Mystery Crime Books

I haven't finished this book yet, about 3/4 of the way through it right now, but all the time I'm reading I have the feeling I've read it before!

Has anybody else felt like this?

I do re-read all of my books and enjoy them each time, but this is really bugging me since it is supposed to be a new book.

I had a really hard time getting into this book and found the first half really dragged and had trouble retaining my interest. It picked up in the second half, although most of what went on was so ridiculous that you had to suspend any kind of belief to get through it.

Add in a bunch of characters that were never really developed or very likeable, and you have an okay read that's definitely not Sandra Brown's best work.

I loved this book, it has a great plot and lots of nefarious characters. Kept my attention and I couldn't read fast enough! Enjoy!!

There were too many things wrong with this book to outline in a brief review, the first being when I got to page 86 the next page was 109. Then about a hundred pages later on were skipped. I returned the book and got a good copy and found that wasn't even worth my effort.

For a book that's over 500 pages, this novel sure didn't say a lot. You never really get to know any of the characters well and what little you do know about them, you don't really like. At least I didn't. The one hot romantic scene wasn't even shared until much later in flashback form, which I found kept me from being remotely engaged in the scene. Foster's issues were barely touched upon and having Griff tell us what they were rather than being shown made it unbelievable and boring.

I would not recommend this novel. I thought it would be great, I love football and the "twist" sounded interesting but it wasn't.

This was a great page-turner but it lacked literary depth. I can understand why Sandra Brown is regularly on the New York Times best seller list. This book was written like a great afternoon, made for TV, story. It gives you something better then reruns or video games. Griff, The Speakmans, and Rodarte don't present much in terms of justification of their motivations. It's a great afternoon/weekend summer read if you want to relax on the beach and not intellectualize through moral questions or the human condition. Play Dirty was a quick easy read that I enjoyed over a relaxing weekend. With all this in mind, I have to say I got what I paid for and give this book 3 of 5 stars. For the price of a movie ticket I got much more then Hollywood has to offer us. I found the story was paced just right to keep me up all night. The plot contained the triple threat formula; sex, murder, and money and it promises to keep your attention. The situations, and over all plot, were slightly unbelievable but that can be overlooked if you just want a fun ride. Given that I was tired of reading bland textbooks this book provided the perfect balm. Grab a bag of popcorn and enjoy!

**** Plastic Wrapped for Violence ****

I first got into Black Lagoon when it aired in Japan a few years ago... and was hooked immediately. Action, honor among thieves, a little service here and there... as well as a good chunk of social commentary hidden beneath the veil of its surreal premise.

For the most part, that's what we get here as well...

Rokuro's induction into the Lagoon crew plays out pretty cleanly in both manga and anime versions... the manga is just slimmer in details that I remember from the anime. Something I don't often see when comparing the two (usually, it's vice versa). Roberta and Garcia show up earlier than I expected, and are pretty much exactly as I remember them from the anime, just again with less detail (especially in the terminator/car chase scene).

And I think that's my main issue with the book... it's solid, has great action, is a true source for its derivative work (the anime), and is much better than the majority of action manga we have here domestically... but just doesn't grab me and push all my buttons like the anime does. All those little extras in the background while the characters are driving or sailing are missing. The big chunk of Rock's transistion from salaryman to mercenary in that first story arc that I enjoyed was his gradual formulation of a plan to escape from the other merc team chasing them... that, in the manga, is instantaneous... whereas, in the anime, it takes time and the audience shares in the eureka moment. The same sort of lackthereof is a shame to me.

Still, most folks in the mood for some merc action will get a kick out of it, so I recommend a read... but fans of the anime who haven't read the manga yet shouldn't be suprised that a good deal of the minutia and window dressings they may have loved from the animation weren't/aren't in the source material.

Sure, Play Dead has some cutesy elements. The book opens with a heart-tugging story of a golden retriever, creating a huge "awwww...." factor.

But the book actually goes way beyond cute. It's got a solid plot. I didn't find myself peeking ahead or wishing I could edit out a few paragraphs here and there.

The hero Andy maintains a consistent voice with a strong personality. He's got the typical amateur sleuth toolkit: the friendly cop, the computer genius, the helpful sidekick and of course the romantic interest.

The plot seems straightforward. Andy gets hired to prove the innocence of a man who has been in prison for five years. The key witness seems to be a dog; a dog who was supposed to be dead.

Poking around the Mafia and the government, and risking his own life, Andy uncovers the truth. It's a mystery lover's dream: tidy, plausible and ultimately satisfying.

For someone who has an innate distrust of the legal system, this book demonstrates how the "OJ effect" works. When you have enough money, you can dig deep and question the police case.

Early mysteries (think Perry Mason) showed the victorious defense attorney gaining immediate release for his client. The DA would admit defeat, acknowledging the need to serve justice.

Rosenfelt doesn't sugar-coat. District attorneys will fight to keep evidence out of court that suggests the defendant is innocent. It's not about guilt or innocence; it's a contest, as if the stakes were no higher than a football game.

Play Dead is worth reading on many levels. It's much more than a cute dog book. If you're called to jury duty, take it along. When they ask if you have questions, you just might have a few.

This is my first David Rosenfelt book, to be honest I went for it because of the dog involved in the plot (not to mention the cover shot...what can i say...i'm a dog person). Anyway, great book; a wonderfully entertaining read. I am now looking forward to reading his previous works.

His humor is in the same dry witty genre as Janet Evonovich and Harlan Coben.

If you've read one of his books and enjoyed it, you'll love this one. To me, Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter stories are the most consistently enjoyable of the various "lawyer" novels. "Presumed Innocent" it ain't, but smooth, wisecracking Andy can usually pull a surprise out of the hat to clear his client, whether he's defending a dog or a felonious character. Rarely a dull moment, lovable characters, the good guy always wins. What more do you want? Sloppy sex? Sorry, not here.

"Refreshing" is the word that comes to mind when I think of this series.

Another solid book by David Rosenfelt! As always with Rosenfelt, he provides a quick and enjoyable read. He did a pretty good job of keeping me guessing. Play Dead is a page turner. Anyone who likes a good murder mystery with some dry wit and man's best friend thrown into the mix should pick up a copy of Play Dead. You won't regret the few hours of escape you get!

No matter what limitations David Rosenfelt might have in his life, the ability to tell a consistently good, suspenseful and humorous story isn't one of them. With Play Dead, his sixth book, Rosenfelt continues to be one of the freshest voices among today's mystery writers. This stems from his ability to provide interesting plots, credible courtroom drama, lots of humor and well-developed major and minor characters. Andy Carpenter, the main character who is a wise-cracking suburban New Jersey defense attorney, is one that stays in your mind even after you finish the book and is one that I'm looking forward to 'hang out' with in his future legal adventures. Plus, his dog, Tara, is one I wish I had. In Play Dead, Carpenter's devotion to dogs and legal skills merge when he must not only rescue a dog but bring him to the witness stand to reopen a five-year old murder case which sent the dog's owner to prison. I highly recommend Play Dead if you're in the mood for a fast-paced, easy read. However, you might want to first consider reading Open And Shut and First Degree and/or some of the other books in this series, which I think will further your appreciation of Play Dead.

This book gives us a little more information into the lives of Stone and Dino when they were police partners. It still takes both of them working together to catch the killer.

Top notch writer Stuart Woods keeps the reader spell bound with the curves and twists of this intriguing thriller, "Worst Fears Realized." Stone Barrington and his ex-partner, Dino Bacchetti, fight to find a relentless killer before he eliminates all the people who are close to them. They have their chief suspect but he is in prison when the first murders occur.
Stone has a new lady of the night, Eduardo Bianchi's,a Mob dean, daughter who is the younger sister of Dino's wife.
Sparks fly when Arrington Carter Calder, Stone's long time love, meets up with Dolce Bianchi, who is on the hunt for a husband and won't take no for an answer.
All things are not as they seem, even when it comes to murder. Lawyer/ex-cop/sleuth Stone Barrington gives you a great evening with the printed page. Don't plan on going to bed with a good book, it keeps you turning the pages instead of turning out the light.
Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Taxes, Stumbling Blocks & Pitfalls for Authors 2007."

It is not that bad, it even has a couple of fine and unexpected twists in the plot. It would deserve three stars, but there are way too many nauseating sex scenes.

while not as good as dirt, LA dead or dead in the water, this is still a really good read for anybody who's a fan of stuart woods, stone barrington, or this particular genre of book...

the return of some familiar faces, some new faces...the sense of continuity in this series is really part of the draw...the events from previous books usually aren't forgotten...but the subsequent books aren't bogged down in exposition of earlier events either...a mention here, a mention there...sometimes you'll find yourself saying 'ohhh, I remember that now!'..

the way in which he ends these books makes you look forward to the next installment as well...they flow pretty seamlessly from one to the next..this is no exception


definetly worth reading...

I read this book in an afternoon - about 4 hours. I literally could not stop turning the pages. This was an absolutely RIVETING chapter in Stone Barrington's life; suspenseful, horrifying and at the same time it sets up a lot of the ground floor for his future as well (the house in CT, his car, etc.). My ONLY complaint (and BOY is it a doozy) is that for some strange reason between the end of the last book (Swimming to Catalina) and the beginning of this book, Stuart Woods apparently got a bug up his butt and decided to change the gender of Vance and Arrington's child for some reason - at the end of the previous book, Arrington called Stone and said she had just had a baby girl, and suddenly in this book, they have a boy. It annoys me when a writer changes continuity like that for no reason.

At any rate, when the book opens, Stone is pining for Arrington and Dino is trying to cheer him up by taking him to a party, where he meets a lovely young woman, who takes him to her place - and they order Chinese food. Unfortunately, the Chinese place cannot deliver, so he must go pick up the food. When he returns, he finds her dead, her throat slit wide open. Things spiral down from there as people first he knows, then Dino knows, are murdered or attacked. Stone and Dino find themselves racing against the clock to try to figure out who is behind this before the next killing - or before Stone himself is fingered for the first murder.

Although the killer (for most of the murders) becomes quite obvious about half-way through the book, it still remains taut as they try to catch him and still remain out of his reach, and there still remains the matter of the first murder and who did that. This is a pleasing work from a great writer. I look forward to the next installment - LA Dead.

Not to be disrespectful but are you people for real? I can't believe this book is getting 4 and 5 stars. There was nothing good about this book. A bunch of people in the book did not even matter, Bill Kendall's wife, the new anchor man Pete whatever his last name was, the boss Yelena, Eliza's boyfriend, the priest, even the soon-to-be-president and his wife, I mean what's the point in even mentioning them? They were not involved in the main events. She didn't even talk about what happened to them at the end. The judge is the only one that matters, and she didn't even write about him all that much. Really disappointing. As I said I don't mean to be disrespectful, but to give this book 5stars, you must have read either bedtime stories all your life, or not have read anything.
DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY that's all i have to say. sorry

I really enjoyed this novel. The author is very good at thickening a plot and drawing you into it!

Do You Want To Know a Secret is a well-written book that entertained me throughout the whole novel. It was about a few newscasters who all had secrets that could ruin their reputations. However, their secrets get out. Unfortunately, they don't know how or who told. There are characters in this book who aren't the people that everyone thought they all knew. This book has many twists and turns that keeps you on the edge. I enjoyed this book very much. If you are looking for an exciting and wonderful book then read this.

I was at a book sale when I spotted Mary Jane's 3 first novels. I decided to buy them because I had read all of Mary Higgins Clark's novels and Mary Jane's books reminded me of Mary Higgins Clark. I decided, why not, the worst that can happen is that it is a boring book and the best that could happen is that I discover another great author like Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson and Philip Margolin. Was I glad I did. This first novel was a bit slow at the beginning but it had enough suspense to keep me reading and the ending surprised me. I was happy to find out that Mary Jane has quick, snappy diaglogue with a mix of characters that keeps you guessing. Needless to say, her writing keeps getting better. Yep, the other two books were even better.

