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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780312374662
ISBN number: 0312374666
Label: St. Martin's Minotaur
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: October 02, 2007
Publishing house: St. Martin's Minotaur
Release Date: October 02, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 164261
Studio: St. Martin's Minotaur
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Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department is assigned a high-profile anti-corruption case, one in which the principal figure has long since fled to the United States and beyond the reach of the Chinese government. But Xing left behind his organization, and Chen, while assigned to root the co-conspirators, is not sure whether he's actually being set up to fail. In a twisting case that takes him from Shanghai all the way to the U.S., reuniting him with his colleague and counterpart from the U.S. Marshall's Service, Inspector Catherine Rhon, Chen finds himself at odds with hidden, powerful, and vicious enemies. At once a compelling crime novel and an insightful, moving portrayal of contemporary China, A Case of Two Cities is the finest novel yet in this critically-acclaimed, award-wining series.
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Rated by buyers 
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One of the wonderful things about reading Qiu's books is his views about the cultural changes happening in Red China over the last decade. The world that was envisioned by Mao and the 'Old Bolsheviks' was one of the proletariat walking side by side with "The Party" to a bright new world. What happened was a different reality. Mao set off two of the worst types of pogroms possible. In the "Great Leap Forward" he tried to reimaging China in the same way that Stalin did in the 1930s. There would be a steel smelter in millions of backyards and everyone would work to make China a world power.
Like Stalin, Mao could never let anything mature on it's own, so that he constantly tinkered with what was allowed and not allowed. He opened the Cultural Revolution with the idea that 'all-thought' would be good for China and that a million flowers would bloom. When writers began to question the power and infallibility of the Communist Party, he had the children of China turn on their parents and the 'old ways'. Unlike Stalin who had all his old adversaries murdered, Mao had them humiliated and sent off to farm in inhospitable part of the country. Everything but what was built by The Party was to be destroyed as decadent and worthless. Countless academics had their and their families lives and their work destroyed.
Deng Xioping was one of the 'old guard' who survived and after Mao's death were able to turn China towards more economic freedom. But little was said or approved as to democracy. People could make all the money they wanted, and even flaunt it but The Party was still in charge. Those in charge made sure that not only them but their families were amply rewarded. Though they wouldn't admit it, many of the high cadre had become part of the corruption they feared would destroy The Party. Qiu is very subtle in the way he shows how those in power like to use their power but always rationalize that it's for the best of everyone.
Like a parent who worries about giving a child to much freedom to soon and then covers up the mistakes the child makes, The Communist Party of China is afraid of what will happen as the "Old Guard" dies out. Who will protect their children and China? With the world going into recession, the Chinese Government will have to deal with a restless unemployed proletariat that has had the very first taste of democracy.
Zeb Kantrowitz
Rated by buyers 
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I love the Inspector Chen series and have read all of them but this is not the best one in the series. This one contains little of the drama, suspense and mystery that made the other books so delightful and interesting. The treatment of the characters also appear more superficial than in the other books and it was difficult to remain engaged throughout the book. Nevertheless, I encourage you to try out one of the other Inspector Chen books, which are great.
Rated by buyers -
My husband and I both enjoy Inspector Chen novels and race to see which of us gets to start the book first. We like the novels because not only is there a mystery to be solved but more importantly, we find out more about China and Chinese society through Professor Xislong's descriptions. This book is more complicated than most of the other Inspector Chen mysteries because of the complicated structure, two cities and a complex semi-romatic relationship between Inspector Chen and US Marshal Rhon. I look forward to reading the subsequent Inspector Chen which is waiting for me, after I finish a political autobiography. I recommend Inspector Chen mysteries to all my friends as a good read but an excellent way of understanding China.
Rated by buyers -
This book is part of a series about Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau. He is assigned to investigate a businessman accused of corrupt practices who has fled to Los Angeles and so the story moves between Shanghai and LA. The subject of the inquiry has connections high up in the Beijing government, giving the case significant political overtones.
