Death of a Red Heroine

22/04/07

By Qiu Xiaolong

OK story of a murder in Shanghai and the work solving the case – despite party politics etc.

Review from amazon.co.uk:
This is a prizewinning debut of an extraordinary new voice in crime writing. Shanghai in 1990. An ancient city in a country that despite the massacre of Tiananmen Square is still in the tight grip of communist control. Chief Inspector Chen, a poet with a sound instinct for self-preservation, knows the city like few others. When the body of a prominent Communist Party member is found, Chen is told to keep the party authorities informed about every lead. Also, he must keep the young woman’s murder out of the papers at all costs. When his investigation leads him to the decadent offspring of high-ranking officials, he finds himself instantly removed from the case and reassigned to another area. Chen has a choice: bend to the party’s wishes and sacrifice his morals, or continue his investigation and risk dismissal from his job and from the party. Or worse…

My rating: ****

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