Chinese Whispers: The suspenseful edge-of-your-seat finale of the crime thriller saga (The China Thrillers Book 6)
£4.70
THE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY AND THE ENZO FILES
AWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021
‘Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.’ Undiscovered Scotland
‘No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.’ New York Journal of Books
The Beijing Ripper makes a personal vendetta against Detective Li Yan in the sixth and final episode in the China series
GRUESOME MURDERS
His 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 LETTERS
Just 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 WHISPERS
There’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, THE NIGHT GATE
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Additional information
| Publisher | riverrun (15 Nov. 2012) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 2287 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 361 pages |
by Amazon Customer
Another great read from Peter May
by Somerset Boy
I love Peter May’s books and have particularly enjoyed his six China thrillers featuring Beijing cop Li Yan and his partner pathogist Margaret Campbell as well as his six Enzo Macleod mysteries. All of them are beautifully written and evoke the atmosphere of the places the characters inhabit. Also there is almost always a twist in the tail before the story concludes.
The sixth and last book in the China series does not disappoint and progresses Li Yan’s relationship with Margaret. My only slight disappointment was how the book ended. Whilst we discovered eventually the identity of the Beijing Ripper once we arrived at this point the book concluded. Given that there were quite a number of loose ends still existing at this point (Li Yan’s suspension, his credit card blocking, Margaret being charged for not complying with the rules and regulations etc) which were unaddressed made for a feeling of being let down. With no further books available (at present) in which thesecould be addressed I think this was a missed opportunity. However this is a small criticism on what I have found to be an extremely enjoyable original series of stories with excellent characters and plots. Interestingly all of these books were originally published some years ago so it would be a welcome treat indeed should we be treated to a further development of the China series.
This book also contains a short novella after the conclusion of Chinese Whispers.
Highly recommendedu
by Elizabeth Harris
I have read and enjoyed the China series, and I thought that this last one, Chinese Whispers, was promising. The MERMER experiment was both intriguing and challenging, and worked well as the focus of the plot. But, really, that’s about the sum of the wholehearted praise. The most disappointing part (out of quite a few) was the ending, and I found it hard to believe that the book finished where it did, with Li and Margaret in mid-conversation, no resolution in sight for their personal predicament, no comforting reassurance that Li’s clever detective work would result in immediate restitution to his post. Then I realised that there is a novella due out at the end of the month, and a cynical voice suggested that leaving a six-book series unresolved at the end of the sixth book is a great way of making readers buy the follow-up novella.
Well, mine’s on order, and I shall look forward to it, but that doesn’t really excuse the weakness of the conclusion of Chinese Whispers. And I had other problems with this one; for example, the grafting-on of the Ripper plot and yet another slavering description of some of the pathetic, brutalised bodies of the original victims. And, for sure, we’ve had Ripper copycat murders many times before, although maybe not in Beijing; as another reviewer said, the change of setting doesn’t really add anything. Perhaps it’s because this is in essence a very old story with a new spin, but I didn’t find much in the way of drive in this plot, and found myself struggling to finish (especially as I’d worked out who had to be the killer quite early on). After six books I’m weary of the endless descriptions of Beijing’s buildings and architecture, smog and traffic, and I still can’t differentiate between Li’s police colleagues (although I love the pancake selling woman and her riddles). Margaret is okay, but I don’t find her very believable.
There’s no motive behind the killings. We know by the end who did them, we know something of his past, but surely, if a man changes into a killing machine in his teens, or whenever it was, it might be good to have at least a nod in the direction of a reason? The enduring fascination of the Ripper murders is that no-one really knows who carried them out, which leaves the door wide open for all sorts of speculation, including Patricia Cornwell’s daft theory about Walter Sickert. It’s this speculation that keeps us intrigued, and here, in Chinese Whispers, Peter May provided himself with the most wonderful platform for delving into the character of his killer, making up some extraordinary, life-changing, psyche-distorting events when he was a young man (we’re talking the Cultural Revolution here, for God’s sake, so there’s endless scope) and really going to town on it all. It’s a gift to a writer of his calibre, and what does he do? He dodges the challenge and walks away. What a shame.
I’m going to submit this now before I think about it any more and decide to change three stars to two.
by B E Mylonas
Enjoyed the series ,a bit long winded in description of some areas ,but got to know the characters and liked them
by geoff church
Having just finished the Runner i had to immediately read Chinese whispers, although still very difficult to understand many Chinese ways and characters Peter May has found a way to make it American but set in a different country? The first in the series was very different and difficult to understand and follow. At least we can understand the final edit. This is a great twist on the history of Jack the ripper . Read and enjoy.????
by Stuart Littlemore
Brilliantly descriptive writer on the last in the series and don’t want to get to the end.
by Katherine
So well written. Keeps you hooked. Makes you feel you are there. Love the characters
by Amy
Really liked this series, and this was such an enjoyable read