The Last Six Million Seconds: A Thriller

Genre: Crime/Historical Thriller
Overall Rating: Culturally Interesting
I am a longstanding fan of Burdett’s work, so let’s acknowledge my positive bias before I delve into the details. The immediate aspect that strikes me as a Western inhabitant in Burdett’s books is the reflection of Western culture as seen and occasionally adapted by the East. Personally, I have little love for Western culture, but it is always intriguing to see how others see/are affected by it in both positive and negative ways. Burdett, for what he lacks occasionally in grammar and word choice, makes up for in the elaborate, yet also strikingly simple, plot. He is very talented at poignancy and knowing what points in the story to underplay or leave hanging show more for the reader to assign a vast chasm of interpretation. In The Last Six Million Seconds, Burdett exceeds my own expectations, based on his Royal Thai Detective series, of which I am fond. Upon picking up this book, readers may initially find the title intriguing, thinking perhaps that the plot of the novel is indeed on strict time restraints which may enhance the plot by building drama. Also, it is an unconventional use of time units, really why would you measure time in seconds when months are more efficient? This alone is eye catching, and also befuddling as you begin to read the novel and are introduced into a political conflict and not a hostage situation. Then Burdett gives us a bread crumb, revealing as he does so his own genius, about the last million seconds representing the six million people in Hong Kong. Now as readers we know that this is a book about the entire fate of Hong Kong, which is at times easy to forget when we get caught up in the whodunit layer of the novel. Burdett has brilliantly wrapped a story around a historical event which then has implications for events happening now. He is offering his own fictional account about a man facing inevitable hopelessness of losing, of the corrosive qualities of communist China. Of course this interpretation is from a typical Western viewpoint, and is not what is actually presented to the reader. Burdett makes it clear that the people of Hong Kong are made of sterner stuff, that see the stormy political climate as a part of life rather than an apocalyptic event, as no doubt Westerners would react if put in the same situation. Perseverance is an Eastern quality heavily incorporated into this story, not coupled by outraged indignation as it would be in a novel written by Western arrogance and entitlement.
Though I am not a fan of the mechanics of John Burdett’s writing, I acknowledge that his own unique voice is firmly there in his manner of understatement. This does, however, make it difficult to ever really form bonds with his characters, though I get the distinct impression that Burdett doesn’t write for his characters, but rather so he can write novels where West and East meet, indeed all of his novels have a sort of trickster at the cultural crossroads he designs. If, as a reader, you are interested in having that deep connection of truly understanding a character, perhaps Burdett’s writing isn’t for you, though I would still recommend it as a chance to expand horizons.
Overall, this is a book which is more impressive upon reflection as opposed to when you read it. It is not full of cliff hanger drama, or even personal drama, though there is a sense of imminent political doom from even the very beginning of the story. I greatly enjoyed it, though there were some parts of the book that were slow moving and a tad difficult to move through. It may not be my favorite book, or even my preferred genre, however it is a book with immense merit woven together by a talented craftsman.

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Pretty sexist: The Protagonist Chan: " I'm a tit man." I guess I could write my protagonist like this (if I were a writer), "I'm a penis woman . . ." That off my chest, I enjoyed learning things I never knew about Hong Kong. Mostly, I noticed the crowdedness, especially on the subway, and the constant 90-100% humidity. But this story also kept me involved in it, through all its twists and turns.

Not quite as polished or as chock full of colorful characters as his later Bangkok mysteries, nevertheless this is a fun Burdett. He loves his Eurasian characters who struggle with mixed parentage and divided sympathies – and, that also allow him to delve into the mysteries of culture. This is a Hong Kong populated by expats who are filthy rich, triad chiefs who move people like pawns and then there’s our humble Charlie (“Chan”) who stands up to them all.

I read the first six chapters of this book, decided I really didn't care and skimmed the rest just so I could say I'd read it. The premise is excellent, a Chinese-Irish Police Detective is trying to solve a triple homicide (that may actually have been perpetrated by the Chinese Government) in the Last Six Million Seconds before Britain returns Hong Kong to China in 1997. The problem is that the characters are not at all compelling, and are introduced without any backstory at all. I had an extremely hard time remembering who was who and why I was supposed to care what they were doing. Also, being not terribly familiar with Hong Kong culture, I was excited to learn more about the area. Unfortunately, while the descriptions of the show more geography are rather poetic (rather more poetic than one generally finds in a thriller), the abbreviations and slang used were not really explained very well and instead of being evocative of the scene and the culture, it was just confusing.
As I've been saying, I didn't really like this book, but my husband, who is a much bigger fan of suspense/murder/mystery/thriller type books than I am plans to read it in the near future, and I will let you all know what he thought of it at that time.
Update: My husband has now read this, and he thought I didn't really give it a fair chance. He says it's not an excellent book, but he enjoyed reading it. show less

This is a Hong Kong thriller about a Eurasian detective solving the mystery of three heads—two men and a woman—found floating in the sea. There’s a fair amount of politics and intrigue, especially because the story is set in the closing days of British control of the city before the turnover to China. While I enjoyed the book as I was reading it, it would not be a repeat read, because the politics was more interesting to me than the police mystery.

Chief Inspector Chan Siukai (nicknamed Charlie), a gifted detective, is the product of an Irish father and Chinese mother. He is assigned to solve the grisly murder of three people, crushed through a mincer, during the two months prior to the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong. The murders are very sensitive because of political ramifications and the triads. Good portrayal of frenetic Hong Kong and various cultures.

Wish Burdett had more with Inspector "Charlie" Chan.