By now y'all know Mary Higgins Clark is the ex-mother-in-law of our author here, Mary Jane Clark. Many speak to the similarities of style -- a dashing (and gorgeous wholesome single mom, young widow, and accomplished professional) leading lady who overcomes all odds; enough violence and suspense to entertain and befuddle; and a nice clean ending we can all feel good about. Well hopefully that could be said about many a good book. The differences I see are more interesting. First the venue -- set mostly in the surrounds of a major news network, midst the tribulations of the early morning shows and anchor broadcasts at night, we certainly get (ala the movie "Network News") plenty of up close looks at the pressured lives on the news set. In the best tradition of write about what you know about, MJ speaks from personal experience as a producer and writer for CBS News. Indeed, Dan Rather gets a cameo mention in the story, as he does in the acknowledgments up front for his encouragement to the author. I just hope the romances reported among many co-workers aren't quite that prevalent, although as we know, propinquity is a powerful force (said Zelda to Dobie...).

Second, we get a pretty good story line. The first shocker is the apparent suicide of a famous anchor, followed thereafter (but paced well) by the murders of his doctor and his secretary. Even the most dense of us realize the connections, though the trained newshounds seemed to miss it. A big surprise at the end serves up a murderer I dare say few suspected more than a page or two before the unveiling, so high marks for suspense.

Third, and of course not as welcome, we do get an awful lot of characters, relationships, AIDS pleas, disease causes, snippets of events, changes in scenery, etc.; to me, all that clutter gets a little tiresome. Certain loose ends never do get wrapped up, and I'm not even sure that a major subplot, the campaign machinations of a presidential candidate, really advanced the basic story line that well. I also personally disliked chopping the book up into 141 (!) chapters - do the math, they span 302 pages, so that's like two pages each. And the last 35 span only 25 pages, so we're down to barely more than the "sound bites" so lovingly quoted throughout.

So - for her first outing (of four to date), not bad. Clean things up, simplify a little, give us a little longer reading stretch with out raising and lowering the curtain a hundred times, and we might have something here. I'll at least move on to number 2 - "Do you promise not to tell?". And you?

Love these books, enjoyed each one, purchased and read all to date. Arrived promptly.

Amazon asks that we focus on the product in our reviews. Okay. PEE-YEW!!! Is that focused, or what? This was a big stinker. I didn't like or care about anybody but the dog. And if Goldy's wondering why business is falling off, I gotta tell her that if I phoned a caterer and some little kid with an attitude answered and there was a BIG DOG barking in the kitchen, I'd hang up. Talk about your health code violations. But after reading this book I realize that is definitely the least of Davidson's worries: she's lost it, and obviously having trouble finding it again.

This one was a good, fast-paced story, if a little transparent and definitely unbelievable towards the end, Not her best work, it seemed a little disjointed and jerky, but still a reasonably enjoyable mystery.

I agree with other reviewers there were portions of this book that I found a little unplausible. However being a big Diane Mott Davidson fan I was able to overlook them and enjoy my favorite parts of the story; Goldy in the kitchen whipping up something wonderful. What bothered me was the name of a charactor Todd Druckman's mother(Eileen)in Tough Cookie Todd's mother's name is Eileen, yet in The Main Corpse her name is Kathleen, quite a typo also, in Tough Cookie Eileen Druckman is a close personal friend of Goldy's I just think an established friendship could have been referenced or at the very least the characters name referred to correctly.

This was one of the most incredibly awful, unbelievably booooooooooooo-ring books I have tortured myself with in a long time. I listened to it on tape and, even though I usually enjoy listening to Barbara Rosenblatt and her versatile character voices and on-the-money accents, I found myself telling her to "settle down!" Her squeaking and babbling and up-and-down-the-vocal-scale made the book even harder to bear than the ridiculous, slogging plot did. I think she may have realized she was reading drivel and tried to dress it up with a regrettable amount of over-acting. Skip this one.

