Death of a Red Heroine (Inspector Chen)
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
Qiu Xiaolong's Anthony Award–winning debut introduces Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police.
A young "national model worker," renowned for her adherence to the principles of the Communist Party, turns up dead in a Shanghai canal. As Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Special Cases Bureau struggles to trace the hidden threads of her past, he finds himself challenging the very political forces that have guided his life since birth. Chen must tiptoe around his superiors if he wants to get to the bottom of this crime, and risk his career—perhaps even his life—to see justice done.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This compelling detective novel is set against the fascinating backdrop of 1990s Shanghai, a period of profound political and cultural change in China. Inspector Chen Cao is pulled into a grisly crime investigation involving the murder of a “national model worker,” a woman who served as the ubiquitous face of the government’s propaganda campaigns. As Chen searches doggedly for answers, author Qiu Xiaolong effortlessly weaves fascinating details about Chinese history, art, and poetry into the thrilling mystery. Narrator David Shih masterfully captures this sense of unease as the policeman hits the streets—and the offices of powerful people—while navigating a tense cultural moment where saying or doing the wrong thing can have dire consequences. Be prepared: This first book in the Inspector Chen series may be the start of a new mystery obsession.
