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The cook, the crook, and the real estate tycoon: a novel of contemporary China
By Howard Goldblatt, Sylvia Li-chun Lin, Liu Zhenyun. 2015
Liu Yuejin, a worksite cook and a thief, has his pack with money stolen. While searching for it, he discovers…
another bag which contains a USB card detailing corruption of high officials and putting him in danger. Translated from the original 2007 Chinese edition. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2015More Max Danger
By Robert J. Collins. 1988
Life with Max Danger is never dull-as all readers of the first, best-selling volume of his adventures as an expatriate…
in Tokyo will know.More Max Danger provides more entertainment and more pleasure. It will delight not only all of Max's old friends, but also all those who have only recently made his acquaintance.A Quiet Place
By Seicho Matsumoto, Louise Heal Kawai. 2016
"A master crime writer . . . Seicho Matsumoto's thrillers dissect Japanese society."-The New York Times Book Review"A stellar psychological…
thriller with a surprising and immensely satisfying resolution that flows naturally from the book's complex characterizations.Readers will agree that Matsumoto (1909-1992) deserves his reputation as Japan's Georges Simenon.-Publishers Weekly.While on a business trip to Kobe, Tsuneo Asai receives the news that his wife Eiko has died of a heart attack. Eiko had a heart condition so the news of her death wasn't totally unexpected. But the circumstances of her demise left Tsuneo, a softly-spoken government bureaucrat, perplexed. How did it come about that his wife-who was shy and withdrawn, and only left their house twice a week to go to haiku meetings-ended up dead in a small shop in a shady Tokyo neighborhood?When Tsuneo goes to apologize to the boutique owner for the trouble caused by his wife's death he discovers the villa Tachibana near by, a house known to be a meeting place for secret lovers. As he digs deeper into his wife's recent past, he must eventually conclude that she led a double life... Seicho Matsumoto was Japan's most successful thriller writer. His first detective novel, Points and Lines, sold over a million copies in Japan. Vessel of Sand, published in English as Inspector Imanishi Investigates in 1989, sold over four million copies and became a movie box-office hit.Twilight in a Knotted World
By Mr Sidhhartha Sarma. 2020
The soil of central India hides more than the bones of long-dead giants. The East India Company is master of…
almost the entire subcontinent, but real power is now with the Crown. Far from the great games of the empire, Captain William Henry Sleeman is content to administer Jabalpur district and dig for remnants of petrified bones with his charming and knowledgeable wife. Until he is tasked with investigating the activities of an obscure group of criminals who are said to strangle their victims. As Sleeman uncovers the many layers of the Phansigar problem, he finds a language unlike any other, and a set of beliefs, lore and superstitions seemingly drawn from the soul of the countryside. He finds orchards of corpses, and a hierarchy of stranglers, but also ordinary men driven to murder. He hears subtle murmurs of discontentment at the changes which have come to a land believed by some to be unchanging. He finds auguries of a conflict to come. And behind it all, the legend of a mysterious, beautiful man, whose capture might be the key to understanding the Phansigars. Sleeman&’s inquiries will make him confront the nature of his beloved adopted homeland and of the mighty people in Calcutta who he serves. Through the prism of caste, the consequent web of intricate social and cultural relationships, and the nature of travel in the hinterland, he will see the real face of India and come across its uncomfortable, bleak truths. But to unravel such truths is not easy…In his preface, the anonymous author of Courtesans and Opium describes his book as an act of penance for thirty…
years spent patronizing the brothels of Yangzhou. Written in the 1840s, his story is filled with vice and dark consequence, portraying the hazards of the city's seedy underbelly and warning others against the example of the Fool.Chinese literature's first true "city novel," Courtesans and Opium recounts the illustrious career of a debauched soul enveloped by enthralling pursuits and romantic illusions. While socially acceptable marriages were arranged and often loveless, brothels offered men accomplished courtesans who served as both enchanting companions and sensual lovers. These professional sirens dressed in the latest styles and dripped with gold, silver, and jewels. From an early age, they were taught to excel at various arts and graces, which transformed the brothel into a kind of club for men to meet, exchange gossip, and smoke opium at their leisure.The Fool's fable follows five sworn brothers and their respective relationships with Yangzhou courtesans, revealing in acute detail the lurid materialism of this dangerous world—its violence and corruption as well as its seductive but illusory promise. Never before translated into English, Courtesans and Opium offers a brilliant window into the decadence of nineteenth-century China.Murder at the Grand Raj Palace: Baby Ganesh Agency Book 4 (Baby Ganesh series)
By Vaseem Khan. 2018
In this enchanting Baby Ganesh Agency novel, Inspector Chopra and his elephant sidekick investigate a murder at Mumbai's grandest hotel.For…
a century Mumbai's iconic Grand Raj Palace Hotel has welcomed the world's elite. Anyone who is anyone stays at the Grand Raj. The last thing the venerable old hotel needs is a murder . . .So when the body of American billionaire Hollis Burbank is found, the pressure is on to label it a suicide. But then Chopra is called in . . . and finds a hotel full of people with a reason to want Burbank dead. Accompanied by his sidekick, baby elephant Ganesha, Chopra navigates his way through the palatial building, a journey that leads him steadily to a killer, and into the heart of darkness . . .PRAISE FOR THE SERIES'A most beguiling series' Financial Times'Utterly charming' Guardian'Colour and atmosphere flows out of every page' Daily ExpressAn Autumn Hunting
By Tom Callaghan. 2018
'Even better than Child 44. Akyl Borubaev is a terrific creation' Anthony Horowitz'Just keeps getting better . . . buy…
the whole series right away' Peter Robinson, No.1 bestselling author of Sleeping in the GroundNo sooner has Akyl Borubaev been reinstated as an Inspector in the Bishkek Murder Squad than he's suspended for alleged serious crimes against the state. After an attempted assassination of a prominent minister goes spectacularly wrong, Akyl is a fugitive from his former colleagues and involved with one of Kyrgyzstan's most dangerous criminals. On the run, caught up in a illegal scheme that can only end badly, it's time for Akyl to take a stand for everything he believes in.Half the World Away: a chilling evocation of a mother's worst nightmare
By Cath Staincliffe. 2015
'Stunning' - Ann CleevesEvery parent's worst gap year nightmare...After graduating, Lori Maddox heads off travelling and arrives in China where…
she finds work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester, her parents Jo and Tom follow her adventures on her blog. Suddenly communication stops. When the silence persists a frantic Jo and Tom report her missing. But it's impossible to find out anything from so far away, so they travel to Chengdu to search for their daughter. Landing in a totally unfamiliar country, with no knowledge of the customs or language, and receiving scant help from the local authorities, Jo and Tom are forced to turn detective. It's an unbearably difficult challenge and, as the days pass, the fear that Lori is lost for good grows ever larger...Praise for Cath Staincliffe:'Harrowing and humane. A real knockout' Ian Rankin'It's always exciting to see a writer get better and better and Cath Staincliffe is doing just that' Val McDermid'Remarkable depth ... The most grown-up writer in British crime fiction' TelegraphSelected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020Mumbai, murder and a baby elephant…
combine in a charming, joyful mystery for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Rachel Joyce. On the day he retires, Inspector Ashwin Chopra discovers that he has inherited an elephant: an unlikely gift that could not be more inconvenient. For Chopra has one last case to solve...But as his murder investigation leads him across Mumbai - from its richest mansions to its murky underworld - he quickly discovers that a baby elephant may be exactly what an honest man needs. So begins the start of a quite unexpected partnership, and an utterly delightful new series.THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR'A TENSE AND ATMOSPHERIC THRILLER WITH A HEART-STOPPING ENDING' TANGLED WEB'POWERFUL AND AUTHENTIC' GLASGOW HERALDThe…
Beijing Ripper makes a personal vendetta against Detective Li Yan in the sixth and final episode in the China seriesGRUESOME MURDERSHis victims are young, beautiful and coldly mutilated. He calls himself the Beijing Ripper. Li Yan, head of Beijing's serious crime squad, must stop him.FEARSOME LETTERSJust as pathologist Margaret Campbell finds an insight into the killer's sick signature, Li receives a letter from the killer, betraying his cruel intentions.CHINESE WHISPERSThere's no way Li can misinterpret the Ripper's motives: he wants to tear Li and Campbell's lives apart, and write the darkest chapter in Beijing's history.LOVED THE CHINA THRILLERS? Try book 1 of the Enzo novels, EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE.LOVE PETER MAY? Buy his new thriller, A SILENT DEATHThe Key to Midnight: A gripping thriller of heart-stopping suspense
By Dean Koontz. 1995
The past can be a very dangerous place when it is locked into a nightmare... The Key to Midnight is…
