Apricot's Revenge

December 14, 2015
Chinese author Song’s meandering U.S. debut follows Chengdu journalist Nie Feng and the Public Security Bureau’s Y District Criminal Division as they investigate the suspicious deaths of Shenzen realty magnate Hu Guohao and his old friend and rival, Hong Yiming. At the novel’s core lies a poignant revenge tale forged in the fires of China’s Cultural Revolution, but while Song writes eloquently about the plight of Chengdu’s zhiqing—urban teens separated from their families, relocated to the rural Yunnan border, and forced into manual labor—he dedicates too few pages to this aspect of the plot. The police’s ineptitude strains credulity, as do Nie’s investigative insight and influence, and the characters lack depth. Excessive exposition, frequent digressions, and a dearth of action coupled with a relatively artless translation sap drama and throttle the pace. The howdunit portion of the mystery intrigues, but Song’s solution is absurd and leans too heavily on coincidence to satisfy. Agent: Joanne Wang, Joanne Wang Agency.

December 15, 2015
Chinese writer Ying's first appearance in English challenges the Y District Criminal Division to uncover the disturbing motive for the murder of a real estate tycoon. At first the death of Hu Guohao looks like an accidental drowning. The CEO of Landmark Properties was known to enjoy long-distance swimming, and it's not such a stretch to think he would have begun his very last swim near the Seaview Hotel in Greater Meisha and washed up several miles away in Lesser Meisha. But when medical examiner Tian Qing realizes Hu's lungs are full of algae that flourished in the red tide of Nan'ao, even further away, Detective Cui Dajun and his colleagues realize Hu's corpse must have been moved from the place he died. In the meantime, Hu's killer hasn't been idle; Hong Yiming, the General Manager of Big East Realty, whose company had been dueling Hu's for the purchase of Tiandongba, a potentially lucrative tract of land, is found poisoned, and Feng Xueying, Hu's assistant, is killed by a hit-and-run driver soon after the police learn she's illegally hired a firm of private detectives to shadow Zhu Meifeng, Hu's beautician wife. With the persistent, if initially unwelcome, help of journalist Nie Feng, the officers of Y District slowly and painstakingly tie the murders to the shameful deaths 28 years ago of 10 young women of the Yunnan Construction Corps. Since the connection is portended as early as the story's title, none of this is very surprising, but it's cumulatively powerful. Rooting contemporary crimes in government-sanctioned corruption is nothing new for American writers, but Ying's tale marks something new and welcome in Chinese fiction.

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Starred review from February 1, 2016

When a corpse washes up on a resort beach in southern China, it is soon identified as real estate mogul Hu Guohao. Apparent cause of death: drowning. The police are baffled because Hu was known to be a strong swimmer. Nie Feng, a reporter for Western Sunshine magazine, interviewed Hu the previous week, and, he, too, is perplexed. Nie manages to gain access to the investigation and uncovers the first important clues that will lead to a suspect previously unknown to the police. Secrets going back to the days of Chairman Mao and the turbulent cultural revolution will surface. VERDICT A best seller in China, this first-class procedural offers an intriguing setting and exquisite portrait of a modern country grappling with its past. The smooth translation renders the narrative well. Both fans of Qiu Xiaolong's "Inspector Chen" mysteries and Sinophiles will want to add this social crime novel to their reading lists.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016
Shenzhen realty tycoon Hu Guohao of Landmark Properties is found drowned, washed up on the beach at Lesser Meisha. The police soon determine he was murdered. Suspects include his young widow, a rival businessman, his presumed successor at Landmark Properties, and Hu Guohao's own protege. Journalist Nie Feng, who has just written a profile on Hu Guohao for the magazine Western Sunshine, arranges to stay in the area and look into the murder. He wangles bban invitation to observe the police investigation, where he is briefed by Officer Xiao Chuan. Then a second murder occurs. A piece of paper with a mysterious symbol and a series of numbers is in the possession of both victims, and Nie Feng figures out their significance and delves into the past to ferret out this motive for the murders. Framed by Chinese history and life in present-day China, the combination police procedural and amateur detective story features the well-drawn Nie Feng, who uses his investigative skills to break an alibi and catch a murderer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)