginning and kept be engrossed through the whole book. A recommended read and I look forward to more by this author.
February 8, 2015
I appreciated the amount of research adding to the realism of the China background. Truly added to the believability of the story.
May 22, 2015
Better than average thriller with memorable characters, intriguing conspiracy, vivid location, dangerous technology. A Good Read indeed.
May 27, 2015
Page 4: "It was his way: his was was to fix things..."
Life's to short to read badly proofread books.
Life's to short to read badly proofread books.
April 20, 2015
Good book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews