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Inspector Chen Cao #2
Visto per Shanghai
Feng Dexiang, arrestato negli Stati Uniti, promette di testimoniare in un processo contro un capo di una Triade, a patto che la moglie possa raggiungerlo in America. Il governo cinese cede a malincuore alla richiesta, ma la donna scompare. Vittima di un rapimento? O il governo cinese ha cambiato idea?
Cosa si nasconde dietro l'improvvisa scomparsa di una ex Guardia Rossa, moglie di un testimone chiave in un processo contro le Triadi che controllano il traffico di clandestini tra la Cina e gli Stati Uniti?
Le indagini vengono affidate all'ispettore Chen Cao.
Cosa si nasconde dietro l'improvvisa scomparsa di una ex Guardia Rossa, moglie di un testimone chiave in un processo contro le Triadi che controllano il traffico di clandestini tra la Cina e gli Stati Uniti?
Le indagini vengono affidate all'ispettore Chen Cao.
359 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
135 people are currently reading
1077 people want to read
About the author
Qiu Xiaolong
75 books477 followersQiu Xiaolong (裘小龙) was born in Shanghai, China. He is the author of the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels, Death of a Red Heroine (2000), A Loyal Character Dancer (2002), When Red Is Black (2004), A Case of Two Cities (2006), Red Mandarin Dress (2007), and The Mao Case (2009). He is also the author of two books of poetry translations, Treasury of Chinese Love Poems (2003) and Evoking T'ang (2007), and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China (2003). Qiu's books have sold over a million copies and have been published in twenty languages. He currently lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 297 reviews
September 17, 2022
This book was frustrating to read, but not to get into. It was a book that started off with a mystery begging to be solved. The hero of this series is Inspector Chen Cao. He has to liaise with foreign US Marshals official Catherine, who also doubles as a feigned romantic interest. If it acts like a duck, quacks like a duck, but lays a chicken egg, then it is not a duck. This book is not romance related. Though, by the way, it does not pass the Bechdel test.
A river is in constant flux. People who want to impress the economic progress of China, compare Shanghai from 1990 to the skyscrapers and huge mills of 2018-20, at a time when the reputation of China's prosperity had become common knowledge. But from the perspective of someone living in Shanghai in 1990, their 'current' timeline was as if the money, industries, co-operations, and infrastructure had been boosted and implemented and built almost overnight. So in the 90s, Chen Cao, the fictitious hero of the novel, is in a privileged place.
I liked most of the novel. By that I mean 75%. The book is overlong. Yet it is only 351 pages. But it has been written in a so hectic and lumbering way that the gears grind to a stand still and the pacing is way off. For the first time in ages, I decided to stop reading the book at night, and to give my moods and biological clock a reset. But all of this was to no avail. Parts of this book were like a rotten egg.
A neat balance between mystification and convolutedness had, it seemed to me, never been attempted in this book. It is easier to think of such a surprising plot and enact it with suspense than to think of a difficult plot (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) and write it in an easy manner. I took to the simple and fragile beauty of Chinese poetry translated in English with reason and no rhyme, in book 1 of the series. But here there was too much poetry. If I wanted to read about T.S. Eliot I would have cracked open the spine of my Daiches book of history of poems. Joking, Daiches deals in British poetry only.
Catherine Rohn, one of the main characters in the book, is insultingly two dimensional. She has no character to her form. She is pretty, is not fluent in Chinese, apparently has average reflexes, has no great memory, and is as green behind the ears as they come. And she does not learn anything newish from her stay in China. Admittedly, she stays in China for only a few days, but her helplessness is so frustrating because it stands out during the entire time she says something. At least she and Cao did not share a one night stand. But I gloomily predict that that will happen more often than not in this series. Having a love interest without consummation, I mean.
Many might consider this book an upgrade over the previous one. I do not think so personally. The first book had less twists but had better rounded characters. I miss Peiqin, the model wife of Yu, who is himself Chen's assistant. Peiqin was fun to be with. As were the meals to which the various people were treated to in that far away time, in book 1! How I miss their behaviour. In this book the meals are always between two people. And there is not a childlike wonder at the Chinese gastronomy, because the romantic tension between Chen and Rohn overcast both the culinary adventures and the solvable mystery.
I had to flip to the later chapters, so I cannot give this book a high score in good faith. The author could have sensed that his book was being fattened. He might have sensed so, and had theoretically done nothing about it. This book would be perfect at 285 pages. It would have been a thought process that comes to those who are both prolific and expert at their craft. Most of Agatha Christie's books are under 350 pages... with more than 50% of them under 300 even. Many of the songs of the Beatles are under 3 minutes.
The nature of the investigation dictated that there was not a list of suspects to be drawn. That is understandable. However I hope that there is a remote Ming dynasty mansion waiting for Chen and Yu to knock at its massive doors at one point in one of the subsequent books. Wishful thinking aside though, I hope there is enough wisdom in Qui, the author, to cut his indulgences short in this series. Basing your mystery book on gourmet food needs more bookish elements to feel replete. What's the point in curling up on the couch with a good book and a cup of tea, if you are struggling to keep up with what tea the people in the book are drinking and do not know what the hell they taste like?
A river is in constant flux. People who want to impress the economic progress of China, compare Shanghai from 1990 to the skyscrapers and huge mills of 2018-20, at a time when the reputation of China's prosperity had become common knowledge. But from the perspective of someone living in Shanghai in 1990, their 'current' timeline was as if the money, industries, co-operations, and infrastructure had been boosted and implemented and built almost overnight. So in the 90s, Chen Cao, the fictitious hero of the novel, is in a privileged place.
I liked most of the novel. By that I mean 75%. The book is overlong. Yet it is only 351 pages. But it has been written in a so hectic and lumbering way that the gears grind to a stand still and the pacing is way off. For the first time in ages, I decided to stop reading the book at night, and to give my moods and biological clock a reset. But all of this was to no avail. Parts of this book were like a rotten egg.
A neat balance between mystification and convolutedness had, it seemed to me, never been attempted in this book. It is easier to think of such a surprising plot and enact it with suspense than to think of a difficult plot (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) and write it in an easy manner. I took to the simple and fragile beauty of Chinese poetry translated in English with reason and no rhyme, in book 1 of the series. But here there was too much poetry. If I wanted to read about T.S. Eliot I would have cracked open the spine of my Daiches book of history of poems. Joking, Daiches deals in British poetry only.
Catherine Rohn, one of the main characters in the book, is insultingly two dimensional. She has no character to her form. She is pretty, is not fluent in Chinese, apparently has average reflexes, has no great memory, and is as green behind the ears as they come. And she does not learn anything newish from her stay in China. Admittedly, she stays in China for only a few days, but her helplessness is so frustrating because it stands out during the entire time she says something. At least she and Cao did not share a one night stand. But I gloomily predict that that will happen more often than not in this series. Having a love interest without consummation, I mean.
Many might consider this book an upgrade over the previous one. I do not think so personally. The first book had less twists but had better rounded characters. I miss Peiqin, the model wife of Yu, who is himself Chen's assistant. Peiqin was fun to be with. As were the meals to which the various people were treated to in that far away time, in book 1! How I miss their behaviour. In this book the meals are always between two people. And there is not a childlike wonder at the Chinese gastronomy, because the romantic tension between Chen and Rohn overcast both the culinary adventures and the solvable mystery.
I had to flip to the later chapters, so I cannot give this book a high score in good faith. The author could have sensed that his book was being fattened. He might have sensed so, and had theoretically done nothing about it. This book would be perfect at 285 pages. It would have been a thought process that comes to those who are both prolific and expert at their craft. Most of Agatha Christie's books are under 350 pages... with more than 50% of them under 300 even. Many of the songs of the Beatles are under 3 minutes.
The nature of the investigation dictated that there was not a list of suspects to be drawn. That is understandable. However I hope that there is a remote Ming dynasty mansion waiting for Chen and Yu to knock at its massive doors at one point in one of the subsequent books. Wishful thinking aside though, I hope there is enough wisdom in Qui, the author, to cut his indulgences short in this series. Basing your mystery book on gourmet food needs more bookish elements to feel replete. What's the point in curling up on the couch with a good book and a cup of tea, if you are struggling to keep up with what tea the people in the book are drinking and do not know what the hell they taste like?
June 4, 2022
I've enjoyed the crime genre for years but recently felt it all felt the same and got easily tired of the series I was reading. Decided to keep my eye for crime novels that had one or more different aspects of it. This series is definitely good and I'm somewhat glad it such a long series. (11 books I think). The books are interesting to listen to and easy to get invested in
January 30, 2019
Visto per Shanghai è un libro che presi anni fa nell'ondata di interesse verso il genere thriller, poi è rimasto sommerso da altri libri, altri generi...
Partito il progetto: "Riesuma anche tu un libro, sommerso nella catasta di libri dimenticati, impolverati!"
Così lo inizio e per qualche decina di pagine pare essere scorrevole, qualche cenno storico, abitudini quotidiane ed usi e costumi cinesi. Poi arrivano pagine e pagine intere di (quasi) nulla, nel senso che della parte "gialla" c'è praticamente niente. Il libro è un continuo andare a mangiare, pagine intere di menu con degustazioni tipiche cinesi, tè a volontà (ci poteva anche stare) e poi un'infinità di citazioni di poesie, detti popolari cinesi o comunque orientali. Zero colpi di scena, zero suspense... Una noia devastante, l'ho letto il più velocemente possibile, non vedevo l'ora di finirlo!
Partito il progetto: "Riesuma anche tu un libro, sommerso nella catasta di libri dimenticati, impolverati!"
Così lo inizio e per qualche decina di pagine pare essere scorrevole, qualche cenno storico, abitudini quotidiane ed usi e costumi cinesi. Poi arrivano pagine e pagine intere di (quasi) nulla, nel senso che della parte "gialla" c'è praticamente niente. Il libro è un continuo andare a mangiare, pagine intere di menu con degustazioni tipiche cinesi, tè a volontà (ci poteva anche stare) e poi un'infinità di citazioni di poesie, detti popolari cinesi o comunque orientali. Zero colpi di scena, zero suspense... Una noia devastante, l'ho letto il più velocemente possibile, non vedevo l'ora di finirlo!
December 19, 2024
Regreso con el inspector Chen Cao y ha sido un gusto otra vez. Lo que más destaco de estos libros es todo lo que cuentan alrededor de China, al mismo tiempo que tratan de resolverse diferentes misterios.
December 3, 2024
E niente, le avventure del buon Chan continuano a piacermi.
Qui abbiamo un caso di tratta internazionale, l'immigrazione clandestina negli USA. Quindi una collaborazione con gli americani per portare di là la moglie di un possibile "collaboratore"... solo che detta moglie è scomparsa, così Li assegna al nostro il compito di fare da cicerone all'agente (bella e poetica, ovviamente) giunta apposta dall'America, cercando di dare l'impressione che la Cina stia facendo di tutto per risolvere il caso rapidamente.
Chiaramente gli unici a impegnarsi saranno Chan e il suo gruppo di fidati agenti, che si destreggeranno tra talpe, triadi e sordide storie risalenti ai tempi della "rieducazione" nelle campagne.
Ho trovato in questo secondo volume più trama e meno Chan, che alla fine era il fulcro di tutto nel primo libro.
Certo viene da chiedersi quanto durerà la sua fortuna, vista la sua tendenza a non rispettare le politiche di partito...
Una sola cosa mi ha lasciato assai perplesso, cioè i riferimenti a qualcosa accaduto dopo la fine del primo volume, un caso cui avrebbe lavorato e che avrebbe danneggiato il padre di Ling. Però questo risulta essere il secondo volume, quindi i conti non mi tornano... Che sia qualcosa avvenuto fuori dalla narrazione? Mi sembra comunque uno strano espediente.
Qui abbiamo un caso di tratta internazionale, l'immigrazione clandestina negli USA. Quindi una collaborazione con gli americani per portare di là la moglie di un possibile "collaboratore"... solo che detta moglie è scomparsa, così Li assegna al nostro il compito di fare da cicerone all'agente (bella e poetica, ovviamente) giunta apposta dall'America, cercando di dare l'impressione che la Cina stia facendo di tutto per risolvere il caso rapidamente.
Chiaramente gli unici a impegnarsi saranno Chan e il suo gruppo di fidati agenti, che si destreggeranno tra talpe, triadi e sordide storie risalenti ai tempi della "rieducazione" nelle campagne.
Ho trovato in questo secondo volume più trama e meno Chan, che alla fine era il fulcro di tutto nel primo libro.
Certo viene da chiedersi quanto durerà la sua fortuna, vista la sua tendenza a non rispettare le politiche di partito...
Una sola cosa mi ha lasciato assai perplesso, cioè i riferimenti a qualcosa accaduto dopo la fine del primo volume, un caso cui avrebbe lavorato e che avrebbe danneggiato il padre di Ling. Però questo risulta essere il secondo volume, quindi i conti non mi tornano... Che sia qualcosa avvenuto fuori dalla narrazione? Mi sembra comunque uno strano espediente.
October 17, 2018
In questo secondo libro della serie dell'ispettore capo Cao, al centro della vicenda c'è una ex guardia rossa in pericolo di vita; per risolvere il caso Chen Cao deve collaborare con una sua collega statunitense giunta a Shangai per portare negli Sati Uniti la donna al centro di un’importante indagine contro il traffico di esseri umani.
Il Bund di Shanghai, il viale più famoso della città.
La vicenda si svolge nei nei primi anni '90, subito dopo la protesta di piazza Tienanmen: la Cina è, suo malgrado, sotto i riflettori internazionali e deve operare un restyling della propria immagine; è anche il periodo delle riforme economiche di Deng Xiaoping che sostituisce l'etica comunista-marxista con l'apertura all'economia di mercato sostenendo che è lecito che alcuni si arricchissero prima di altri coniando il famoso slogan ”arricchirsi è glorioso”.
L'indagine di polizia diventa l'occasione per rivivere gli anni della rivoluzione culturale e riflettere sui cambiamenti intervenuti con la politica di Deng Xiaoping.
Membri di una comune della provincia di Jiangsu prendono parte a una sessione di critica contro la filosofia di Confucio (1974, Bettmann, via Getty Images).
La Rivoluzione culturale è stata uno dei momenti più bui della storia cinese: molti intellettuali non esitano a denunciarlo a differenza dei politici che formalmente seguono l’ideologia comunista ma poi favoriscono la peggiore forma di economia di mercato, quella in cui non ci sono più le garanzie minime dello stato socialista (lavoro per tutti, un tetto sopra la testa, istruzione) ma neanche un welfare che può intervenire per ridurre il divario sociale tra chi è sempre più povero e chi si è arricchito in maniera esponenziale. In questo sistema l’unico modo per sopravvivere è quello di garantirsi una rete di rapporti, basata sullo scambio di favori (guanxi) cui affidarsi in caso di bisogno.
Ho trovato l'aspetto sociologico molto interessante soprattutto perché questo libro segue la lettura di altri due romanzi (Brothers, prima parte e Arricchirsi è glorioso) che affrontano le stesse tematiche (anche se da un punto di vista differente e con ben altro spessore). L'intreccio e la risoluzione del caso poliziesco invece mi hanno lasciata piuttosto tiepida così come la caratterizzazione dei personaggi che risente di molti stereotipi del genere giallo/poliziesco.
Il Bund di Shanghai, il viale più famoso della città.
La vicenda si svolge nei nei primi anni '90, subito dopo la protesta di piazza Tienanmen: la Cina è, suo malgrado, sotto i riflettori internazionali e deve operare un restyling della propria immagine; è anche il periodo delle riforme economiche di Deng Xiaoping che sostituisce l'etica comunista-marxista con l'apertura all'economia di mercato sostenendo che è lecito che alcuni si arricchissero prima di altri coniando il famoso slogan ”arricchirsi è glorioso”.
L'indagine di polizia diventa l'occasione per rivivere gli anni della rivoluzione culturale e riflettere sui cambiamenti intervenuti con la politica di Deng Xiaoping.
Membri di una comune della provincia di Jiangsu prendono parte a una sessione di critica contro la filosofia di Confucio (1974, Bettmann, via Getty Images).
La Rivoluzione culturale è stata uno dei momenti più bui della storia cinese: molti intellettuali non esitano a denunciarlo a differenza dei politici che formalmente seguono l’ideologia comunista ma poi favoriscono la peggiore forma di economia di mercato, quella in cui non ci sono più le garanzie minime dello stato socialista (lavoro per tutti, un tetto sopra la testa, istruzione) ma neanche un welfare che può intervenire per ridurre il divario sociale tra chi è sempre più povero e chi si è arricchito in maniera esponenziale. In questo sistema l’unico modo per sopravvivere è quello di garantirsi una rete di rapporti, basata sullo scambio di favori (guanxi) cui affidarsi in caso di bisogno.
Ho trovato l'aspetto sociologico molto interessante soprattutto perché questo libro segue la lettura di altri due romanzi (Brothers, prima parte e Arricchirsi è glorioso) che affrontano le stesse tematiche (anche se da un punto di vista differente e con ben altro spessore). L'intreccio e la risoluzione del caso poliziesco invece mi hanno lasciata piuttosto tiepida così come la caratterizzazione dei personaggi che risente di molti stereotipi del genere giallo/poliziesco.
December 17, 2015
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rf3mwDescription: Shanghai, early 1990s. When a former dancer and party loyalist at the heart of a people smuggling operation to the USA goes missing Inspector Chen is under political pressure to find her, tactfully host a young female US Marshall and find the connection with a grisly Triad murder.
Director: David Hunter
A badly mutilated body turns up in Shanghai's Bund Park. It bears all the hallmarks of a triad killing.
Then former dancer and party loyalist Wen Liping vanishes in rural China just before she was to leave the country. Her husband, a key witness against a smuggling ring suspected of importing aliens to the US, refuses to testify until she is found and brought to join him in America.
The US immigration agency, convinced that the Chinese government are hiding something, send US Marshal Catherine Rohn to Shanghai to join the investigation.
Inspector Chen, an astute young policeman with twin passions for food and poetry, is under political pressure to find answers fast. When Catherine Rohn joins him he must tread very carefully.
The dramatisation of the second book in the Inspector Chen series, following the first, Death of a Red Heroine, and preceding the third, When Red is Black. All set in early 1990s Shanghai, in a China poised for rapid change.
Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai, China. As well as writing the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels, he is also the author of two books of poetry translations, Treasury of Chinese Love Poems (2003) and Evoking T'ang (2007), and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China (2003). Qiu's books have sold over a million copies and have been published in twenty languages. He lives in St. Louis, USA with his wife and daughter.
3.5* Death of a Red Heroine (Inspector Chen Cao #1)
CR A Loyal Character Dancer (Inspector Chen Cao #2)
January 5, 2010
First Sentence: Chief Inspector Chen Cao, of the Shangahi Police Bureau, found himself once again walking through the morning mist toward Bund Park.
Chief Inspection Chen Cao has been assigned to escort U.S. Marshall Catherine Rohn. His mission is to make her happy, keep her safe and out of trouble. Her mission is to bring to the United States, Wen, the wife of an important criminal witness. When they go to get Wen, she has disappeared. Chen has to find her, Catherine wants to be an active part of the investigation, and someone wants them to stop.
Xiaolong’s book is filled with literary references, poetry, mouth-watering descriptions of food and fascinating information on China’s history. I’ve learned more about the Cultural Revolution and Chinese history reading Xiaolong’s books than I ever did in school but he conveys the information in a way that never slows the story or makes the book seem dry.
An author who not only entertains but makes me think is a treat. Several times, I found myself stopping to contemplate a point made by the author…”The line between truth and fiction was always being constructed and deconstructed by those in power.” His voice is unique and compelling…”There were quite a number of young people on the first floor, smoking, talking, stirring desires or memories into their coffee cups.” Writing such as that is impossible for me to resist.
Through the characters we elicit a look at some of the factors impacting people’s lives; how the Cultural Revaluation has a lasting impact, the importance of connections and favors, and that politics has a personal impact, particularly in this case where what is politically necessary much supersede what is personally desirous.
It has been awhile since I read the first book in this series and I’d forgotten just how much I like the characters. Chen Cao did not become a policeman by choice. His love of poetry and literature shape him. He is supported by the wonderful, fully-dimensional Yu, Peiqin and Old Hunter, Chan’s partner, his wife and father.
I also appreciated the connection of his friend Overseas Chinese Lu as a transition from the last book. US Marshall Catharine Rohn, Chen’s counterpart for the case, is also something of a love interest. That didn’t quite play true to me but I did sense the tension the author portrayed. The most fascinating character is Party Secretary Li, Chen’s superior. I hope we get to know more about his as the series proceeds.
The plot itself was interesting; with economic development comes increased organized crime. Amidst the scenic descriptions—and there is a very strong sense of place—food and literary references, there is also attacks on the character’s lives, a great battle scene and very well done twists in the plot.
The pace does bog down a bit and I wasn’t crazy about all the exposition at the end. I’d rather you show me than tell me.
I highly recommend this book but do suggest starting with the first in the series. For me, Xiaolong remains firmly on my auto-buy list and I look forward to the next in the series.
A LOYAL CHARACTER DANCER (Pol Proc-CI Chen Cao-Shanghai, China-Cont/1990s) - VG
Xiaolong, Quiu – 2nd in series
Soho Press, 2002, US Hardcover – ISBN: 1569473013
Chief Inspection Chen Cao has been assigned to escort U.S. Marshall Catherine Rohn. His mission is to make her happy, keep her safe and out of trouble. Her mission is to bring to the United States, Wen, the wife of an important criminal witness. When they go to get Wen, she has disappeared. Chen has to find her, Catherine wants to be an active part of the investigation, and someone wants them to stop.
Xiaolong’s book is filled with literary references, poetry, mouth-watering descriptions of food and fascinating information on China’s history. I’ve learned more about the Cultural Revolution and Chinese history reading Xiaolong’s books than I ever did in school but he conveys the information in a way that never slows the story or makes the book seem dry.
An author who not only entertains but makes me think is a treat. Several times, I found myself stopping to contemplate a point made by the author…”The line between truth and fiction was always being constructed and deconstructed by those in power.” His voice is unique and compelling…”There were quite a number of young people on the first floor, smoking, talking, stirring desires or memories into their coffee cups.” Writing such as that is impossible for me to resist.
Through the characters we elicit a look at some of the factors impacting people’s lives; how the Cultural Revaluation has a lasting impact, the importance of connections and favors, and that politics has a personal impact, particularly in this case where what is politically necessary much supersede what is personally desirous.
It has been awhile since I read the first book in this series and I’d forgotten just how much I like the characters. Chen Cao did not become a policeman by choice. His love of poetry and literature shape him. He is supported by the wonderful, fully-dimensional Yu, Peiqin and Old Hunter, Chan’s partner, his wife and father.
I also appreciated the connection of his friend Overseas Chinese Lu as a transition from the last book. US Marshall Catharine Rohn, Chen’s counterpart for the case, is also something of a love interest. That didn’t quite play true to me but I did sense the tension the author portrayed. The most fascinating character is Party Secretary Li, Chen’s superior. I hope we get to know more about his as the series proceeds.
The plot itself was interesting; with economic development comes increased organized crime. Amidst the scenic descriptions—and there is a very strong sense of place—food and literary references, there is also attacks on the character’s lives, a great battle scene and very well done twists in the plot.
The pace does bog down a bit and I wasn’t crazy about all the exposition at the end. I’d rather you show me than tell me.
I highly recommend this book but do suggest starting with the first in the series. For me, Xiaolong remains firmly on my auto-buy list and I look forward to the next in the series.
A LOYAL CHARACTER DANCER (Pol Proc-CI Chen Cao-Shanghai, China-Cont/1990s) - VG
Xiaolong, Quiu – 2nd in series
Soho Press, 2002, US Hardcover – ISBN: 1569473013
January 26, 2024
Un'indagine congiunta tra la polizia cinese e quella americana fa incontrare l'ispettore Chen Cao - che è anche poeta e traduttore dall'inglese al cinese - con Catherine Rohn, sceriffo federale di Saint Louis che conosce abbastanza il mandarino. I due sono sulle tracce di Wen Liping, la moglie di un uomo immigrato illegalmente negli Stati Uniti che deve testimoniare in un processo contro le mafie cinesi che organizzano questi viaggi.
Wen ha richiesto il visto per gli Stati Uniti, ma proprio adesso che le è stato concesso - malgrado tutte le trafile burocratiche e gli inghippi a cui la concessione viene normalmente sottoposta, e questo soprattutto per non fare una figuraccia con gli americani, che hanno fretta di farla espatriare per garantirsi la testimonianza del marito - la donna, che è incinta di quattro mesi circa, è scomparsa. Cosa è successo? È stata rapita dalle triadi? È stata uccisa? È fuggita per nascondersi ai suoi nemici o è successo qualcos'altro di imprevedibile?
Per tutta la durata delle indagini, Chen fa da scorta/guida turistica a Catherine, facendoci vedere la Cina poco dopo i fatti di piazza Tienanmen attraverso gli occhi di chi la Cina la vede tutti i giorni ed è mortificato sapendo di non poter farle fare brutta figura, soprattutto a causa degli ordini che ha ricevuto dall'alto.
Tra Catherine e Chen sembra nascere un sentimento delicato, ma entrambi sanno che non possono coltivare quel fiore in boccio perché un'unione tra loro sarebbe impossibile. Tanto più che Chen, come sappiamo dall'indagine precedente, ha ancora un rapporto irrisolto con la figlia di un alto quadro di Pechino.
I riferimenti alla cucina tipica cinese sono inevitabili, ma forse eccessivi; un'ennesima prova che ci troviamo davanti a un giallo che segue la moda dei tempi.
Wen ha richiesto il visto per gli Stati Uniti, ma proprio adesso che le è stato concesso - malgrado tutte le trafile burocratiche e gli inghippi a cui la concessione viene normalmente sottoposta, e questo soprattutto per non fare una figuraccia con gli americani, che hanno fretta di farla espatriare per garantirsi la testimonianza del marito - la donna, che è incinta di quattro mesi circa, è scomparsa. Cosa è successo? È stata rapita dalle triadi? È stata uccisa? È fuggita per nascondersi ai suoi nemici o è successo qualcos'altro di imprevedibile?
Per tutta la durata delle indagini, Chen fa da scorta/guida turistica a Catherine, facendoci vedere la Cina poco dopo i fatti di piazza Tienanmen attraverso gli occhi di chi la Cina la vede tutti i giorni ed è mortificato sapendo di non poter farle fare brutta figura, soprattutto a causa degli ordini che ha ricevuto dall'alto.
Tra Catherine e Chen sembra nascere un sentimento delicato, ma entrambi sanno che non possono coltivare quel fiore in boccio perché un'unione tra loro sarebbe impossibile. Tanto più che Chen, come sappiamo dall'indagine precedente, ha ancora un rapporto irrisolto con la figlia di un alto quadro di Pechino.
I riferimenti alla cucina tipica cinese sono inevitabili, ma forse eccessivi; un'ennesima prova che ci troviamo davanti a un giallo che segue la moda dei tempi.
March 30, 2025
Second book in the inspector Chen series - really enjoyable fascinating cross cultural crime procedural.
It is the exploration of two cultures in this book that is so intriguing - particularly in relation to the period of time it is set.
The story focuses upon the disappearance of a Chinese woman expected to join her husband in the USA.
Fast paced and intelligent.
Inspector Chen is a brilliantly devised character
Book three awaits soon
It is the exploration of two cultures in this book that is so intriguing - particularly in relation to the period of time it is set.
The story focuses upon the disappearance of a Chinese woman expected to join her husband in the USA.
Fast paced and intelligent.
Inspector Chen is a brilliantly devised character
Book three awaits soon
February 3, 2015
Another cracking good police procedural from Qiu Xialong. A man's body in silk Valentino pajamas turns up in Bund Park, horribly cut about with an axe. A human trafficker's wife goes missing just when she is wanted to testify in the US. Are they connected, and if so, how? Inspector Chen and his faithful sidekick Yu are told off to deal with the cases, and Chen finds himself acting as adviser/guide/interpreter for an attractive female US Marshall.
I enjoyed reading this installment, though the "loyal character dance" as done by Wen Liping is rather different to that described in the first volume, which seemed to be a kind of walking in place. Nice to read an Asian mystery written by your actual Asian person, instead of a Westerner who has lived there for a relatively short time and thinks they know. The interpolated poetry couplets are enjoyable, whether drawn from the classics, or taken from Chen's (the author's) own work.
The end was a bit confusing, with the "library scene" taking place in an airport, though perhaps that is because I was very tired and stressed when I finished it. I wonder if the man with the light green cellphone will turn into a Nemesis/mole character in later books? And is Comrade Party Chairman Li as squeaky-clean and dedicated as he appears to be? Watch this space!
I wondered if all of this hand-touching and arm-taking on the part of the American character toward Chen would be acceptable in China? That's just my ignorance, I don't know how touchy-feely people are there, whether it would be an invasion of personal space or not--particularly in a professional situation. I will admit that the only Asians I had close contact with was 35 years ago, and things were different then--it would certainly have made them uncomfortable.
Given that in Asia it is the norm to say the surname first (therefore Yu and Chen are surnames, not first names) I find it odd that everyone speaks of the woman as "Wen", even when comforting her, instead of "Liping." It would be like calling someone "Jones" instead of "Helen." But as I say, I'm not Asian--and thank goodness, the author is, and knows more about it than I do.
I enjoyed reading this installment, though the "loyal character dance" as done by Wen Liping is rather different to that described in the first volume, which seemed to be a kind of walking in place. Nice to read an Asian mystery written by your actual Asian person, instead of a Westerner who has lived there for a relatively short time and thinks they know. The interpolated poetry couplets are enjoyable, whether drawn from the classics, or taken from Chen's (the author's) own work.
The end was a bit confusing, with the "library scene" taking place in an airport, though perhaps that is because I was very tired and stressed when I finished it. I wonder if the man with the light green cellphone will turn into a Nemesis/mole character in later books? And is Comrade Party Chairman Li as squeaky-clean and dedicated as he appears to be? Watch this space!
I wondered if all of this hand-touching and arm-taking on the part of the American character toward Chen would be acceptable in China? That's just my ignorance, I don't know how touchy-feely people are there, whether it would be an invasion of personal space or not--particularly in a professional situation. I will admit that the only Asians I had close contact with was 35 years ago, and things were different then--it would certainly have made them uncomfortable.
Given that in Asia it is the norm to say the surname first (therefore Yu and Chen are surnames, not first names) I find it odd that everyone speaks of the woman as "Wen", even when comforting her, instead of "Liping." It would be like calling someone "Jones" instead of "Helen." But as I say, I'm not Asian--and thank goodness, the author is, and knows more about it than I do.
December 10, 2017
This is another engaging "Inspector Chen" mystery. I enjoyed the characters, imagery, and investigationshe in the story. My favorite aspects, though, are the translations of Chinese poetry, proverbs, and idioms in context. Not only are they liberally used to add to the sense of character and place, they are explained in such a way that the meaning clearly comes through in English. The translation is not just words, but spirit. Reading an Inspector Chen mystery is not just an enjoyable reading experience--it is like getting a small introduction to Chinese literature as well.
December 13, 2015
From BBC Radio 4 - Drama:
Inspector Chen: A Loyal Character Dancer
by Qiu Xiaolong
dramatised by John Harvey
Shanghai, early 1990s. When a former dancer and party loyalist at the heart of a people smuggling operation to the USA goes missing Inspector Chen is under political pressure to find her, tactfully host a young female US Marshall and find the connection with a grisly Triad murder.
Director: David Hunter
A badly mutilated body turns up in Shanghai's Bund Park. It bears all the hallmarks of a triad killing.
Then former dancer and party loyalist Wen Liping vanishes in rural China just before she was to leave the country. Her husband, a key witness against a smuggling ring suspected of importing aliens to the US, refuses to testify until she is found and brought to join him in America.
The US immigration agency, convinced that the Chinese government are hiding something, send US Marshal Catherine Rohn to Shanghai to join the investigation.
Inspector Chen, an astute young policeman with twin passions for food and poetry, is under political pressure to find answers fast. When Catherine Rohn joins him he must tread very carefully.
The dramatisation of the second book in the Inspector Chen series, following the first, Death of a Red Heroine, and preceding the third, When Red is Black. All set in early 1990s Shanghai, in a China poised for rapid change.
Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai, China. As well as writing the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels, he is also the author of two books of poetry translations, Treasury of Chinese Love Poems (2003) and Evoking T'ang (2007), and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China (2003). Qiu's books have sold over a million copies and have been published in twenty languages. He lives in St. Louis, USA with his wife and daughter.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rf3mw
Inspector Chen: A Loyal Character Dancer
by Qiu Xiaolong
dramatised by John Harvey
Shanghai, early 1990s. When a former dancer and party loyalist at the heart of a people smuggling operation to the USA goes missing Inspector Chen is under political pressure to find her, tactfully host a young female US Marshall and find the connection with a grisly Triad murder.
Director: David Hunter
A badly mutilated body turns up in Shanghai's Bund Park. It bears all the hallmarks of a triad killing.
Then former dancer and party loyalist Wen Liping vanishes in rural China just before she was to leave the country. Her husband, a key witness against a smuggling ring suspected of importing aliens to the US, refuses to testify until she is found and brought to join him in America.
The US immigration agency, convinced that the Chinese government are hiding something, send US Marshal Catherine Rohn to Shanghai to join the investigation.
Inspector Chen, an astute young policeman with twin passions for food and poetry, is under political pressure to find answers fast. When Catherine Rohn joins him he must tread very carefully.
The dramatisation of the second book in the Inspector Chen series, following the first, Death of a Red Heroine, and preceding the third, When Red is Black. All set in early 1990s Shanghai, in a China poised for rapid change.
Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai, China. As well as writing the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels, he is also the author of two books of poetry translations, Treasury of Chinese Love Poems (2003) and Evoking T'ang (2007), and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China (2003). Qiu's books have sold over a million copies and have been published in twenty languages. He lives in St. Louis, USA with his wife and daughter.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rf3mw
January 5, 2019
Segundo libro de la serie protagonizada por el inspector Chen, un policía chino filósofo y poeta perdido en un mundo dominado por la política.
En este caso Chen se ve envuelto en la investigación de una desaparición relacionada con las Triadas, aunque sólo es asignado al caso como movimiento político de las altas esferas para dar buena imagen a la agente federal enviada por los Estados Unidos de América para localizar a la testigo desaparecida.
Una vez más el autor nos ofrece una perspectiva poética de la vida de Chen, casi siempre desde su punto de vista. Todo son citas de Confucio, poemas y dichos o refranes del país, que para nosotros no tienen sentido por la diferencia cultural. Pero esto no es óbice para que el libro guste; es más le da más realismo, un toque más personal a la historia.
En este caso Chen se ve envuelto en la investigación de una desaparición relacionada con las Triadas, aunque sólo es asignado al caso como movimiento político de las altas esferas para dar buena imagen a la agente federal enviada por los Estados Unidos de América para localizar a la testigo desaparecida.
Una vez más el autor nos ofrece una perspectiva poética de la vida de Chen, casi siempre desde su punto de vista. Todo son citas de Confucio, poemas y dichos o refranes del país, que para nosotros no tienen sentido por la diferencia cultural. Pero esto no es óbice para que el libro guste; es más le da más realismo, un toque más personal a la historia.
December 6, 2016
61st book for 2016.
This second instalment of Shanghai detective Chen Cao was a disappointment after the first book. Too much poetry. Too much food. Too much pedagogics. Too little work on plot/character development.
It offers an interesting insight into China of the 1990s, but doesn't deliver as a work of fiction.
This second instalment of Shanghai detective Chen Cao was a disappointment after the first book. Too much poetry. Too much food. Too much pedagogics. Too little work on plot/character development.
It offers an interesting insight into China of the 1990s, but doesn't deliver as a work of fiction.
April 8, 2013
Crime novels are as good as their Detectives. We delight in the Detectives’ failings which serve, not to hide, but to shine light on the brilliance of their often idiosyncratic investigations. We admire their often solitary social existence, as they work under-appreciated and most often, against the established order of things. We enjoy the relationship that develops between the Detectives and their sidekicks, though it is always an unlikely relationship, for the sidekicks have to be less skilled and less insightful and also more integrated into the normal value systems in the Police and society.
Qiu Ziaolong’s Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau is a worthy addition to the long line of these exceptional but wounded detectives. He is brilliant and yet methodical, he has been passed over for promotion and housing because of his unwillingness to play political games at the expense of police work. His character too is perhaps behind his inability to marry though the marriage promises much in terms of political connection. And, as with many detectives in crime novels, he loves things which take him out of crime to reveal a larger person. For Chen it is his love of the old values in China and especially of Chinese poetry, and of T. S. Elliott (Qiu has painted Chen just like himself in this respect!).
Qiu Xialong’s novels give us entry to China in the 1990s. The Loyal Character Dancer is no exception. It is a tale centring on a once beautiful schoolgirl, Wen Liping, who, during the Cultural Revolution, started on a life of dedication to China only to end in a brutal marriage to a small town people and drug smuggler. Her disappearance is the mystery at the heart of the novel. It is a mystery with international ramifications as Wen is needed for an important case in America against people smugglers. It is this connection which brings together Chen and a U.S. Marshall, Catherine Rohn, who are tasked with finding Wen Liping.
For me, it is not so much the mystery which is intriguing, as the Chinese journey we embark on as Chen follows leads and negotiates deals. We are lead on a journey through old alleyways. We see the new developments. We see the crowding and the longing for housing. 
[Image by Kert Gartner, 2012 (Flickr)]
[Old and new Shanghai from www.city-photo.org]
We see the difficult paths to tread when politics is so much part of policing. We see Shanghai and also the smaller towns around it. We visit crowded homes or a famous Russian restaurant for a beautiful dinner (always with a rather gruesome item on the menu such as steamed live fish). And what is most beautiful for me, we hear Chinese poetry. Here is just one small poem (Chapter 1)
The mist disappearing
against the spring mountains,
the stars few, small
in the pale skies
the sinking moon illuminates her face,
the dawn in her glistening tears
at parting
…
With the green skirt of yours in mind, everywhere,
everywhere I step over the grass so lightly.
Why when there is so much to delight in Qiu Xialong’s A Loyal Character Dancer do I only give it a 3? Mostly it is because the scale for rating is so short. There are only 3 numbers to indicate a range from okay/readable to brilliant. In order to allow us to differentiate a bit more there should be a longer scale. So, confined within this short unsatisfactory scale, I give it a 3, partly because the tale is a little too scattered and because the US Marshall, Catherine Rohn, does not quite ring true to me, nor does her sexual frisson with Chen seem real. Still, I think Qiu’s Chief Inspector Chen Cao’s crime novels are a very good read. I'd happily give it 3.5
Warning: I read this as an eBook. It is published (paper copy and digital version by SOHO Press). There are many grammatical and scanning errors. These certainly made it much less of a delight to read. I wrote to SOHO Press about the errors and they have promised to put the book on their list to be proofread. Still, I think a publishing company owes its readers a better edited book.
December 15, 2016
Inspector Chen Cao is a poet, translator of Western literature, including mysteries, and newly assigned as head of the Special Case Squad. In all of these ways, the protagonist resembles the author, Qui Xiaolong – except the author is a professor, not a policeman.
Qiu's second Inspector Chen mystery offers another intriguing glimpse into Chinese life during a period of evolution from communism to a more westernized culture. Wen Liping, a party loyalist, has vanished just when she was to leave for the U.S. to join her husband, a key witness against a smuggling ring suspected of importing aliens to America. U.S. Marshal Catherine Rohn arrives early in the story to escort the witness to the trial.
The secretive movements of the triad gangs threaten Chen and his investigation, and it is not clear what the motives might be. In addition, the history and impact of the Cultural Revolution are material to the plot. Unpalatable as it is, and without clear official backing, Chen must involve himself with unsavory elements and even with possible leaks in his own department.
The Inspector Chen Cao mysteries are intriguing and fun, but I enjoy them more for their insights into China in the 90s, post-Tiananmen Square, than for the mysteries themselves, which are sometimes labored. Death of a Red Heroine, book one, focused on the necessity for the Communist Party to keep face. Inspector Chen ultimately allowed the party to take care of the murderer rather than take personal credit. A Loyal Character Dancer, book two, focuses more on the triads and their importance – a kind of Chinese Mafia.
There were other cultural topics. For example, there is frequent conflict between urgencies of the job and filial responsibilities. (e.g., Should Chen follow a lead or spend time with his mother?) Yet when Chen is successful, especially if he is promoted, his mother receives status. There are expected courtesies, and everyone is called by title; hierarchy is crucial.
Perhaps most interesting is that Chen is vigorously discouraged from discussing China’s one-child policy with the American Marshall Rohn, because he is charged with showing her China at its best. He is aware that Rohn does not approve or understand the government’s population control efforts. Rohn’s presence throughout the narrative offers an American contrast. She is cheerful and assertive and quite puzzled by Chen’s reticence at times.
Chen himself feels many forces tugging at him. He is ambitious to be a good policeman and loyal to Confucianism and the Party. He is both modern and traditional. As a character, he has staying power, and I’ll be back for more Chen Cao mysteries.
Qiu's second Inspector Chen mystery offers another intriguing glimpse into Chinese life during a period of evolution from communism to a more westernized culture. Wen Liping, a party loyalist, has vanished just when she was to leave for the U.S. to join her husband, a key witness against a smuggling ring suspected of importing aliens to America. U.S. Marshal Catherine Rohn arrives early in the story to escort the witness to the trial.
The secretive movements of the triad gangs threaten Chen and his investigation, and it is not clear what the motives might be. In addition, the history and impact of the Cultural Revolution are material to the plot. Unpalatable as it is, and without clear official backing, Chen must involve himself with unsavory elements and even with possible leaks in his own department.
The Inspector Chen Cao mysteries are intriguing and fun, but I enjoy them more for their insights into China in the 90s, post-Tiananmen Square, than for the mysteries themselves, which are sometimes labored. Death of a Red Heroine, book one, focused on the necessity for the Communist Party to keep face. Inspector Chen ultimately allowed the party to take care of the murderer rather than take personal credit. A Loyal Character Dancer, book two, focuses more on the triads and their importance – a kind of Chinese Mafia.
There were other cultural topics. For example, there is frequent conflict between urgencies of the job and filial responsibilities. (e.g., Should Chen follow a lead or spend time with his mother?) Yet when Chen is successful, especially if he is promoted, his mother receives status. There are expected courtesies, and everyone is called by title; hierarchy is crucial.
Perhaps most interesting is that Chen is vigorously discouraged from discussing China’s one-child policy with the American Marshall Rohn, because he is charged with showing her China at its best. He is aware that Rohn does not approve or understand the government’s population control efforts. Rohn’s presence throughout the narrative offers an American contrast. She is cheerful and assertive and quite puzzled by Chen’s reticence at times.
Chen himself feels many forces tugging at him. He is ambitious to be a good policeman and loyal to Confucianism and the Party. He is both modern and traditional. As a character, he has staying power, and I’ll be back for more Chen Cao mysteries.
March 9, 2018
Uggggghh. I've been trying not to start my reviews with 'ugggghh' but sometimes that's pretty much the only sound that fits. This is my own fault - I didn't like Inspector Chen Cao in his first outing, but I still got reeled in by that glorious X name. And it was available as an audiobook, so I didn't actually have to waste time reading it (I listen when I'm doing something else).
The Loyal Character Dancer is Wen Ping, an unfortunate educated youth who married a farmer 15 years her senior because of obvious reasons. Now the farmer is a witness in a huge illegal immigration trial in the US and he wants his wife with him. US Marshal Catherine Rohn is in China to escort Wen Ping back, but Wen Ping has vanished. To save face, the Chinese police force have to find her, as well as keep Catherine occupied. Chen Cao is Catherine's baby sitter for the occasion, which he resents at first. But then the poetry he quotes at her and food he plies them both with make him more than contented. Or so I hope, because there had to be some reason we were treated to more poetry and food descriptions than the actual case.
Well. . It felt unfinished and made me mad about all digressions about food and poetry.
The Loyal Character Dancer is Wen Ping, an unfortunate educated youth who married a farmer 15 years her senior because of obvious reasons. Now the farmer is a witness in a huge illegal immigration trial in the US and he wants his wife with him. US Marshal Catherine Rohn is in China to escort Wen Ping back, but Wen Ping has vanished. To save face, the Chinese police force have to find her, as well as keep Catherine occupied. Chen Cao is Catherine's baby sitter for the occasion, which he resents at first. But then the poetry he quotes at her and food he plies them both with make him more than contented. Or so I hope, because there had to be some reason we were treated to more poetry and food descriptions than the actual case.
Well. . It felt unfinished and made me mad about all digressions about food and poetry.
May 25, 2017
The theme of Inspector Chen #2 mystery is human trafficking and the persistence of the Triad criminal gangs in mainland China, despite what the ruling Communist Party would like to believe. Wei is married to a creepy guy who makes it to America from their small northern town, thanks to a Triad payoff. Turns out, he's willing to testify as soon as his wife can be brought to America, and so a member of the US Marshall Service comes to Shanghai to bring her back. Only she turns up missing, and the search by Detective Chen and the attractive American woman agent uncovers lots of dirty laundry about the forceable removal of students and intellectuals to the countryside years before under Mao; the connection between the Triads and the cops; and the real motives of the party, always a strong subplot in this series. The resolution turns on understanding the motivation of a lot of different characters, and Chen is up to the task.
February 28, 2021
Segundo libro del inspector jefe Chen Cao, en esta ocasión tiene dos casos que resolver y la compañía de una guapa policía estadounidense.
En esta segunda entrega (la primera fue muerte de una heroína roja) el autor sigue en la misma línea de la primera, el inspector poeta sigue trabajando con su tranquilidad que le caracteriza, con su fiel ayudante Yu y con “el viejo cazador”, el padre de Yu, un guardián jubilado que sigue echándole una mano. En esta ocasión la inspectora Catherine Rohn viene a ayudar en uno de los dos casos y a llevarse a una chica que será testigo protegido a su país. Me encanta la relación que surge entre los dos, pero no contaré nada, tenéis que leerlo vosotros . En este libro aparecen las tríadas chinas como parte de la trama. Y solo puedo deciros que si os gusta la literatura oriental, la novela negra y la poesía este libro os va a gustar 😉
En esta segunda entrega (la primera fue muerte de una heroína roja) el autor sigue en la misma línea de la primera, el inspector poeta sigue trabajando con su tranquilidad que le caracteriza, con su fiel ayudante Yu y con “el viejo cazador”, el padre de Yu, un guardián jubilado que sigue echándole una mano. En esta ocasión la inspectora Catherine Rohn viene a ayudar en uno de los dos casos y a llevarse a una chica que será testigo protegido a su país. Me encanta la relación que surge entre los dos, pero no contaré nada, tenéis que leerlo vosotros . En este libro aparecen las tríadas chinas como parte de la trama. Y solo puedo deciros que si os gusta la literatura oriental, la novela negra y la poesía este libro os va a gustar 😉
May 7, 2011
I liked this even better than the first in the series.
Inspector Chen is a poet and a translator, and a poem based on historical fact provides the key to solve this case.
Chen's deft working within the political system of today's China is admirable and interesting as always, and this book finds him balancing on the tightrope of cooperation with the United States to do something about illegal immigration and the powerful Chinese gangs whose power is based on their lucrative exploitation of immigrants.
Inspector Chen is a poet and a translator, and a poem based on historical fact provides the key to solve this case.
Chen's deft working within the political system of today's China is admirable and interesting as always, and this book finds him balancing on the tightrope of cooperation with the United States to do something about illegal immigration and the powerful Chinese gangs whose power is based on their lucrative exploitation of immigrants.
May 3, 2014
This second installment of the Inspector Chen series gives the reader a deeper insight into the main character. Inspector Chen adroitly maneuvers his way through some tricky politics while aiding a US Marshall there in China to escort a woman to the US.
The plot moves along nicely until the end where things get very complicated. The ending is quite a tangle, it almost seems to be deliberate, leaving the author with sufficient hooks to take up the story line in the future.
Overall a nice read.
The plot moves along nicely until the end where things get very complicated. The ending is quite a tangle, it almost seems to be deliberate, leaving the author with sufficient hooks to take up the story line in the future.
Overall a nice read.
October 11, 2015
Nueva entrega que mejora a la anterior, introduce un factor de tensión y persecución que tensiona a los personajes y engancha al lector. De nuevo, gran descripción de la difícil situación de un régimen comunista, a pesar del ligero aperturismo económico. Una buena historia cuenta más que un montón de sesudos análisis.
April 26, 2017
For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: “It might have been!” ~Maud Muller by John Greenleaf Whittier
Qui Xiaolong's 2003 A Loyal Character Dancer is the second in the Inspector Chin Cao series. It's an excellent sophomore effort that ably pushes the series forward. This time the issue at hand deals with criminal triads and human smuggling operations. The novel also deals with lost opportunities writ large and small. Like it predecessor Death of a Red Heroine, the novel is an exciting crime fiction mystery where Chief Inspector Chen and his team try to find a missing person who is important to the Chinese and American governments as well as determine the identity of a corpse found in a public park in Shanghai. It seems to me that there are many parallels between Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch and Qiu's Chen Cao. Both have to survive in the political and bureaucratic and political environments of the respective police departments. However with the latter, there is also a lot of poetry, lyrics, aphorisms, slogans, and mottoes-both Chinese and Western-that the author employs to provide his readership with a primer on modern Chinese culture. I find it interesting so far, but I've been a student of East Asia for over forty years. What's more important is the quality of the mystery writing, and in this story Qiu does a fine job-despite his apparent ulterior motives for writing this series. Enjoy.
April 7, 2023
Challenging, emotional, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0 ⭐
Again, this series reminds me of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series.
It is dealing with a Communist regime...that I definitely do NOT agree with. The protagonist (Inspector Chen Cao) is a good person, who is trying to be the best person "under the circumstances".
In this story, he is forced to spend time with Catherine Rohl, a US Marshall tasked to escort a Chinese National to leave China and be united with her husband in the US...but when she arrives in China to escort her out of China, she is told that she is missing. At first she thinks this is a ploy by the Chinese government, but then in time, realizes that she really is missing, possibly abducted/killed.
Inspector Chen and US Marshall Catherine then leave no stone unturned in their effort to find this woman.
I liked the dynamic between Chen and Catherine. Even at the very beginning stages it was obvious that he and her would "possibly" become an item.
Their enemies to lovers trope was well crafted.
BUT, I also loved how the story ended. Two for two, but what will happen in book three?
Well, I'll find out in time, too. Will pick the next one up in a little while.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0 ⭐
Again, this series reminds me of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series.
It is dealing with a Communist regime...that I definitely do NOT agree with. The protagonist (Inspector Chen Cao) is a good person, who is trying to be the best person "under the circumstances".
In this story, he is forced to spend time with Catherine Rohl, a US Marshall tasked to escort a Chinese National to leave China and be united with her husband in the US...but when she arrives in China to escort her out of China, she is told that she is missing. At first she thinks this is a ploy by the Chinese government, but then in time, realizes that she really is missing, possibly abducted/killed.
Inspector Chen and US Marshall Catherine then leave no stone unturned in their effort to find this woman.
I liked the dynamic between Chen and Catherine. Even at the very beginning stages it was obvious that he and her would "possibly" become an item.
Their enemies to lovers trope was well crafted.
BUT, I also loved how the story ended. Two for two, but what will happen in book three?
Well, I'll find out in time, too. Will pick the next one up in a little while.
October 14, 2018
Chief Inspector Chen is summoned to investigate a dead body found in his favorite park, but his superiors decide that instead he should go find a woman, Wen Liping, who is due to leave the country for the United States but has disappeared. The search must be done in as lowkey a manner as possible, as a US Marshal named Catherine Rohn is coming to escort Wen Liping to the US. Despite his superiors' concerns and suspicious incidents which seem to be attempts to get them to stop looking for the woman, Chen and Rohn investigate together and discover the sad life story of Wen Liping and her impossible situation. The two must locate the woman before it is too late and somehow devise a plan that will give Wen Liping a new chance for happiness.
It was a pretty interesting book. Once again Qiu Xiaolong shows the reader layers of China that aren't visible in most other books about the country. Already by the second book, Chen seems to be boxed in by the government and society. The mirroring of Wen Liping's life with Chen's friends Detective Yu Guangming and his wife Peiqin. All three were sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, but Wen Liping was alone and surrounded by wolves while Yu Guangming and Peiqin relied on each other and were able to forge a relatively good life through that partnership.
There is a lot about Chinese poetry in the story, and to me it was interesting and made me want to learn more.
I am eager to see what happens in Chief Inspector Chen's next adventure.
It was a pretty interesting book. Once again Qiu Xiaolong shows the reader layers of China that aren't visible in most other books about the country. Already by the second book, Chen seems to be boxed in by the government and society. The mirroring of Wen Liping's life with Chen's friends Detective Yu Guangming and his wife Peiqin. All three were sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, but Wen Liping was alone and surrounded by wolves while Yu Guangming and Peiqin relied on each other and were able to forge a relatively good life through that partnership.
There is a lot about Chinese poetry in the story, and to me it was interesting and made me want to learn more.
I am eager to see what happens in Chief Inspector Chen's next adventure.
September 6, 2020
Segunda novela protagonizada por Chen Cao, el jefe de detectives a quien ya conocimos en "Muerte de una heroína roja". En esta nueva entrega, mientras en un parque céntrico encuentran el cadáver de un hombre brutalmente asesinado en lo que parece ser un ajuste de cuentas mafioso, a Chen le encargan una misión especial: acompañar, proteger, y ayudar, a una joven agente del FBI cuya misión es encontrar y llevar a Estados Unidos a una mujer, esposa de un testigo protegido por el gobierno norteamericano.
Con una trama policial bien desarrollada; con personajes muy bien caracterizados, y con el plus de establecer un interesante, aunque previsible, contrapunto entre Chen y su colega norteamericana; con abundantes imágenes de esa China de los 90, tan cambiante y plena de contrastes, con muchas referencias tanto a la cultura, las comidas y las costumbres tradicionales, como a los aspectos más políticos del régimen, y, dada la afición literaria del protagonista, con un marco poético que acompaña la narración; nos encontramos, entonces, con una muy buena opción de lectura que, desde ya, recomendamos.
https://sobrevolandolecturas.blogspot...
Con una trama policial bien desarrollada; con personajes muy bien caracterizados, y con el plus de establecer un interesante, aunque previsible, contrapunto entre Chen y su colega norteamericana; con abundantes imágenes de esa China de los 90, tan cambiante y plena de contrastes, con muchas referencias tanto a la cultura, las comidas y las costumbres tradicionales, como a los aspectos más políticos del régimen, y, dada la afición literaria del protagonista, con un marco poético que acompaña la narración; nos encontramos, entonces, con una muy buena opción de lectura que, desde ya, recomendamos.
https://sobrevolandolecturas.blogspot...
September 26, 2023
Roman policier inhabituel. Plutôt une intrigue politique, malgré un meurtre attribué à une triade. L'inspecteur Chen opère à Shangai. Ville natale de l'auteur, Qiu Xiaolong, depuis longtemps émigré aux USA, où il est prof à Saint Louis. Cette distance avec le régime de Pékin lui permet, sans danger, de pouvoir critiquer ce régime, par touches légères parfois humoristiques. La ridicule période des gardes rouges (une débilité du grand maître Mao), qui a quand même démoli des millions de lettrés pendant dix ans, est régulièrement moquée. Même chose pour la corruption de la police et des hauts responsables du parti toujours bien unique. Donc l'enquête (recherche d'une ancienne garde rouge qui doit absolument aller aux USA, histoire un peu compliquée) passe souvent au second plan. Equipière de Chen: Catherine, policière fédérale spécialement envoyée par Washington pour épauler Chen. Ce qui pimente agréablement l'histoire, car Chen, gourmet et poète, lui fait découvrir toute les finesses de cette merveilleuse cuisine chinois (que j'adore!). Et aussi une kyrielle de proverbes chinois souvent désopilants et d'une profondeur surprenante, dans le style "Les bonheurs engendrent les malheurs et les malheurs engendrent les bonheurs" ou, plus élaboré encore "Peu importe si le chat est noir ou blanc, pourvu qu'il attrape le rat". De la philosophie à mon niveau de compréhension, pour une fois. Merci Qiu.
Donc, plutôt un très bon moment passé avec ce livre de recettes culinaires et "intellectuelles" pimentées de violences des triades et dérapages politiques.
Donc, plutôt un très bon moment passé avec ce livre de recettes culinaires et "intellectuelles" pimentées de violences des triades et dérapages politiques.
November 2, 2019
Toinen Tarkastaja Chen -dekkarisarjasta. Chen Cao toimii oppaana vierailevalle amerikkalaiselle naispoliisille ja tutkii siinä sivussa Kiinan järjestäytyneeseen rikollisuuteen liittyvää murhaa.
Tämän dekkarisarjan suurin viehätys on kiinalaisen yhteiskunnan ja arkielämän kuvauksessa, jota Shanghaista kotoisin oleva Qiu Xiaolong voi kirjoittaa USAsta käsin rennommalla otteella kuin Kiinassa asuvat kirjailijat. Itse rikostarinan realistisuudesta on mahdotonta sanoa mitään, mutta yksityiskohdat mm. ihmisten asuinjärjestelyistä ja suhdeverkostojen käytöstä asioiden hoitamiseen kertovat enemmän kuin matkaoppaat.
Tämän dekkarisarjan suurin viehätys on kiinalaisen yhteiskunnan ja arkielämän kuvauksessa, jota Shanghaista kotoisin oleva Qiu Xiaolong voi kirjoittaa USAsta käsin rennommalla otteella kuin Kiinassa asuvat kirjailijat. Itse rikostarinan realistisuudesta on mahdotonta sanoa mitään, mutta yksityiskohdat mm. ihmisten asuinjärjestelyistä ja suhdeverkostojen käytöstä asioiden hoitamiseen kertovat enemmän kuin matkaoppaat.
December 14, 2021
el libro me ha gustado mucho. Me había leído hacía mucho tiempo el primer libro del Inspector Jefe Chen y me había gustado. La forma que tiene de escribir el autor hace que te metas en el ambiente y en las costumbres chinas sin que resulte pesado. Te va contando sus comidas, sus costumbres y resulta enriquecedor. En este libro me gusta mucho cómo se comparan las dos culturas: norteamericana y china. El trato a la mujer, las jerarquías...
El libro trata de la desaparición de una mujer que tiene que viajar a EEUU para desenmascarar una red ilegal de emigración. Todo lo que hay alrededor, las mafias y demás.
Me ha gustado y seguiré leyendo la serie.
El libro trata de la desaparición de una mujer que tiene que viajar a EEUU para desenmascarar una red ilegal de emigración. Todo lo que hay alrededor, las mafias y demás.
Me ha gustado y seguiré leyendo la serie.
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