Enigma of China

Enigma of China by Qiu Xiaolong

What I like about Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen novels is their ethical examination of modern Communist China as seen through the eyes of a poet whose Party-assigned job is police detective, but whose moral upbringing comes from the Confucian studies of his father. In this eighth book of the series Chen is called into the investigation of the death of Zhou Keng, the son of a major party member who was head of the Shanghai Housing Development Committee. It appears he committed suicide, hanging himself while under house arrest for his excessive life style. But like Jeffrey Epstein's death in a federal prison, the question arises: was it suicide, or an assassination made to look like suicide, to prevent him from bringing down even more powerful people with him? And how dangerous is it to investigate the cause of death in a case like this? I found towards the end I couldn't put this book down until reading the last words left me stunned and in awe. What a story! Written six years ago about China, yet so timely in the USA of 2019.

Don't Cry, Tai Lake

Don't Cry, Tai Lake by Qiu Xiaolong

What I like about Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen novels is their ethical examination of modern Communist China as seen through the eyes of a poet whose Party-assigned job is police detective, but whose moral upbringing comes from the Confucian studies of his father. This seventh book of the series takes place in the resort of Tai Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in China that in recent years has been plagued by pollution as the surrounding region experienced rapid industrial development. The challenge of balancing ecological concerns with the need for industrial growth in China is the background to an investigation into the murder of one of the leading polluters of the area.