This...was one of the best books I've read recently.

I liked this book, but not nearly as much as the books set in Scotland or the Enzo series. I had a hard time getting going with this novel. It seemed to take a long time to get to anything interesting. I appreciated the descriptions of Beijing, but found Margaret unsympathetic. This wouldn’t be my first recommendation for a Peter May book.

I just finished the Lewis trilogy, gave it 5 stars and had high expectations for this book. My first impressions of this book are so influenced by the very unlikable main character I couldn't get through the first few chapters. I cannot get past the very unlikely scenario of an eminent university professor not reading a package of material before arriving to a new country and a new job. Not only is this character unprepared but simple and very obvious etiquette and politeness have stereotyped this American character even more than the the many stereotyping going on for Chinese citizens. I'm out!

More relationship-building than actual mystery, but I enjoyed May’s writing style and all of the details about Beijing. In a period where I can’t travel due to the pandemic, this book took me out of my little Ohio life and helped me have a vacation from the daily grind here in the American Midwest.

Tak tuhle audioknihu jsem si moc neužil. Z hlediska zpracování si nemůžu stěžovat. V četbě se střídají Martin Myšička a Jana Plodková podle toho kdo z hlavních hrdinů zrovna vystupuju na scéně. Jediná maličkost, která mí trochu vadila byly rozdíly v hlasech stejných postav čtených mužským nebo ženským hlasem. Ale to byla spíše maličkost, čistě z hlediska kvality četby by si kniha zasloužila 4 hvězdy.

Bohužel co se týka vlastního příběhu je to o dost horší. Hlavní detektivní zápletka je nezajímavá a mírně abstraktivní. Hrdinové se chovají jako puberťáci a jejich neustálé kočkování je velmi otravné. Jedinou vábničkou je rozdilné čínské prostředí, které ale rozhodně není plně využité. Prostě za mě – ruce dál.

This book is a great mystery and I enjoyed the cultural insight into China. Really interesting!

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Firemaker is a re-release of the first book in the China Thrillers series by Peter May. Reformatted and published by Quercus US publishing, it's a hefty 560 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.

This book started very slowly for me. I have been a fan of Peter May's other series for years, so I was really looking forward to this one. There seemed to be an awful lot of 'telling' instead of 'showing'. The characters spend a distressing amount of time talking about feng shui and honor and losing face, etc. After establishing the setting, the plot does pick up, but that first 100 or so pages were nearly a deal breaker for me, which shocked me. It did get a lot better and I really did wind up devouring the last 80% of the book. Peter May is a deft and very gifted writer.

I also had some trouble working up any attachment for the characters. They're introduced as professional colleagues and everyone spends the majority of their time antagonizing and belittling one another. They're all pretty unpleasant (except for Li Yan's uncle, Yifu. He's such a cool character and really comes alive in the book).

Despite the slow start and sarcastic characters, there were many good points. The background research is meticulous and accurate. The setting really comes alive.
I'm a bioengineer working in a histopathology lab and I was impressed that the author spent the time to provide good background (a little dated now, of course, the book was originally published almost 20 years ago). The plot is a bit over the top, but it is a police procedural thriller.

Three and a half stars, rounded up. Very well written.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.