What do you think?
Rate this book
If You Don't Go: A Missing-Person Thriller of Lost Bitcoins and Buried Memories in Modern China
China Beyond the Headlines—a character-driven international missing-person mystery with an adventurous edge. Perfect for fans of Lisa See, Laura Dave, Liane Moriarty, and Lisa expect the emotional resonance of personal secrets, the pulse of a missing-person search, the suspense of twisting plots with richly drawn characters, the vivid immediacy of life in modern China.
Chinese-American attorney Alice Zhu hasn’t set foot in her home country since emigrating as a teenager more than thirty years ago. But when her top client—and childhood friend—Deckard Shen vanishes, leaving behind a hefty unpaid legal bill and rumors of upheaval, Alice has no choice but to confront old wounds and fly to Shanghai to track him down. In China, Alice forges an unlikely alliance with Duan Lili, a clever young woman who knows more than she lets on. From a bustling office park in Shanghai to a mogul’s penthouse lair in Nanjing to a slow train through Sichuan, every clue brings fresh surprises—and a few detours.
Told in dual POV, Alice’s search unfolds alongside the recollections of Deckard—a brilliant, volatile tech CEO whose secrets are buried in the memories he can’t let go, especially those from a fateful trip in 1989.
When their paths finally converge, risk multiplies, loyalties are uncertain, and fortunes can flip in an instant. How will they emerge unscathed before it's too late?
What you’ll a multi-faceted female lead; vivid, atmospheric settings that bring China to life through half a century of change; adventurous fun without graphic violence; a complex, ambitious plot with heart.Great vacation propulsive, smart, packed with surprises.Book-club timely questions about truth, censorship, and technology, delivered with an escapist vibe.Structure & third person, dual timeline—Alice now; Deckard then—literary and intelligent yet immensely readable. how experiences change minds; confronting long-buried truths; censorship and its cost; China--past and present; the value of money. no graphic violence, explicit sex, or strong language; scenes of drug use within cultural context; Bitcoin/ cryptocurrency subplot; a light, witty tone.Editorial praise
“This novel, set in China, deftly weaves the restless pre-Tian’anmen era with the uneasy post-pandemic present. Against the backdrop of today’s escalating U.S.-China tensions, the story becomes more than a mystery—it’s a window into the lives of people navigating the crosscurrents of ideology, censorship, and societal change. Best of all, this modern adventure mystery has a Bitcoin component!”
— Bobby C. Lee, Wall Street Journal–bestselling author of The Promise of Bitcoin; co-founder and former CEO of BTCChina
Chinese-American attorney Alice Zhu hasn’t set foot in her home country since emigrating as a teenager more than thirty years ago. But when her top client—and childhood friend—Deckard Shen vanishes, leaving behind a hefty unpaid legal bill and rumors of upheaval, Alice has no choice but to confront old wounds and fly to Shanghai to track him down. In China, Alice forges an unlikely alliance with Duan Lili, a clever young woman who knows more than she lets on. From a bustling office park in Shanghai to a mogul’s penthouse lair in Nanjing to a slow train through Sichuan, every clue brings fresh surprises—and a few detours.
Told in dual POV, Alice’s search unfolds alongside the recollections of Deckard—a brilliant, volatile tech CEO whose secrets are buried in the memories he can’t let go, especially those from a fateful trip in 1989.
When their paths finally converge, risk multiplies, loyalties are uncertain, and fortunes can flip in an instant. How will they emerge unscathed before it's too late?
What you’ll a multi-faceted female lead; vivid, atmospheric settings that bring China to life through half a century of change; adventurous fun without graphic violence; a complex, ambitious plot with heart.Great vacation propulsive, smart, packed with surprises.Book-club timely questions about truth, censorship, and technology, delivered with an escapist vibe.Structure & third person, dual timeline—Alice now; Deckard then—literary and intelligent yet immensely readable. how experiences change minds; confronting long-buried truths; censorship and its cost; China--past and present; the value of money. no graphic violence, explicit sex, or strong language; scenes of drug use within cultural context; Bitcoin/ cryptocurrency subplot; a light, witty tone.Editorial praise
“This novel, set in China, deftly weaves the restless pre-Tian’anmen era with the uneasy post-pandemic present. Against the backdrop of today’s escalating U.S.-China tensions, the story becomes more than a mystery—it’s a window into the lives of people navigating the crosscurrents of ideology, censorship, and societal change. Best of all, this modern adventure mystery has a Bitcoin component!”
— Bobby C. Lee, Wall Street Journal–bestselling author of The Promise of Bitcoin; co-founder and former CEO of BTCChina
370 pages, Paperback
Published September 15, 2025
4 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 16, 2025
Wow. As someone who has been fascinated by China for over two decades (including trying to learn the language and making several trips) I can honestly say this book gave me a powerful and unexpected gift. I was blown away by how vividly it captures the essence of a nation in flux.
What makes it so special is the way that it plunges you into the heart of modern China's tumultuous history. You don't just read about the changes; you feel them through the eyes of the protagonist as she returns to a country that has transformed almost beyond recognition.
This book is perfect for a fun, adventurous read and it had me turning pages way too late into the night. But what I loved was that I emerged with a visceral sense of what it might have been like to live through this incredible era. An absolute must-read!
What makes it so special is the way that it plunges you into the heart of modern China's tumultuous history. You don't just read about the changes; you feel them through the eyes of the protagonist as she returns to a country that has transformed almost beyond recognition.
This book is perfect for a fun, adventurous read and it had me turning pages way too late into the night. But what I loved was that I emerged with a visceral sense of what it might have been like to live through this incredible era. An absolute must-read!
October 8, 2025
I was fortunate enough to read an earlier version of this lively book in a novel workshop. The finished novel is even stronger: set mainly in China, it provides a propulsive narrative of a missing-person case with high stakes. The China depicted here is largely free of political headlines and focuses instead on the hopes and ambitions of its citizens. Alice Zhu, the attorney heroine of what promises to be a series of novels, offers a striking perspective on events as they unfold, both super-accurate and wryly bemused. Her search for her missing friend and client, Deckard Shin, embodies some thrilling episodes in rural China, along with critiques of where current technology may be taking us and some smoothly executed plot twists. This initial novel in the Alice Zhu series is a fast-paced and rewarding read. It's also a great vacation read (I finished the book in Florence), one that would be fun to read anywhere.
September 17, 2025
I really enjoyed this novel! Diana Hongcha deftly takes us on a gripping and mysterious ride through China's past and present with her main characters, Alice Zhu and Deckard Shen. There's a surprising twist around every corner. Mystery, Adventure, History, Politics, Tech, Family, Emotion!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews