A Loyal Character Dancer [Hardcover]

'This is a fascinating and thought-provoking read, rich in descriptions of delicious meals, beautiful gardens and impossibly cramped housing. Not to be missed.'

(Guardian )

'A luminescent synthesis of a thriller and a literary novel.'

(Independent )

'Another wonderful novel featuring Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau.' (Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post )

'A sequel that in many ways is even more impressive'

(Chicago Tribune )

'Likeable, admirable Chen makes a sturdy protagonist, but it's China in transition - always interesting, often bewildering - that gets the star turn here.' (Kirkus Reviews )

'The travelogue aspects of this novel don't overwhelm its critical intelligence. The murder and mayhem provide a cover story for a larger investigation of social mysteries - in this case the fate of educated Chinese, many of whose lives were made a waking nightmare by the cultural revolution, and the future of Chinese communism itself.' (Chicago Sun Times )

'The combination of ancient and modern Chinese history with modern police work has produced an excellent procedural novel, filled with atmosphere and carefully illustrating life in China today. Inspector Chen is likeable, thoughtful, and appealing.' (Dallas Morning News )

'The miracle is that, while he provides good suspense, Qui Xiaolong has transcended his genre [while] fulfilling all genre expectations by solving and linking two triad-related crime cases.' (Persimmon )

'Intriguing...Gang wars, rampant prostitution (even in Karaoke clubs!), and the slavish greed and trend-sucking of China's rising entrepreneurial class almost overcome the erudite, but never pedantic, detective's belief in his country's ancient wisdom and current potential.' (Raleigh News and Observer ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'Another wonderful novel featuring Inspector Chen of the Shanghai
Police Bureau.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'Impressive'
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'Qui Xiaolong draws us into a fascinating world where the greatest mystery revealed is the mystery of present-day China itself' --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

'an excellent procedural novel, filled with atmosphere . . .Inspector Chen is likeable, thoughtful, and appealing.' --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

'This is a luminescent synthesis of a thriller and a literary
novel' --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

'Wonderful' --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

'Impressive'
--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

'A luminescent synthesis of a thriller and a literary novel' --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

'Another wonderful novel featuring Inspector Chen of the Shanghai
Police Bureau.' --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Praise for Qiu Xiaolong:

"A sequel [to Death of a Red Heroine] that in many ways is even more impressive. . . . [Qiu] has moved from the poetic, exotic milieu of his first book (although plenty of elements remain) into a tougher, wider, probably more commercial and modern version of China as seen by America."—Chicago Tribune

"Another wonderful novel featuring Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau . . . [for] Sinophiles like myself, who fantasize about taking an insider’s tour of Shanghai."—Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air

"The travelogue aspects of the novel don’t overwhelm it’s critical intelligence. As in all hard-boiled [mysteries], the murder and mayhem provide a cover story for a larger investigation of social mysteries."—Chicago Sun-Times

Inspector Chen’s mentor in the Shanghai Police Bureau has assigned him to escort U.S. Marshal Catherine Rohn. Her mission is to bring Wen, the wife of a witness in an important criminal trial, to the United States. Inspector Rohn is already en route when Chen learns that Wen has unaccountably vanished from her village in Fujian. Or is this just what he is supposed to believe? Chen resents his role; he would rather investigate the triad killing in Shanghai’s beauteous Bund Park. But his boss insists that saving face with Inspector Rohn has priority. So Chen Cao, the ambitious son of a father who imbued him with Confucian precepts, must tread warily as he tries once again to be a good cop, a good man, and also a loyal Party member.

Qiu Xiaolong, a prize-winning poet and critic in China, now teaches at Washington University in St. Louis, where he lives with his wife and daughter.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Former dancer and party loyalist Wen Liping vanishes in rural China just before she was to leave the country. Her husband, a key witness against a smuggling ring suspected of importing aliens to the US, refuses to testify until she is found and brought to join him in America.

A few days later, a badly mutilated body turns up in Shanghai’s Bund Park. It bears all the hallmarks of a triad killing.

The US immigration agency, convinced that the Chinese government are hiding something, send US Marshal Catherine Rohn to Shanghai to join the investigation.

Inspector Chen, an astute young policeman with twin passions for food and poetry, is under political pressure to find answers fast. When Catherine Rohn joins him he must decide what is more dangerous: to hide the truth, or to risk unleashing a scandal that could destroy his career. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai. He was selected for membership of the Chinese Writers` Association and published poetry, translations and criticism in China. He has lived in the United States since 1989 and has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature awarded by Washington University. He has been the recipient of the Missouri Biennial Award, the Prairie Schooner Readers` Choice Award, a Yaddo and a Ford Foundation Fellowship. He lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.