a page-turning thriller from Dean Koontz that delves into the darkest of dreams. Perfect for fans of Stephen King and Harlan Coben. 'Dean Koontz writes page-turners, middle-of-the-night-sneak-up-behind-you suspense thrillers. He touches our hearts and tingles our spines' - Washington Post Book WorldWho is Joanna Rand?Alex Hunter hasn't come to Japan to fall in love. But Joanna Rand is the most beautiful, exciting woman he has ever met.But Joanna is not who she thinks she is. Ten years before, and halfway across the world, a brutally bizarre experiment recreated her mind. A violation so hideous that her dreams are filled with terror and her memories are a lie.If they are ever to be free, Alex and Joanna have to reopen the dangerous door into the nightmare past. Somehow they have to find the key to midnight... What readers are saying about The Key to Midnight: 'This is a story of suspense, action and intrigue set to the backdrop of international espionage... Koontz delivers his usual blend of mystery and action that keeps those pages turning''This is an intriguing tale, a mystery and a romance but shot through with an underlying psychological horror and also a political undertone, too''As always, so, so readable, and so, so well written'The second in the series of the Dabble and Harris thrillers! Set in the mid-twentieth century, this adventure series is…
perfect for fans of action-packed, historical fiction.'A rollicking good read' IAN RANKINIndia, 1937. Intrepid reporter Sir Percival Harris is hunting tigers with his friend, Professor Ernest Drabble. Harris soon bags a man-eater - but later finds himself caught up in a hunt of a different kind...Harris is due to interview the Maharaja of Bikaner, a friend to the Raj, for his London newspaper - and he and Drabble soon find themselves accompanied by a local journalist, Miss Heinz. But is the lady all she seems? And the Maharaja himself is proving elusive...Meanwhile, the movement for Indian independence is becoming stronger, and Drabble and Harris witness some of the conflict first-hand. But even more drama comes on arrival at Bikaner when the friends find themselves confined to their quarters... and embroiled in an assassination plot!Just who is the enemy in the Maharaja's palace? What is the connection to a mysterious man Drabble meets in Delhi? And what secret plans do the British colonial officers have up their sleeves?Praise for Alec Marsh's Drabble and Harris thrillers...'An immensely readable treat!' ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH'Told with humour and flair, Enemy of the Raj is a highly enjoyable, riveting read'ABIR MUKHERJEE'A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable diversion'NEW STATESMAN on Enemy of the Raj 'Tremendous stuff! With the arrival of Alec Marsh's first Drabble and Harris thriller, John Buchan must be stirring uneasily in his grave'STANLEY JOHNSONThe second in the series of the Dabble and Harris thrillers! Set in the mid-twentieth century, this adventure series is…
perfect for fans of action-packed, historical fiction.'A rollicking good read' IAN RANKINIndia, 1937. Intrepid reporter Sir Percival Harris is hunting tigers with his friend, Professor Ernest Drabble. Harris soon bags a man-eater - but later finds himself caught up in a hunt of a different kind...Harris is due to interview the Maharaja of Bikaner, a friend to the Raj, for his London newspaper - and he and Drabble soon find themselves accompanied by a local journalist, Miss Heinz. But is the lady all she seems? And the Maharaja himself is proving elusive...Meanwhile, the movement for Indian independence is becoming stronger, and Drabble and Harris witness some of the conflict first-hand. But even more drama comes on arrival at Bikaner when the friends find themselves confined to their quarters... and embroiled in an assassination plot!Just who is the enemy in the Maharaja's palace? What is the connection to a mysterious man Drabble meets in Delhi? And what secret plans do the British colonial officers have up their sleeves?Praise for Alec Marsh's Drabble and Harris thrillers...'An immensely readable treat!' ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH'Told with humour and flair, Enemy of the Raj is a highly enjoyable, riveting read'ABIR MUKHERJEE'A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable diversion'NEW STATESMAN on Enemy of the Raj 'Tremendous stuff! With the arrival of Alec Marsh's first Drabble and Harris thriller, John Buchan must be stirring uneasily in his grave'STANLEY JOHNSONCall to Kill: The first in a brand new high-octane SAS series
By Conor Woodman, Billy Billingham. 2021
THE FIRST IN A BRAND NEW SERIES FROM SAS: WHO DARES WINS STAR.A country in turmoil. A rescue mission gone…