It could have been better, but maybe the author has no knowledge of the massive KGB infiltration of the CIA that was exposed in 1984.

This book is exceptionally well-written, and well-organized. Bagley's argument is very persuasive. Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes covers Nosenko in a couple of non descript passages.

I refer the reader to the other reviews for more background, as I will focus only on a few points. In general, I enjoyed the book, and learned much about the history of KGB in all its guises, and much about counter-intelligence tradecraft. On the other hand, Mr. Bagley doesn't reveal much about CIA, but I wouldn't expect him to. What he does reveal towards the end of the book should not come as a surprise to anyone following the news lately. I grew to admire the 80+ year-old "Pete" Bagley, even as I was questioning some of his claims and his motivation for writing this book. In the end, and after some additional research, I came to question his detractors more than I did him.

His primary motivation would seem to be setting the record straight about Yuri Nosenko. I see no reason to doubt the detailed narrative that reveals the inconsistencies in Nosenko's statements. I suspected Nosenko was a phony right from his first walk-in, even before Mr. Bagley voiced his doubts. By the end of the book, I was thoroughly convinced.

As Mr. Bagley points out, even the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) report stated "flatly" that Nosenko was lying; this despite the fact that Nosenko testified that the KGB was not involved in President Kennedy's assassination, a view that the committee would have welcomed. Nosenko must have been a pretty bad witness, indeed.

I looked at the HSCA report for myself, which the reader can easily do by searching the on-line US government archive file. I found some information that Mr. Bagley didn't mention in regard to the HSCA and Nosenko. There are two references to Nosenko, one on p. 101, the other on p. 255. Yes, they did say that they couldn't buy Nosenko's testimony, but they said more, too. In effect, they blamed his poor testimony on the "hostile interrogation" and "solitary confinement" that he received while in CIA custody! CIA had obviously been very successful in their propaganda campaign to convert Nosenko into a valuable CIA asset in every sense of the word, and to smear Bagley and his colleagues who had interrogated Nosenko.

I am quite prepared to believe the worst about intelligence agencies, in particular, how they handle people in their custody, but I find myself taking Mr. Bagley's side in this story. In the chapter entitled "Crunch Time", the author provides the rationale for questioning Nosenko as long and hard as they did. It may not have made any difference in the end, and what is worse, by holding Nosenko for as long as they did, Bagley and Co. only made it easier for their later detractors to smear him and build Nosenko's legend.

The final chapters present a very gloomy picture of CIA. As with other reports we've heard about CIA, the FBI and other intel agencies, it's impossible for outsiders to know where the incompetence, inertia and careerism stops and possible subversion from within and without begins. However, Mr. Bagley's lamentations should be viewed as constructive criticism from a loyal (former) agent, and not as the kind of criticism I think CIA deserves.

Mr. Bagley reveals himself to be one of the people, now said to form only 10 - 15% of the American public, who still subscribe to the government myth surrounding President Kennedy's assassination. He describes Oswald as the assassin, not as the accused assassin, and refers to the Warren Commission as though it were an investigative body, not the coverup cabal it was. Mr. Bagley wrote that the primary reason the USSR dispatched Nosenko to the US in 1964 was probably the USSR's urgent need to deny any part in the conspiracy to assassinate JFK.

The other side of that coin that goes unexamined in this book is the US's need to promote the "lone nut" assassin theory. Mr. Bagley mentions "back channel" messages that circulated between the two superpowers, but that something more overt than diplomatic chit-chat was required. Declaring Nosenko not only legitimate but valuable worked very well for both countries. This episode reminded me of a "walk-in" (really a "fly-in") that occurred only 23 years before Nosenko's - that of Rudolf Hess's arrival in Scotland. Whatever truly lay behind Hess's actions, the common declaration that Hess was a "lone nut" suited both Britain and Germany. Britain had some of their own Fascists (including Royals) they wanted to keep under wraps, and once Hess's flight became public knowledge, Hitler certainly wanted to deny any responsibility.

The USSR's claims that they had nothing to do with the JFK assassination are most likely true. They were simply afraid that the US might use Oswald's Russian sojourn and professed Communist sympathies as excuses to heat up the Cold War. Anyway, there were already plenty of home-grown assassination conspirators who needed no help from the USSR.

What would have been a five star book for me gets two stars removed for needlessly perpetuating the Oswald myth and missing some obvious conclusions by doing so.

The author did spend some reasonable text of the "Spy Wars" however the majority of the text dealt with the very controversial "Nosenko Defector Affair" and the equally controversial CIA Counter Intel chief Jim Angleton. It was clear that Angleton was one of several CIA officers "addicted" to drink. Alcohol addiction is a by product of the attache circuit and several CIA and DoD officers have fallen to it. However the DoD response is treatment or dismissal while the more collegiate atmosphere at CIA is to ignore it and hope it goes away.

I believe the author should have spent more effort on the "Spy Wars" and less on the intramural issues at CIA. Or alternatively title the book "The Nosenko Affair".

While this book is likely not written for the general public , in my opinion it is one of the most important books written in the past few years. I also am a former intelligence officer . I had a number of dealings with James Angleton during my 20 plus years of service. The numermous allegations that Angleton was paranoid constituted total nonsense. The fact that Pete Bagley and Jim Angleton who served the the people of america so honorably were so denigrated not only by the media but in some cases by their former collegues is shameful . The facts that Mr. Bagley has documented in this book should , in my opinion , be the basis for a blue ribbon commission to ascertain the true state of affairs. The American public and for that matter the world public needs to know more about assassination as a tool of statecraft as practiced by the Soviet Union's KGB .

as someone who doesn't read many suspense novels, I was hesitant to try this book. But I've recently had a string of reading "clunkers" so I was desperate to try anything in search of something enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised with this book.

The story was complex enough to keep my attention, and there was enough drama and dimension between characters to want to stay involved. As others have mentioned, a couple characters did act a little bit "too stupid to live" at times, but knowing this is the first of a series, I could accept that in the hopes that they grow and develop in future books.

I'd recommend this book to mystery and suspense fans-not necessarily romance fans as there is little to no romance in the story.

3.5 stars.

After my first encounter with Ms. Johansen's writing, I decided to see if all of her stories had such weak plot and character development. Well the answer was immediately apparent. Iris Johansen is clearly turning out books as fast as she can while sacrificing the quality of the story.

I've read a couple of Iris's books, and they are almost all the same. The Eve Duncan series is so repititios, I think Iris has macro shortcuts created for half of her narrative. Seriously, she could save twelve hours or more per book by using macros for "She stiffened" and "help me bring you home." I did thoroughly enjoy one line in the book however: John Logan tells Eve "we have to get something hot inside you." That was awesome! Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to make me overlook the assertion that if you use gloves when you break into someone's house, you are no amateur (everyone knows that gloves=pro right).

The plot line of the book is so insanely far fetched that I was just stupefied! I won't give it away since I know most will not heed my warning, but I don't think I've ever read a more ludicrous story line in my life!

In all of the Johansen books I have read so far, character development is infintile, and this is no exception. Character motivations are weak and uninteresting, interactions are weak, and none of the characters has an ounce of reasoning.

I know most people who have read Iris Johansen before will be willing to overlook the weak elements of her writing, but please sample other writers so you don't miss out on some of the truly outstanding writers out there.

I enjoyed one of Johansen's other books but this one is very irritating. One of the lead characters does such dumb things I quit reading 2/3rds of the way through.

I LOVE IRIS JOHANSEN!!!! ALL OF THE BOOKS I HAVE READ OF HERS ARE GREAT!!!!! READ THEM, YOU WON'T BE DISAPOINTED!

Eve Duncan is a forensic sculptor, who is drawn into a web of intrigue and deceit dealing with the Oval Office...I have now read all the Eve Duncan Books to date and can not wait for the next in the series. Always suspenceful, full of romance, jet setters, and exotic locations.