The murder mystery plot elements are not particularly remarkable, but this book is noteworthy for its depiction of life in contemporary China. I found these aspects riveting. The changes resulting from the rapid expansion of private enterprise create tensions between the different social strata. The Party seeks to maintain control while allowing business to flourish. The book is written in English (albeit Chinese flavored) by a Chinese émigré in the US, so complete authenticity is uncertain. It would be interesting to know what people in Shanghai think of it. I am also not sure if the publication date corresponds to the timeframe of the fictional events described, since some of the characters seem too young to have experienced very first hand the Cultural Revolution. The breadth of the quotations from Chinese poetry, on the other hand, argues in favor of the authenticity of the literary aspect of the book. It is definitely recommended to readers interested in the flavor of life in contemporary China.
Rated by buyers 
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In May 2007, Shanghai native Qiu Xiaolong returned to our fine city for the annual Shanghai Literary Festival at M on the Bund, where he gave a lecture on how he created his Inspector Chen series. He talked about how he wove elements of the legendary city into the plotlines and "smuggled" his beloved poetry into the stories. The group attending this session were clearly fans of his semi-autobiographical Inspector and said they favored the novels for the perspectives the stories give on being an expatriate and the uniqueness of the poet-detective. I decided to check out Qiu's work for myself.
When I asked people around me which of Qiu's books they liked best, they could not pick a favorite, though many mentioned Death of a Red Heroine. Even so, they were anxious to read the author's latest work, A Case of Two Cities. So, I decided to start there. The fourth mystery in the Chief Inspector Chen series, A Case of Two Cities, opens with the murder of a fellow detective, the head of the Fujian special case bureau. It turns out that the man was part of the government's anti-corruption initiative, investigating the wealthy, well-connected, and powerful Xing Xing, whom they suspect has fled to the United States to avoid trouble. Now they need Chen's help to pick up the trail in this high profile case.
Things are going very well for the Chief Inspector of the Shanghai Police Bureau at this point in his life: he is a Party cadre, he has been appointed to the city congress, and he has the satisfaction of having published a popular new collection of poetry. Now he is being trusted to the Xing case. Chen's membership in the Chinese Writers' Association makes him a romantic figure in addition to the attraction of being a man of danger as a detective. It would seem he is a well-rounded man on the rise, personally and professionally. Until he realizes that he was not meant to succeed on the Xing case and he may be a triad assassin's subsequent target.
Chen's mission takes a twist when he is selected to lead a delegation from the Chinese Writer's Association to an international writers' conference in Los Angeles. Having only published one book of poetry and one translation, Chen realizes that others could have been, and maybe should have been, picked to lead the group. Has the government official chosen Chen because being there will make it easier for him to follow Xing's trail? Or is the official connected to Xing's organization and under orders to have Chen murdered there?
Whether readers will enjoy this book depends on how much they prefer strict adherence to the crime novel genre or whether they like Chen's innovation of "sneaking" poetry into the storyline. In this particular book, some might say that the plot almost seems secondary to the poetry. Chen has an obvious passion for T.S. Eliot, and at one point another character even remarks that the Inspector "[throws] poetry into his speech like pepper in a hot Sichuan soup." There is certainly no shortage of verse in this book.
Whether they approve of the poetry element or not, fans get another dose of their favorite characters, expats can enjoy those elements of the story, and everyone can appreciate a look at contemporary Shanghai. A key event occurs at a glamorous restaurant on the Bund, and a murder takes place in a local karaoke bar, for example. When Chen arrives in the US, he gives a Chinese perspective on the little annoyances America presents to Chinese travelers. He finds it ironic, for example, that in the "land of freedom," which also just happens to export such a huge volume of cigarettes to the East, he is not allowed to smoke in his fancy, expensive hotel! Another colleague was expecting to find thermos bottles in their hotel rooms for making tea, and he finds the automatic drip machine does not get the water hot enough. When Chen's delegation of Chinese authors arrives at the conference, they are surprised and disappointed to discover that their work is little known outside of China--though Western authors are well known in China. They also could find no translations of their work in the library or bookstores. The delegates were also surprised to discover that Pizza Hut is an inexpensive fast-food restaurant, versus the trendy, expensive restaurant it is in China--where a pizza costs more than an ordinary Chinese worker's daily income. These and other such insights make the book an enjoyable read.
Qiu was born in Shanghai in 1953. He earned his BA and MA in English and American literature in China. At this time, the government determined graduates' careers, however, depending on the needs of the state. So, Qiu's dream of becoming a university professor was derailed in favor of his assignment as a Shanghai police detective. Making the best of the situation, Qiu entertained himself in his free time by writing poetry. In 1988, he found an opportunity to study ... Read More
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