wrong. A hero unlike any other fighting to save a broken world. Matt 'Mace' Mason is deployed on a deniable SAS mission in war-torn Yemen, becoming embroiled in a hostage rescue that goes terribly wrong. Pulling at the strings of the local political scene is not only the local warlord who is destined to become Mace's nemesis, General Ruak Shahlai, but hardbitten American arms dealer Erica Atkins, who controls a whole international network to her advantage.As well as his own team, Mace has to work, initially unwillingly, with female CIA Agent (and Islamic scholar) Redford. Together they will need to prevent an attack that would spark a regional war and create the largest environmental disaster the world has ever seen.DON'T MISS THE FIRST IN THE NEW MATT MASON SERIES FROM AN AUTHOR WHO HAS BEEN THERE AND DONE IT ALL, BILLY BILLINGHAM. About the AuthorBilly Billingham spent 17 years in the SAS. He was responsible for planning and executing strategic operations and training at the highest level in locations including Iraq, Afghanistan, South America and Africa, and has led countless hostage rescues. He later became a bodyguard to A list celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Sir Michael Caine, and Tom Cruise. Since 2015, Billy has been one of the lead presenters on the popular Channel Four series SAS: Who Dares Wins.The Frangipani Tree Mystery (Crown Colony)
By Ovidia Yu. 2018
First in a delightfully charming crime series set in 1930s Singapore, introducing amateur sleuth Su Lin, a local girl stepping…
in as governess for the Acting Governor of Singapore.1936 in the Crown Colony of Singapore, and the British abdication crisis and rising Japanese threat seem very far away. When the Irish nanny looking after Acting Governor Palin's daughter dies suddenly - and in mysterious circumstances - mission school-educated local girl Su Lin - an aspiring journalist trying to escape an arranged marriage - is invited to take her place. But then another murder at the residence occurs and it seems very likely that a killer is stalking the corridors of Government House. It now takes all Su Lin's traditional skills and intelligence to help British-born Chief Inspector Thomas LeFroy solve the murders - and escape with her own life.'Simply glorious. Every nook and cranny of 1930s Singapore is brought richly to life, without ever getting in the way of a classic puzzle plot. But what's a setting without a jewel? Chen Su Lin is a true gem. Her slyly witty voice and her admirable, sometimes heartbreaking, practicality make her the most beguiling narrator heroine I've met in a long while.' Catriona McPherson'Charming and fascinating with great authentic feel. Ovidia Yu's teenage Chinese sleuth gives us an insight into a very different culture and time. This book is exactly why I love historical novels.' Rhys BowenThe Wrong Goodbye
By Toshihiko Yahagi. 2004
A classic slice of Japanese hard-boiled noir paying homage to the master of the genre: Raymond ChandlerThe Wrong Goodbye pits…
homicide detective Eiji Futamura against a shady Chinese business empire and U.S. military intelligence in the docklands of recession Japan. After the frozen corpse of immigrant barman Tran Binh Long washes up in midsummer near Yokosuka U.S. Navy Base, Futamura meets a strange customer from Tran's bar. Vietnam vet pilot Billy Lou Bonney talks Futamura into hauling three suitcases of "goods" to Yokota US Air Base late at night and flies off leaving a dead woman behind. Thereby implicated in a murder suspect's escape and relieved from active duty, Futamura takes on hack work for the beautiful concert violinist Aileen Hsu, a "boat people" orphan whose Japanese adoption mother has mysteriously gone missing. And now a phone call from a bestselling yakuza author, a one-time black marketeer in Saigon, hints at inside information on "former Vietcong mole" Tran and his "old sidekick" Billy Lou, both of whom crossed a triad tycoon who is buying up huge tracts of Mekong Delta marshland for a massive development scheme. As the loose strands flashback to Vietnam, the string of official lies and mysterious allegiances build into a dark picture of the U.S.-Japan postwar alliance. Translated from the Japanese by Alfred BirnbaumMumbai, murder and a baby elephant combine in a charming, joyful mystery for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Harold…
Fry. On the day he retires, Inspector Ashwin Chopra inherits two unexpected mysteries.The first is the case of a drowned boy, whose suspicious death no one seems to want solved.And the second is a baby elephant.As his search for clues takes him across the teeming city of Mumbai, from its grand high rises to its sprawling slums and deep into its murky underworld, Chopra begins to suspect that there may be a great deal more to both his last case and his new ward than he thought.And he soon learns that when the going gets tough, a determined elephant may be exactly what an honest man needs...(P)2015 Hodder & StoughtonMurder at the Grand Raj Palace: Baby Ganesh Agency Book 4 (Baby Ganesh series)
By Vaseem Khan. 2018
In the enchanting new Baby Ganesh Agency novel, Inspector Chopra and his elephant sidekick go undercover to investigate a murder…
