A Loyal Character Dancer

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.

A few days later, a badly mutilated body turns up in Shanghai's Bund Park. It bears all the hallmarks of a triad killing.

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 decide what is more dangerous: to hide the truth, or to risk unleashing a scandal that could destroy his career.

“'With strong and subtle characterisation, Qui Xiaolong draws us into a fascinating world where the greatest mystery revealed is the mystery of present-day China itself'”

This is a fascinating and thought-provoking read, rich in descriptions of delicious meals, beautiful gardens and impossibly cramped housing. Not to be missed. - Guardian

Qui's second mystery is a treat - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A Knockout. - Poisoned Pen Booknews

A luminescent synthesis of a thriller and a literary novel. - Independent

Another wonderful novel featuring Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau. - Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post

A sequel that in many ways is even more impressive...we begin to realise that Chen is ideally suited not only to police work but also to the fine art of political survival. [Qui] has moved from the poetic, exotic milieu of his first book (although plenty of both elements remain) into a tougher, wider, probably more commercial and modern vision of China as seen by America. - Chicago Tribune

The miracle is that, while he provides good suspense, Qui Xiaolong has transcended his genre [while] fulfilling all genre expectations by solving and linking two triad-related crime cases. - Persimmon

A sequel that in many ways is even more impressive - Chicago Tribune

Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai. He was selected for membership of the Chinese Writers Association and published poetry, translations and criticism in China. He has lived in the United States since 1989 and has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature awarded by Washington University. He has been the recipient of the Missouri Biennial Award, the Prairie Schooner Readers Choice Award, a Yaddo and a Ford Foundation Fellowship. He lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter.

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. A few days later, a badly mutilated body turns up in Shanghai's Bund Park. It bears all the hallmarks of a triad killing.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 decide what is more dangerous: to hide the truth, or to risk unleashing a scandal that could destroy his career.

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