Cuando aún no se ha repuesto de la noticia de que su antigua novia, Ling, se ha casado, el inspector jefe Chen Cao recibe la llamada de un ministro que le insta a encargarse, sin demora y personalmente, de una delicada investigación relacionada con el presidente Mao. Las autoridades temen que Jiao, la nieta de una actriz que mantuvo una «relación especial» con Mao y fue perseguida durante la Revolución Cultural, haya heredado algún documento que, de salir a la luz, empañe la figura de Mao, «intocable» aun décadas después de su fallecimiento. Jiao acaba de dejar un empleo mal pagado como recepcionista, se ha mudado a una lujosa vivienda y se ha integrado en un nuevo círculo de amistades que sólo anhela revivir nostálgicamente las costumbres y modas de la dorada Shanghai precomunista. Chen deberá infiltrase en el círculo, recuperar el comprometedor material –si existe– y evitar el escándalo, en un caso trepidante en el que se entrecruzan la fuerza de los mitos, la corrupción de la élite política y la historia reciente de China.

Another great book in the Inspector Chen series, this installment is steeped in the recent history of Chinese politics as well as the culture, and it's one of the more powerful books I've read in the series. Perhaps more than any other, it blends in cultural elements of poetry and food beautifully so that there are no seams showing, whereas poetry has felt somewhat more forced in a few of the books, much as I always enjoy it. This brought me back to the reasons I fell in love with this series, and the gorgeous nuance that Xiaolong brings to each of his works. I do wish the ending had been allowed to breathe just a bit more, as it felt somewhat rushed for my taste, but otherwise, I loved this book and I look forward to the next in the series. ( )

An interesting, easy read. I enjoyed reading about Shanghai and the workings of the internal security bureau. A good mystery that was not completely solved by eccenntric policeman , Inspector Chen. ( )

It was ok, a bit more cosy than I normally like, but pleasant all the same ( )

The weakest of all Inspector Chen books so far. This is the newest one. Centered around Mao and the huge shadow the old president still cast upon China, Chen is given a sensitive case to find out what the grand daughter of an ex-mistress of Mao might have on the dead president. The plot is thin, the resolution is revealed in a hurry and comes from left field.
We learn nothing new about the Inspector, his crew Yu, Yu's wife and Yu's father are only ghosts characters in this tale of madness and shadows. ( )