Red Mandarin Dress

September 17, 2007
Bringing 1990s Communist China alive, Qiu's masterful fifth Inspector Chen mystery (after 2006's A Case of Two Cities
) finds Shanghai terrorized by its first-ever serial killer. The murderer dresses his victims' corpses in fancy red mandarin dresses before leaving them in public places. Insp. Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department has taken a step back from his professional life to pursue an advanced literature course instead of investigating a politically sensitive corruption case, but now he must return to active duty and help in the manhunt. He learns that the symbolic garb may be connected to the corruption scandal, but not before a young female officer falls prey. The solution may strike some as a little pat, but the first-rate characterizations and elegant portrait of a society attempting to move from rigid Maoist ideologies to an accommodation with capitalism will keep readers engaged and eager for more.

Starred review from December 15, 2007
Shanghai Police Chief Inspector Chen is making one last stab at attaining his graduate degree in literature. However, he is asked to take a look at a case involving financial corruption on a high level. Then there are the murders of young women clad in red mandarin dresses. Whether he is chasing a serial killer or a thieving bureaucrat, Chen is at his best dodging political land mines and solving personal dilemmas. In this fifth entry in an outstanding series ("Death of a Red Heroine"), author Qiu captures the bustling atmosphere of modern China coming to grips with its Communist roots. Patrons who enjoy mysteries set in today's China, such as those by Peter May, will want this one. The author lives in St. Louis.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2007
Detective Inspector Chen is trying to lie low after his last case (A Case of Two Cities, 2007) turned even more politically sensitive than he could have anticipated. Questioning his career as a detective in modern Shanghai, Chen takes a leave of absence to study Chinese literature. But hes called back to work when Shanghais first serial killer starts leaving the bodies of young women clad only in red mandarin dresses across the city. The trail, leading back to the Cultural Revolution and three accompanying girls, opens old wounds in a society torn between its Communist past and its capitalist present. Chen, like many Shanghainese, is trapped in the middle. But not so trapped that he isnt able to enjoy traditional Chinese cooking, from cheap workers meals of soup buns to exotic (for Western readers) dishes ranging from drunken shrimp to live monkey brains, all described in loving detail. Chens fans, growing steadily, will find this one on their own, but suggest it as well to all readers who prefer their crime stories in exotic locales with a strong sense of place.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)