at Mumbai's grandest hotel.For a century the iconic Grand Raj Palace Hotel has welcomed the world's elite. From film stars to foreign dignitaries, anyone who is anyone stays at the Grand Raj. The last thing the venerable old hotel needs is a murder...When American billionaire Hollis Burbank is found dead - the day after buying India's most expensive painting - the authorities are keen to label it a suicide. But the man in charge of the investigation is not so sure. Chopra is called in - and discovers a hotel full of people with a reason to want Burbank dead.Accompanied by his sidekick, baby elephant Ganesha, Chopra navigates his way through the palatial building, a journey that leads him steadily to a killer, and into the heart of darkness . . .(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton LimitedThe Bangalore Detectives Club (The Bangalore Detectives Club Series)
By Harini Nagendra. 2022
'A gorgeous debut mystery with a charming and fearless sleuth . . . spellbinding' SUJATA MASSEY'Told with real warmth and…
wit. . . A perfect read for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Vaseem Khan' - ABIR MUKHERJEE'A cosy mystery that warmly illuminates a time and place not often examined in fiction' VASEEM KHAN'A beautifully painted picture of a woman's life in 1920s India' M W CRAVEN'A delight' CATRIONA MCPHERSON'The classic whodunnit with the added appeal of a female sleuth in Colonial India. . . fascinating' RHYS BOWENMurder and mayhem . . . monsoon season is coming._____________________________Solving crimes isn't easy.Add a jealous mother-in-law and having to wear a flowing sari into the mix, and you've got a problem.When clever, headstrong Kaveri moves to Bangalore to marry doctor Ramu, she's resigned herself to a quiet life.But that all changes the night of the party at the Century Club, where she escapes to the garden for some peace - and instead spots an uninvited guest in the shadows. Half an hour later, the party turns into a murder scene. When a vulnerable woman is connected to the crime, Kaveri becomes determined to save her and launches a private investigation to find the killer, tracing his steps from an illustrious brothel to an Englishman's mansion. She soon finds that sleuthing in a sari isn't as hard as it seems when you have a talent for maths, a head for logic and a doctor for a husband.And she's going to need them all as the case leads her deeper into a hotbed of danger, sedition and intrigue in Bangalore's darkest alleyways . . .BOOK ONE IN THE BANGALORE DETECTIVES CLUB SERIES*INCLUDES A BONUS CHAPTER OF DELICIOUS INDIAN RECIPES* ___________If you love murder mystery series like Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Vaseem Khan's Baby Ganesh Agency and Ovidia Yu's Crown Colony series, you won't want to miss THE BANGALORE DETECTIVES CLUB, Book One in a brand new series from Harini Nagendra'Told with real warmth and wit. . . Harini Nagendra has created an intricate and fiendish mystery with a wonderful duo of amateur sleuths Kaveri and Ramu at its heart, and capturing the atmosphere and intensity of Bangalore in the roaring twenties. I can't wait for the next instalment. A perfect read for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Vaseem Khan' - ABIR MUKHERJEE'Riveting. [Nagendra's] use of colonial history is thoroughly fascinating, with devastating depictions of the airy condescension of the British. A fine start to a promising series' BOOKLIST Starred Review'Harini Nagendra takes us to a wonderfully unfamiliar world in this delightful debut mystery. . .I couldn't put it down' VICTORIA THOMPSON, USA Today bestselling author of Murder on Madison Square'Absolutely charming . . . this one is a winner!' CONNIE BERRY, USA Today best-selling and Agatha-nominated author of The Kate Hamilton Mysteries.'This lush mystery will transport you to heady 1920s Bangalore, where new bride Kaveri stumbles into sleuthing-while dragging her doctor-husband into the fray. Mouth-watering fashion and food set against simmering colonial intrigue in this delicious whodunit can be devoured in one sitting.' SUMI HAHN author of The Mermaid from Jeju'I loved The Bangalore Detectives Club . . . Kaveri especially is charming' Ovidia Yu, author of The Cannonball Tree MysteryThe enchanting new Baby Ganesh Agency novel sees Inspector Chopra and his elephant sidekick investigating the dark side of Bollywood.Mumbai…
thrives on extravagant spectacles and larger-than-life characters.But even in the city of dreams, there is no guarantee of a happy ending. Rising star and incorrigible playboy Vikram Verma has disappeared, leaving his latest film in jeopardy. Hired by Verma's formidable mother to find him, Inspector Chopra and his sidekick, baby elephant Ganesha, embark on a journey deep into the world's most flamboyant movie industry. As they uncover feuding stars, failed investments and death threats, it seems that many people have a motive for wanting Verma out of the picture. And yet, as Chopra has long suspected, in Bollywood the truth is often stranger than fiction...(P)2017 Hodder & Stoughton Limited