It's hard to explain as to why I didn't find this book as rewarding as the first two, but it may be that it lacked the 'smooth' transitions that made them so intriguing. Many of the 'eureka' moments of the book seem to come out of nowhere, while others seem way too long in coming to the fore. It just may be that I expect too much from the author, or that he rushed this one into publication. I have noticed that his books have gotten drastically shorter, and that might reflect a lack of attention to details. (The first book was over 400 pages, the second over 350, this one is 320.)

There was much less character development and explanation in this book than the previous two, though the poetry was as strong as ever and very appropriate to the story. His major additional character ('white cloud') is always referred to by her english translation, and she tends to be a very one-dimensional person. His does do a good job is rounding out his partner Detective Yu and his wife Peiqin.

But all in all (except for some of the comments on the 'Cultural Revolution') I found this novel lacking the interest of the first two.

In this detective novel, Qiu Xiaolong gives a detailed account of the tragic effects of the Cultural Revolution on ordinary -- and extraordinary -- people living in Shanghai in the 1990's. I could not solve the mystery, but I adored the poetry-spouting detective (who is probably quite a bit like the author) so much that I ordered Qiu's anthology of Tang and Song poetry.

Another engaging Inspector Chen mystery, but this time his sidekick Detective Yu is more involved, which adds breadth to the story. But this is not so much a mystery as a portrait of modern Shanghai, which in spite of its economic boom is still haunted by the horror of the Cultural Revolution. Although the denouement seems a bit dragged out, this is a finely written piece of work.

Qiu Xiaolong writes in a way that is so wonderful on several levels:
1. He is a superb writer.
2. These are very good mysteries/crime stories. No pat endings and detailed characters with complex motives and relationships.
3. This view into modern life in China and the effects on its people of that nations recent history are not to be missed. Nowhere will you find such a detailed and eye-opening look at "real life" in China unless you have friends from there!

This is the third novel in Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen mysteries.

The murder of a dissident author comes at an inconvenient time for Inspector Chen. He has just taken a break from his "iron rice bowl" job to engage in some highly paid free-lance translating. At first he is content to leave the investigation of the murder to his deputy, Sergeant Yu, but pressed by Party Secretary Li and by his own growing curiosity, he becomes fully involved in the unravelling of the murder case.

His translating job, however, continues. He has been given the task by Dynasty karaoke club owner Mr Gu (introduced in the previous novel A Loyal Character Dancer). Mr Gu, who has Triad connections, has also supplied Chen with a xiaomi, or personal secretary, the young and attractive White Cloud.

By coincidence, the murder has taken place in a shikumen, one of the traditional styles of housing created during the era of the Foreign Concessions in Shanghai; the translation undertaken by Chen is of an investment proposal for a major commercial, retail and residential precinct in the heart of Shanghai designed in the shikumen style. The author creates an interesting tension between the reality of life in the shikumen that is the murder site (no privacy, too many families living in incredibly cramped conditions) and the proposed New World project, the success of which, according to Chen "would depend on a myth - on nostalgia for the glitter and glamour of the thirties, or to be exact, on the recreation of that myth - blending the past into a delicious brew, a cup of cappuccino, to delight customers in the nineties" (p. 23).

Having been to Shanghai's model renovation in the shikumen style, the area known as Xintiandi, I can relate to the author's bemused sense of contradiction: the little museum and founding site of the Chinese Communist Party (my destination) is hardly noticeable among the yuppified coffee shops and bars of the new New China!

As with his previous novels, Qiu Xiaolong intersperses his narrative with insightful sociological observations. Some of these relate to the Cultural Revolution, which forms a backdrop to the murder, whilst others clearly reflect the author's concern with the growing gap between rich and poor that emerged in the wake of Deng Xiaoping's reforms: "The New World could turn out to be like present-day China, full of contradictions. On the outside, the socialist system under the rule of the Communist Party, but on the inside, capitalist practice in whatever disguise. Could the combination of the two really work?" (p. 139).

