When eight bodies are dragged up from the blackness of the Huangpu River, chained together and horrifically mutilated, senior investigator Piao senses that this is more than just murder - it reeks of official state assassination. Furthermore, he cannot get anyone to autopsy the bodies, nor any hospital to take them in. As he doggedly sticks to his investigation, despite warnings from his superiors, he realizes that someone very big indeed is involved in the case, someone who has the power within the State to thwart his every effort and wipe him out if necessary. But when high-ranking American politician Barbara Hayes arrives in China, trying to find the truth behind her archaeologist son's disappearance, things begin to get very complicated indeed. Together they peel away the layers of lies and half-truths within the Chinese State Communist Party, finding deceit and corruption in Shanghai's high society, abetted by poverty-stricken citizens, eager to spy, betray and even kill. As the truth becomes apparent, Piao is left helpless; officialdom seeks to block his enquiries, evidence is destroyed and witnesses are mysteriously 'disposed' of. In a city full of watching eyes and bugged rooms, the Party knows every move he makes. When the appalling truth behind the disfigured cadavers is finally revealed, it takes friends in high places to ensure that Piao does not become yet another number in the final body count. This is a complex, multi-layered novel that transports the reader immediately to modern Shanghai. Chinese life at all levels is described in intricate detail and although the often mannered style of writing can interfere with the flow of the story this is a fantastic read. Andy Oakes has an imaginative and original writing style, creating vivid pictures that linger in the mind. Piao, the investigator, is a great invention, a genuinely good man and worthy of more adventures. (Kirkus UK)