This book was donated by the Nashua Public Library for distribution to the local Little Free Libraries. It's a continuation of the "Fu Manchu" series, authorized by the Rohmer estate and written by a longtime friend of Sax Rohmer. I've read a few of the original books, including The Mask of Fu Manchu; some I really enjoyed, others were more of a trial. This one seems to be somewhere in between, featuring many of the enjoyable elements, such as Fu Manchu's odd sense of honor, which lets him perform terrible deeds of cruelty in pursuit of his goal at protecting his culture from that of the West, but also causes him to spare the lives of those he finds "honorable foes". (Conveniently for the heroes Petrie and Smith, Fu Manchu counts them among the latter. And in this novel Petrie returns the favor, while commenting to himself that it would probably be better for the world if he did not spare the deadly doctor!)

Since this novel is set in between books from the original series, it's no surprise that the main characters all survive, but there are some entertaining plot twists throughout. On the other hand, it did feel a bit overblown at times, and I thought it could have been trimmed down. Still, a decent enhancement to the series.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the series and adaptations, with some entertaining tidbits.]

I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2019 Four Elements release challenge. ***