John Gapper

I enjoyed the main story of the novel, about a young agent, Mei, who has to go undercover to solve a murder and to root out corruption. I also liked all the pokes at a certain thinly veiled technology manufacturer, which is at the heart of the story. I was glad that Mei was able to save her superior. But other parts of this story were too far-fetched or formulaic. It was easy enough to suspend disbelief and enjoy the story for what it was. The writing is very good. But the flat characters and the of-course-we-saw-that-coming-even-though-nothing-is-ever-that-neat story elements were glaring lights in my side vision as I focused on the story. So, this makes an okay novel to read when you can't give it your full attention, but it's not the sort of book that is going to tempt you to stay up all night to read it.… (mais)

Recently I wrote a post on my book blog about the fact that thrillers don't thrill much anymore. Having said that , I really liked this book a great deal and will be reviewing it for my blog. The story is fast paced and author Gapper doesn't use filler and long, drawn-out action scenes to extend the page count.

Song Mei is a young agent in the Commission for Discipline Inspection, a Chinese agency that probes political corruption. She is called to the scene of a murder and is confronted with a corpse that looks just like her - her twin. A twin that she didn't know existed. Despite warnings and threats from her superiors, Song Mei continues her investiation. Her search leads her to factories plagued by worker suicides, luxury hotels catering to the "needs" of important businessmen, and to the United States.

This is an excellent debut novel. I look forward to more from this author.… (mais)