Chinese Whispers

June 29, 2009
May's fine sixth entry in his contemporary China series (The Firemaker
, etc.) offers some fresh variations on the catch-the-serial-killer within an autocratic society plot. A fiend is copying Jack the Ripper's m.o. almost exactly—savagely butchering prostitutes, sending body parts in the mail and boasting of his atrocities in letters. The authorities' efforts to keep the pattern from the public are shattered when Lynn Pan, a Chinese-American, falls victim to the Beijing Ripper. Pan had just shown a new law enforcement tool to Beijing CID section chief Li Yan and his superiors, a brain scan that would make traditional lie detectors obsolete. Li suspects Pan discovered something during the demonstration that led to her murder. As Li pursues that theory, an unknown enemy in a position of power threatens his career and his family. May nicely handles the business of using mental fingerprints to identify the criminal.

July 1, 2009
A Jack the Ripper wannabe stalks Beijing.

Li Yan, head of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Beijing Municipal Police, is appalled when four prostitutes are murdered in a manner exactly replicating that of the Ripper 120 years ago. The mastermind even sends him precisely worded taunts indicating his next venture. Then Lynn Pann, the professor running a supposedly foolproof lie-detection technique called the Mermer program, is murdered in a manner indicating even more similarities to the Ripper's work. Is a copycat killer on the loose, or is the perp one of the volunteer subjects Pann examined with Mermer? Further complicating matters, Li's questioning of several subjects, all higher-ups in the Beijing political hierarchy, has explosive results. His American lover Margaret's attempt to renew her visa is denied. Their son is abducted. Li's sister is jailed on charges of cocaine trafficking. Li himself is ousted from his position in the Municipal Police. Equally troubling, a polygraph expert trying to decipher Pann's notes takes a header out his apartment window. Working unofficially, Li concentrates on inconsistencies revealed by Mermer in order to zero in on the most likely suspects. Margaret will be seriously endangered before a final knife thrust ends the search.

The repeat tour of the Ripper's dissections is just plain grisly. But the interesting locale and May's ongoing study of the difficulties in conducting Chinese-American romances (The Runner, 2003, etc.) are likely to interest a broader range of readers.

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Starred review from September 1, 2009
Young women working the streets of Beijing are being brutally murdered, and Li Yan, the head of Beijing's serious crime squad, must stop the killer. When the next victim is an American, the U.S. Embassy demands that the autopsy be done by an American pathologist, and Margaret Campbell, who is living with Li Yan and their baby daughter, is drawn back into her work. Unfortunately, she also attracts the attention of the Beijing Ripper, who is always two steps ahead of Li Yan's team. VERDICT Employing a tightly woven plot and detailing interpersonal relationships that reveal more of his protagonists' background, May, the only Western member of the Chinese Crime Writers' Association, has outdone himself in this sixth entry (after "Snakehead") in his China series. This is sure to please readers who like watching their heroes face life-threatening situations in far-off locales. Recommended also for fans of Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen series. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 6/1/09.]

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2009
Li Yan, head of Beijings serious-crime squad, is back in his sixth investigation, chasing after a serial killer targeting young working girls. When a visiting Chinese American lie-detector expert is the next victim, the pressure on Li to solve the case intensifies. Margaret Campbell, American pathologist, Lis partner, and the mother of his child, reveals crucial evidence, which puts her and her son at risk of deportation, even as Li finds himself a target of politically minded superiors. Short sections from the killers point of view alternate with Lis investigation, heightening the tension and propelling the reader through the fast-paced plot. Laden with the atmosphere of modern Beijing, the story uses landscape as well as character to enhance the action and build mood. This is a strong entry in an excellent series and should be suggested to readers who like either police thrillers or international mysteries, such as Colin Cotterills Laotian-set Dr. Siri novels (The Merry Misogynist, 2009).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)