The Mao Case

Although labelled as a murder mystery, The Mao Case and other works from Qiu Xiaolong, are deeper stories concerning with the rapidly changing and mutating society in millenium China. The shadow of Mao and the Cultural Revolution looms over a society which is looking towards the future.

Inspector Chen is both a poet and detective. Cultured and educated, he is entrusted with investigating the suddenly affluent lifestyle of Jiao, granddaughter of a disgraced movie star. But as he begins his investigation, the body of Jiao's friend is found in the garden of a gently decaying Shanghai mansion.

The case is politically sensitive, due to the connection between Jiao's grandmother and Chairman Mao. In fact, Internal police are convinced that Jiao show more holds some secret material from Mao, which cannot be allowed to resurface and tarnish his beloved and treasured image.

This is a crime novel of a different ilk. Originating as it does from a different culture, Xiaolong's story offers a different type of crime novel - intellectual and educated. It is wistful, literate and utterly unique. show less

Another great book in the Inspector Chen series, this installment is steeped in the recent history of Chinese politics as well as the culture, and it's one of the more powerful books I've read in the series. Perhaps more than any other, it blends in cultural elements of poetry and food beautifully so that there are no seams showing, whereas poetry has felt somewhat more forced in a few of the books, much as I always enjoy it. This brought me back to the reasons I fell in love with this series, and the gorgeous nuance that Xiaolong brings to each of his works. I do wish the ending had been allowed to breathe just a bit more, as it felt somewhat rushed for my taste, but otherwise, I loved this book and I look forward to the next in the show more series. show less

In The Mao Case, Inspector Chen investigates a mystery surrounding the granddaughter of one of Mao Zedong's mistresses. As a police procedural, this novel is disappointing. The dialogue is awkward, there are details that often seem superfluous to the story, and the ending is somewhat anticlimactic given the build-up. Qiu Xiaolong's writing is cerebral, and the story lacks the excitement and suspense one usually expects from a work in this genre. Inspector Chen, the poet and police investigator, is well developed as a character, but he's no Adam Dalgleish, that other famous poet/investigator.

If the flaws as a mystery don't bother you, then The Mao Case is worth a read, mainly because of the setting. Qiu Xialong provides a fascinating show more look at modern-day China and the long-lasting effects of Mao's regime and the Cultural Revolution on it. show less

The mystery and its resolution seem almost superfluous to the commentary on changes in Shanghai, the almost wistful value of poetry for a learned person, the workings of the CCP, and the idolatry surrounding the profligate Mao. Inspector Chen is a complex literary character who offers insights into the paradoxes of contemporary Chinese society, but the mystery in the Mao Case is not nearly as interesting as Qiu's earlier novels.

Book has lot of great elements -- descriptions of Shanghainese food, politics, lots of quotations of Chinese poetry, strong plot, etc. But someohow doesn't rise above its genre status. Still, worth reading.

There isn’t much of a mystery in “The Mao Case.” Instead the author uses the police investigation into a young woman, Jiao, whose grandmother had an affair with Mao Zedong. In doing so Mao is revealed to have been a bigamist and to have had many women with whom he had a ‘special relationship.’ He believed himself to be an emperor of China and lived the life style of one. The examination of Mao’s poetry, which was said to have been written to promote his revolution in China, reveals some of it to be about the various women in his life.

The investigation is also used to reveal the impact on individuals of the Cultural Revolution and the other military activities Mao used to move the country forward. The Chinese people were show more brainwashed to accept Mao as a great leader and one not to be questioned. Only now are some starting to question why.

The cult of Mao still exists as Chen finds out in his investigation.

If you want a good mystery pass this by, but if you want to learn of Mao’s reign in China read on. show less

The weakest of all Inspector Chen books so far. This is the newest one. Centered around Mao and the huge shadow the old president still cast upon China, Chen is given a sensitive case to find out what the grand daughter of an ex-mistress of Mao might have on the dead president. The plot is thin, the resolution is revealed in a hurry and comes from left field.
We learn nothing new about the Inspector, his crew Yu, Yu's wife and Yu's father are only ghosts characters in this tale of madness and shadows.