Post by Brad Nelson on Jan 1, 2022 14:53:50 GMT -8
Thief of Souls (Inspector Lu Fei Series, Book 1)
I'm 40% into this and it's good enough to know that I'll finish.
The book is set in present-day China, in a rural village in the Heilongjiang province in the far northeast of China. The major city of Harbin in this province comes into play as well.
This would appear to be a brutally-honest portrayal (and history) of China. This is set, of course, after the horrors of the Cultural Rev0lution (and other catastrophic events). They are mentioned as a way of understanding where we are now. And where we are now seems painted in a realistic and even-handed fashion. Not having lived in China, this is but an educated guess.
Inspector Lu is the main character. He is a man of integrity (but often grating temperament) who states that his "angle" (and all officials in China apparently have angles they are playing other than just doing their duty) is to see justice done for the victims of crime. And I believe him. The reason he has been exiled to a small rural town in Heilongjiang province is because he couldn't countenance the corruption of his immediate superior when he was on the police force in Harbin.
A grisly murder happens in Inspector Lu's jurisdiction. It is protocol to call in the Criminal Investigation Bureau (kinda-sorta the equivalent of the FBI). A small town police force such as Lu's is not equipped to handle advanced forensic work. He secures the crime scene and eventually hands off to the hot-shot, fast rising cop, Superintendent Song, deputy director of the CIB (provincial office, I assume).
Song is hyper-ambitious but probably less corrupt than most. He and Lu make an unlikely team (at least in the early going) as they join forces on the investigation. We soon learn that it isn't perhaps just Lu's sterling sense of justice and integrity that gets him in trouble with his superiors. He's an obnoxious, often acerbic, inspector who doesn't tend to engender love. He also has a dry, even dark, sense of humor which is hilarious at times.
I'll write more as I progress in the book.
I'm 40% into this and it's good enough to know that I'll finish.
The book is set in present-day China, in a rural village in the Heilongjiang province in the far northeast of China. The major city of Harbin in this province comes into play as well.
This would appear to be a brutally-honest portrayal (and history) of China. This is set, of course, after the horrors of the Cultural Rev0lution (and other catastrophic events). They are mentioned as a way of understanding where we are now. And where we are now seems painted in a realistic and even-handed fashion. Not having lived in China, this is but an educated guess.
Inspector Lu is the main character. He is a man of integrity (but often grating temperament) who states that his "angle" (and all officials in China apparently have angles they are playing other than just doing their duty) is to see justice done for the victims of crime. And I believe him. The reason he has been exiled to a small rural town in Heilongjiang province is because he couldn't countenance the corruption of his immediate superior when he was on the police force in Harbin.
A grisly murder happens in Inspector Lu's jurisdiction. It is protocol to call in the Criminal Investigation Bureau (kinda-sorta the equivalent of the FBI). A small town police force such as Lu's is not equipped to handle advanced forensic work. He secures the crime scene and eventually hands off to the hot-shot, fast rising cop, Superintendent Song, deputy director of the CIB (provincial office, I assume).
Song is hyper-ambitious but probably less corrupt than most. He and Lu make an unlikely team (at least in the early going) as they join forces on the investigation. We soon learn that it isn't perhaps just Lu's sterling sense of justice and integrity that gets him in trouble with his superiors. He's an obnoxious, often acerbic, inspector who doesn't tend to engender love. He also has a dry, even dark, sense of humor which is hilarious at times.
I'll write more as I progress in the book.