Nor would it be a Chinese novel without reference to food. White Cloud turns out to be an accomplished cook: "She finally emerged, carrying a large tray with a broad smile. `From the Dynasty Club,' she announced, placing on the folding table an impressive dinner that included some delicacies he had never seen before. One was a small dish of fried sparrow gizzards, golden crisp. How many sparrows had gone into the making of that dish, he wondered. The other dish, of duck, was also original - it was duck heads with the skulls removed, so people could easily reach the tongues, or suck out the brains. It was the sauna shrimp, however, that really impressed him. River shrimp were brought to the table in a glass bowl, live, still jumping and wriggling. She also provided a small wooden pail whose bottom was covered with red hot stones. She poured some wine into the bowl of shrimp, then took the drunken shrimp from the bowl and put them into the pail. There was a shrill hiss, and in two or three minutes, a plate of sauna shrimp appeared." (p. 108).

Some western reviewers have found the narrative pace and unexpected thrills of the mystery genre lacking in this novel; however, it is an intriguing tale and a pleasure to be transported back to a familiar Chinese setting.

Michael Williss

I loved Abby, the heroine. She was trying to get over past mistakes and have a "normal" life. She was a loyal friend who was the only one who believed her friend didn't commit suicide but was murdered. She wouldn't let that stand and pursued trying to find the killer. She was a beautiful woman who didn't see herself that way. She loved her job working for a museum as the fundraiser despite the fact that her boss was the boss from hell. Her friends keep setting her up with awful blind dates and on one of those dates she finds herself locked out of her apartment. This is when the hero shows up. He runs a locksmith business on the side.

The hero starts out as a guy we'd like to know but Abby, despite her attraction, has decided Zan has all the bad boy characteristics of prior bad boyfriends each of whom ruined her life. Two days later she's on a blind date, the date being a total jerk. He's locked himself out of his car and Abby calls Zan. He takes her home and before you know it its bedroom time.

Zan turns out to be a guy who doesn't care about Abby's concerns or what Abby wants. He doesn't care about how important her job is to her and ends up getting her fired due to his jealous, uncontrolled behavior. He follows her around spying and jumps in everytime he sees her doing something he doesn't want her to do. On one of his spying trips he gets infuriated when he spots her talking to another guy. His character being what it is he jumps to the wrong conclusion and there is the first of many nasty scenes between the two of them were his jealousy or his I want what I want mentality lets us see how unlikeable he is. Each time he storms away leaving Abby crushed by his abusive treatment. After each of these incidents, when he's calmed down, he tells her he's sorry and admits he behaved badly but before you know it, the scene repeats. Every time she admonishes him and says she doesn't want this type of turmoil and cruel behavior in her life she's having to take those words back when they fall back into bed.

Each time the scene is written from Zan's point of view, it typically shows him going over ways to manipulate her to get what he wants and totally misinterpreting a situation whenever he spys her with another man, whether work related or not. He knows he's wrong following her, but he does it anyway. When he attacks a prominent donor to the museum at a fund raising ball, just because Abby was having to do her job and entertain the guy, he gets her fired. He later tells her she can get a job somewhere else. She didn't want somewhere else, she loved the job she was in.

I don't get what Abby saw in Zan or why she kept taking him back. The only positive thing about him was the fabulous sex. There's nothing that tells us why Zan fell so uncontrollably in love when he barely knew her. His love was toxic and abusive. He is the type of person women take out restraining orders against. I was pretty angry with his character by the time I finished this book.

Don't get me wrong I really liked this book, but I've loved all the other McKenna books.

I work in a call center and we have a lot of down time and this book has traveled its way through the entire team, not one bad comment has been givin about this book and all I can say is that it is an excellent read... I think that I might have to shop for a brothel type fit for my man...

My friend tried to get me to read this for months but I was leary because I wasn't familiar with the author. I'm a die-hard fan now! The characters are people I could admire and the sex was HOT-HOT-HOT!!

ugh.......what a let down and waste of time. Slight spoiler; on a night when a woman should have been terrified after an attack, this Abby person is giggling right afterwards with no aftershocks. The sex parts are hot but the story is lame. Needless to say, I didn't finish this one.