Whispering Shadows
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
An absorbing mystery set in a Hong Kong tourists only glimpse. .. vivid and knowing' - Joseph Kanon 'Equal parts crime thriller, romance and view of China's Cultural Revolution, this novel is at its heart, a story about the burden of survival. It packs a punch' - Publishers Weekly 'Sendker's enthralling tale effortlessly weaves two narrative strands - a stuttering romance and a murder mystery' - South China Morning Post Paul Leibovitz - once a successful journalist, loving father and husband - is bereft and alone after the death of a child. But following a chance encounter in Hong Kong with fellow American Elizabeth, whose son has disappeared, Paul decides to investigate. Along with a detective friend, he risks everything and crosses the border to mainland China, there descending into the criminal underworld where he must confront the dark secrets and corruption hidden beneath the veneer and wealth of the new China. Whispering Shadows is the absorbing tale of one man's search for redemption in a rapidly changing country where the ghosts of the past threaten to engulf the present.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Diving into the dark underbelly of Chinese business, Jan Philip Sendker establishes a tensely emotional lead in grieving Paul Leibovitz. Marking his dead young son’s birthday with a hike, he encounters a woman whose grown-up son has disappeared. Having lost himself in grief, the now a low-key journalist lives quietly in an off-the-beaten-track pocket of Hong Kong, but is drawn in by the family to help with their search. With his emotional outlook, their murky connections and the perfectly rendered picture of the region, Sendker has crafted an absorbing first part to this trilogy which will make you greedy for more.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Paul Leibovitz, the hero of this contemplative, understated novel from Sendker (The Art of Hearing Heartbeats), feels bereft after his young son dies of leukemia. A long-time Hong Kong resident, the German-born Leibovitz is now divorced and living a reclusive life on the outlying island of Lamma, where his obsession for keeping the memories of his son alive has kept him in a continual state of mourning. But his aimless existence is given meaning and put into grave danger when he helps an old friend, a Chinese homicide detective, find the truth behind the murder of an American businessman. A burgeoning albeit fragile relationship with a woman he meets while walking complicates his life further. Equal parts crime thriller, romance, and examination of the impact of China s Cultural Revolution on those who endured its atrocities, this novel is, at its heart, a story about the burden of survival. Despite a predictable ending, it still packs a wallop.
