The Mao Case

The Mao Case by Qiu Xiaolong

This is the sixth of a nine book series of police procedural mysteries featuring Shanghai Inspector Chen Cao. He is a complicated man who studied to be a poet with an academic specialty in modern English poetry, but was assigned by the Communist state to be a policeman, where he has risen to the rank of Chief Inspector of Special Investigations for the Shanghai Police Department. This case is especially sensitive as it involves a granddaughter of one of Mao's mistresses who may have something from her grandmother that could compromise Mao's image.

Qiu Xiaolong having grown up in Shanghai brings a wealth of detail and nuance to his depiction of life, and death, in this modern metropolis. The subtleties of a poet-inspector handling politically sensitive cases in an authoritarian regime trying to embrace change make for fascinating reading, and The Mao Case finds the author in top form. Having read all the previous volumes, I recommend this series highly and plan to read the remaining three titles.