A Drop of Chinese Blood
A Mystery
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
James Church's Inspector O novels have been hailed as "crackling good" (The Washington Post) and "tremendously clever" (Tampa Tribune), while Church himself has been embraced by critics as "the equal of le Carré" (Publishers Weekly, starred). Now Church—a former Western intelligence officer who pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of North Korea in a way that no one else can—comes roaring back with a new novel introducing Inspector O's nephew, Major Bing, the long-suffering chief of the Chinese Ministry of State Security operations on the border with North Korea.
The last place Bing expected to find the stunningly beautiful Madame Fang—a woman Headquarters wants closely watched—was on his front doorstep. Then, as suddenly as she shows up, Madame Fang mysteriously disappears across the river into North Korea, leaving in her wake both consternation and a highly sensitive assignment for Bing to bring back from the North a long missing Chinese security official. Concerned for his nephew's safety, O reluctantly helps him navigate an increasingly complex and deadly maze, one that leads down the twisted byways of O's homeland. In the tradition of Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy, and the Inspector Arkady Renko novels, A Drop of Chinese Blood presents an unfamiliar world, a perplexing universe where the rules are an enigma to the reader and even, sometimes, to Inspector O. Once again, James Church has crafted a story with beautifully spare prose and layered descriptions of a country and a people he knows by heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Church's stellar first in a new series introduces Major Bing, the nephew of Inspector O, the hero of the pseudonymous author's series set in North Korea (The Man with the Baltic Stare, etc.). Bing, who heads a state security office in China near the North Korean border, and his uncle, with whom he lives, have an affectionately prickly relationship reminiscent of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. In an intricate plot that ranks as one of Church's best, Fang Mei-lin, "the most beautiful woman in the world," arrives at Bing's house to seek his uncle's help with a problem she keeps secret from Bing. A satirical look at paranoid intelligence structures ("No one finds out about what the Third Bureau is doing on purpose. Not even the Third Bureau") and the snappy, irreverent narration (O hums "a Korean folk song, not so much carrying the tune as pushing it in a wheelbarrow over rocky ground") add to the fun.
Customer Reviews
Thrilling
James Church returns with Bing, nephew of North Korean Inspector O. This fast-paced page turner is set in Northeast China, Mongolia and North Korea. An extremely fun read and revelation of life on the dark side. Learned more than in my politics classes. Can't wait for The Korea Society evening with the author. Go, James! Better than Bond...