Enigma of China

ENIGMA OF CHINA is not just a murder mystery, but also an exploration of Chinese history and culture. It also explores the role, even in China, of social media, of crowd-sourced investigation, so-called "human-flesh" searches, triggered in this case by the release of a photograph of Zhou Keng with a pack of very expensive brand cigarettes sitting on the table in front of him. The irony does not escape Chief Inspector Chen who has also accepted gifts in kind from Big Bucks customers.

But in Zhou's case a number of other examples of corruption have been unearthed, including a batch of compromising sex photographs. But it still doesn't seem very likely that he would have committed suicide. Chen's curiosity is further piqued when a police show more colleague is run down and killed outside the Party newspaper headquarters. Chen realises that he could very well share Wei's fate if he doesn't tread carefully.

Xiaolong paints a fascinating picture of life in Shanghai with vast economic and social gulfs between ordinary people and those who have access to privelege. show less

I read this book for the My Kind of Mystery reading challenge. It is a police procedural by Qiu Xiaolong, and is an Inspector Chen novel. Chen Cao is a police investigator in Shanghai and is a rising person in the Party. Although he was educated to be a poet, his first job assignment was in the police department and he has worked there since his college graduation.

In Enigma of China the corruption of the head of a housing and development committee, Zhou Keng, is exposed on the internet. He is immediately removed from his position and detained by the Communist Party bosses. While in detention he is found dead from hanging. The Party wants to declare it a suicide but police detective Chen feels there are some unanswered questions that show more deserve to be investigated. He fears an investigation will anger his bosses but he goes forward with it in order to seek justice for Zhou and Zhou's family.

I enjoyed learning about life in China today through the background of the story. This kept me interested in the book because I am not a fan of police procedurals. It seemed that the culture of China was more central to the book than the solving of the crime. The method of political corruption is described in detail as well as being part of the plot. The newly rich, Party privileges and citizens use of the internet to expose corruption are central to the book. Loved it. show less

There are three mysteries in this novel: who killed the housing administrator, who killed the detective investigating the murder of the housing administrator, and who launched the social media blizzard that revealed the scandal that lead to the administrator's death. throughout the investigation, the author inserts many observations on the current politics and hypocrisy in "socialism with Chinese characteristics" along with classical poetry, snippets of neo-Confucian philosophy and a culinary tour of Shaoxing, and the leaky censorship of the Chinese Internet. The political dangers to Chen Cao in resolving the murders are readily apparent--and they are left disappointingly unresolved--but the Internet social media post that provokes the show more initial murder is elegantly resolved. The unresolved murders create an opening for the future--as tension with official society and the need to maintain social harmony builds in Inspector Chen Cao. show less

This was a painful and boring end to an otherwise enjoyable series. The books end almost literally mid-sentence as though the author was contracted to write a set amount of words and once reached simply stopped writing.

I enjoy Inspector Chen as a pleasant past-time, where I get to know a respected investigator and learn a bit about Chinese culture at the same time.
It's been a few years since I read most of the Chen series. During this Covid virus time of overwhelming "news", I sought out Xiaolong as a respite, which achieved my goal.
I recommend both Chen and Xiaolong.

I ordered no#8 and no#9 at the same time from my local library, expecting them to arrive more or less at the same time too. However, no 8 which I wanted to read first was delayed for some reason and arrived 2 weeks after n0 #9. I will now be able to read no#9 which has been generously extended. I didn't start no#9 while I was waiting and had to speed read no.8 to finish on time.
The book in question, Enigma of China, was the usual high quality.

As always, an interesting view of China's society. Have read the whole series and still find Inspector Chen an appealing character. This book ends with what seems to be a cliff-hanger. Hope there will be another book soon.