The Chinese Girl (Hardcover)

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Eleven years ago, Stone kicked to death the bodyguard of Shooter, the man who had slashed his mother's face. Offending the gangster who runs Hull's underworld is not the way to have a nice time in jail and the disfiguring tattoos on Stone's face were no more his choice than the gang rapes. He wants revenge on Shooter as much as he wants a life that bears some relation to normality. Then he finds Ginny unconscious on the steps of his apartment and takes her in as much to protect himself from the law as for any other reason. She is in Hull from California looking for her best friend, Juliet, who has disappeared, and has been attacked for asking questions. Ginny's quest becomes his, both because he comes to love her, and because he suspects that neither disappearance or assault could have happened without Shooter's being in some way involved. Baker's intense psychological thriller takes us to the inside of Stone's head, and explores a violent man who is trying to change and to cope with more damage than is quite survivable. Its intense plotting, and real sense of evil, has room for passionate romance and some entertaining family comedy. --Roz Kaveney

Review
Slowly but surely, Baker's series featuring the tenacious Sam Turner has acquired a good reputation, with Poet in the Gutter and Death Minus Zero nosing ahead in the popularity stakes. Baker strikes out at a tangent in The Chinese Girl, with a narrative so rich in menace and atmosphere that we don't miss Turner. Released from jail, Stone Lewis is trying to change his wasted life into something positive. Ill-advised tattoos on his face have people shying away from him as he wanders the outside world, and when he finds a battered Asian girl in the doorway of his insalubrious basement room, it isn't long before he's firmly back in the dangerous morass that he'd tried to escape. We've read a million versions of the ex-con pulled back unwillingly into the criminal world before, but rarely delivered with the exuberance that Baker demonstrates here. He's also particularly skilful at marrying the disparate worlds of the American tough-guy thriller with the English novel of cold-eyed social observation. The cleverest trick here is making the reader identify so closely with the hapless Lewis, and we follow his dangerous odyssey with total attention. The danger is offset with Baker's trademark wit, and many readers will be more than happy with this accomplished break from the Sam Turner series. (Kirkus UK)

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4 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars an ultimately uplifting novel which is refreshingly original, 6 Jun 2001 By A Customer This review is from: The Chinese Girl (Paperback) After an eleven year stretch Stoner Lewis has been out of jail for a few weeks and is trying to adjust to the world outside. Home is Hull, where the docks provide plenty of opportunities for criminal undertakings and Stoner knows some of the lowlifes only too well. But he's keeping well away from trouble and keeping an eye out for his mother, Sally and his aunt Nell who live nearby. Coming home from the pub one night he finds a beautiful Chinese girl, beaten-up and unconscious in the doorway of his basement flat. He takes her in and looks after her, finds out that she's come all the way from California to look for her friend whose frequent letters suddenly stopped arriving. Stoner agrees to help but before long the search brings them up against the violent psychopath who has the neighbourhood stitched up and a nasty line in henchmen and guard dogs. Baker creates an affectionate portrait of a man trying to stay on the straight and narrow after years banged up and of a man falling in love. Although The Chinese Girl contains some grisly and harrowing elements, the importance of dreams, the strength of love and the humanity of the characters create an ultimately uplifting novel which is refreshingly original and absorbing Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars John Baker's other ace in the pack, 9 Sep 2003 By  S. L. SHIELDS - See all my reviews From the outset of this remarkable novel it is immediately apparent that this is distinctively different to John Baker’s excellent Sam Turner series of books, and is in fact so different from anything else I have previously read that I am almost lost for words. The tale focuses the events following the release from prison of main protagonist Stone Lewis and his part in solving the mystery as to the whereabouts of Juliet, the missing-feared-dead friend of the titular Chinese Girl, Ginny. Stone finds Ginny battered and dumped outside his basement flat one night, takes her in and nurses her back to recovery. It’s during this period that Stone discovers a series of letters sent to Ginny by Juliet. In a master-stroke of writing Baker takes the time out to allow us in on the contents of these letters where we discover that Juliet has been to hell and back following extreme post-natal depression getting things straight just prior to all contact with Ginny ending abruptly prompting the search for Juliet and the truth. As the story unfolds it is revealed that Ginny and Stone are connected in some way with local gangster and villain of the piece Shooter and as they join forces to take him on they gain a great liking and mutual respect for each other As Stone undergoes a series of laser treatments to remove the tattoos brutally given to him by his fellow inmates can he lay to rest the darkness at his core and gain redemption? Can he truly change and alter the course of his life becoming a better man? Or will he be drawn towards violence and vengeance? It’s these questions about the nature of man that lay at the heart of this brilliant book. The writing throughout is frighteningly good (WHY isn’t John Baker more well known?) and is infused with his trademark flair for characterization with each of the players bringing something into the mix, my personal favourites being the trio of senior citizens, Sally, Aunt Nell and Heartbreak who are responsible for most of the underlying humour. The result is an extremely compelling, satisfying read and a good introduction to John Baker. The sequel “White Skin Man” is due in February 2004. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling page-turner, 19 Feb 2001 By A Customer This review is from: The Chinese Girl (Paperback) Having never read a John Baker novel before I was extremely impressed by his style of writing. Chinese Girl is a very compelling book, which I couldn't put down. I wanted to reach the end so I knew the outcome, yet I wanted to take my time and savour the superb, yet bizarre characters, brought to life from its pages. It's a book that I could read again and again. I'm looking forward to the sequel and to reading Baker's Sam Turner series. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 4 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars I didn't even miss Sam Turner John Baker is best known for the Sam Turner mysteries which are set in York. For The Chinese Girl the setting has moved to the east coast port of Hull, a larger and much darker... Read more Published on 19 Oct 2000 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 4 customer reviews...

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