Imprint
- Mulholland Books
- Mulholland Books
Fiction, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Crime & mystery
The sixth literary crime novel in the acclaimed Inspector Chen series: Chen investigates two cases connected to Mao's women.
Tucked away from the building sites of modern Shanghai are the beautiful mansions once owned by the smartest families in 1930s China. They have since been bought by rich businessmen and high-ranking members of the Communist Party. All except one.
The owner is an old painter who holds a glittering party each night: swing jazz plays for his former neighbours, who dance, remember old times and forget for an evening the terrors that followed. But questions are being asked. How can he afford such a lifestyle? His paintings? Blackmail? A triad connection? Prostitution?
Inspector Chen is asked to investigate discreetly what is going on behind the elegant fa ade. But, before he can get close to anyone, one of the girls is found murdered in the garden and another is terrified she will be next.
Chen s quest for answers will take Chen to a strange businessman, triads, Chairman Mao himself and a terrible secret the Party will go to any length to conceal.
Praise for The Mao Case: Inspector Chen 6
-
The usual enjoyable mix of murder, poetry and contractions of contemporary Chinese culture. Chen is a splendid creation, with his facility for quoting Tang Dynasty poetry and T S Eliot, his quiet devotion to his duty, his unhappy love life and his appreciation of good food. - Independent on Sunday
-
Praise for Qiu Xiaolong - :
-
Qiu Xiaolong is one of the brightest stars in the firmament of modem literary crime fiction. His Inspector Chen mysteries, set in Shanghai in the 1990s, dazzle as they entertain, combining crime with Chinese philosophy, poetry and food, Triad gangsters and corrupt officials. - Canberra Times, Australia
-
Qiu gives a fresh perspective on the forces shaping a new China and the influences of the Cultural Revolution and then Tiananmen in 1989. - Sunday Morning Post, Hong Kong
-
A luminescent synthesis of thriller and literary novel - Independent on A LOYAL CHARACTER DANCER
-
Simply beautiful - Herald Sun, Australia
-
The sixth Inspector Chen series maintains the high standard set by its predecessors over the last three years . . . the society that Chen lives in is brilliantly evoked . . . In a word: absorbing - Townsville Bulletin
-
Stupendous - Fresh Air, National Public Radio, USA on DEATH OF A RED HEROINE
Qiu Xiaolong
Qiu Xiaolong (pronounced 'Joe Shau-long') was born in Shanghai. The Cultural Revolution began in his last year of elementary school, and out of school, out of job, he studied English by himself in a local park.
In 1977, he began his studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai, and then the Chinese Academy of Social Science in Beijing. After graduation, he worked at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences as an associate research professor, published poems, translations and criticism, and became a member of the Chinese Writers' Association.
In 1988, he came to Washington University in St. Louis, U.S. as a Ford foundation fellow to do a project on Eliot, but after the Tiananmen tragedy of 1989, he decided to stay on. He then obtained a Ph.D. in comparative literature at Washington University and taught there.
Having won several awards for his poetry in English, he moved on to write a novel about contemporary Chinese society in transition, which developed into the critically acclaimed, award-winning Inspector Chen series. The series has been translated into sixteen languages. In addition, Qiu Xiaolong has published a poetry collection, several poetry translations, and a collection of linked stories (also serialized in Le Monde). He lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter.
Find a book you’ll love, get our Word Up newsletter
.png?auto=compress&w=150&h=60&fit=crop&fm=jpg)
.png?auto=compress&w=150&h=60&fit=crop&fm=jpg)
Hachette Australia acknowledges and pays our respects to the past, present and future Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our head office is located on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.
