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Published Sep 2015
320 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Former Inspector Chen is facing the most dangerous investigation of his career, and his life.
"The system has no place for a cop who puts justice above the interests of the Party. It's a miracle that I survived as long as I did."
For years, Chen Cao managed to balance the interests of the Communist Party and the promises made by his job. He was both a Chief Inspector of Special Investigations of the Shanghai Police Department and the deputy party secretary of the bureau. He was considered a potential rising star in the Party until, after one too many controversial cases that embarrassed powerful elements in the Party, Chen Cao found himself neutralized. Under the guise of a major promotion, a new position with a substantial title but no power, he's stripped of his job duties and isolated. But that's still not enough, as it becomes increasingly clear that someone is attempting to set him up, for public disgrace and possibly worse.
Chen Cao is technically in charge of the corruption case of a "Red Prince" - a powerful, high Party figure who embodies the ruthless ambition, greed, and corruption that is increasingly evident in the new China. This "Red Prince" has the kind of connections and power to deflect any attempts to bring him to justice. Now with no power, few allies, and with his own reputation on the line, the former Inspector Chen is facing the most dangerous investigation of his career, and his life.
"Starred Review. The suspense is palpable, and Qiu gives readers a chilling vision of life under authoritarian rule." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Watching Chen work at the margins, under great peril, makes for a stressful but very satisfying read. Another superb entry in an always-outstanding series." - Booklist
"Chen's 10th outing is another complex, methodical police procedural as well as a multifaceted look at a powerful society in flux." - Kirkus
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai, China. He published prize-winning poetry, translation and criticism in Chinese in the eighties, and became a member of the Chinese Writers' Association. In 1988, he came to the United States as a Ford Foundation Fellow, started writing in English, and obtained a Ph.D. in comparative literature at Washington University. He is the author of 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), The Mao Case (2009), Don't Cry, Tai Lake (2012), Enigma of China (2013), Shanghai Redemption (2015), and Becoming Inspector Chen (in French and Italian, 2016 and 2017) in the critically acclaimed, award-winning Inspector Chen series; a collection of linked stories Years of Red ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Qiu Xiaolong's Website
Name Pronunciation
Qiu Xiaolong: chew shao-long (shao rhymes with how)
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