The story promised by Lin's premise was so interesting. A mash up that gave dancing girls, gangsters, mythical creatures, stolen body parts, ancestral ritual and surgeries, selfish wants and petty jealousies.

Set in a Shanghai that is modernizing and catering to men of the West with affluence who have unfettered access to both women and the drug trade, there are still home-grown gangs with their own interests.

Jingwen navigates her position as a dancer at a popular cabaret and the granddaughter of a powerful surgeon and is pulled into a thrilling mystery of the underground bone trade and uncovering the culprit stealing certain body parts of other cabaret girls.

Lin's tale mashes together science fiction, fantasy, and mystery/thriller to get readers interested in what is happening. But at times, it can make the story feel disconnected and bloated. The prose as well becomes heavy with unnecessary metaphor that exasperates.

There is a captivating story here, it just lacks precise execution.