Inspector Chen is trying not to investigate a rare case of a serial murder in Shanghai.
A young woman is found murdered, wearing an unusual red mandarin dress, in front of a music institute. Later another young woman is found murdered, wearing the same type of mandarin dress.

This is the first inspector Chen book I've read. Enjoyable. The dialogs seem a bit unusual in English, but I can imagine the talk would work in Chinese (I don't speak Chinese but I can imagine). There are lots of interesting details about Chinese culture and history and literature in the story too.

Bought from Recycled Reads in Austin, for reading and then setting it free afterwards...

Another book that wanted to accompany Rattle-Rat, on the way to Erishkigal. Another police procedural from somewhere else... heh. The World VBB is a good excuse to add occasional few extras to accompany some mysteries. :)

This was also one of my recent refreshing finds from somewhere completely else than my usual reads.

Safe journey little book - I hope you'll make many new friends on your travels!

"Don't ever apologize to an author for buying something in paperback, or taking it out from a library (that's what they're there for. Use your library). Don't apologize to this author for buying books second hand, or getting them from bookcrossing or borrowing a friend's copy. What's important to me is that people read the books and enjoy them, and that, at some point in there, the book was bought by someone. And that people who like things, tell other people. The most important thing is that people read... "
— Neil Gaiman

oh, I am so bad..... I have two nf's I'm 1/2-3/4's of the way through, a ginormous fiction ring that arrived a coupe of days ago, and I started reading this instantly~~I just couldn't help myself!

And aside from turning green at some of the more exotic dishes (I'm primarily a veg-head, and while I know there are a variety of live-food delicacies in Asia, having some of them described in detail is just tmi!), I very much enjoying this look inside China.

Thank you, aetm!!!

oops, I neglected to return after finishing....

I very much enjoyed this visit to China (cruel foods aside), and the mystery as well :)
Some odd phrasing I just take to be cultural, and it helps set the scene for me. I pulled this so quickly because The Mao Case has mad it's way down Mt Tbr to the "soon" foothills, and since an earlier book popped into my box, well, it just made sense to read that first ;-D

Thank you again, aetm, for this awesome surprise! I'm now going to offer it to someone else in the International vbb~

This was chosen from the vbb quite awhile ago....my apologies! I was crazy busy, then sick, then....I spaced it out.... but I finally posted it to Canada today~~ ENJOY!

This book, which I chose from bookstogive's International Mystery VBB, arrived in the mail yesterday, along with a hilarious Christmas card and a cute bookmark! Thanks so much, Erishkigal. That package made my day.

In this novel, Inspector Chen attempts to track down a serial killer in Shanghai who is attacking young women and leaving them in identical red mandarin dresses. I found the dialogue awkward and some of the scenes overdone and unrealistic. However, I appreciated the insights into post-Cultural Revolution China and the workings of the Chinese police force.

Sent to yorkshire-lass, along with another book sent for a wishlist-tag game. I hope you enjoy reading this one!

Thank you for sending this my way! I've read a couple of book by this author and enjoyed them so I'm sure I'll like this when I get the chance to read it. It will have to wait its turn on the big mountain of books which is my TBR pile :-)