Mr. Klingborg’s book has plenty of despair in store for its persevering hero. It also features an action-rich finale calculated to warm the heart of even the most vigilant avenger.
The conclusion is expertly rendered, and Klingborg does an exceptional job of illuminating Xi Jinping’s China to outside observers without being pedantic or heavy-handed.
Klingborg’s third Inspector Lu Fei mystery is also an immersion into the current Chinese sociopolitical situation, which informs every stage of this brutal crime spree. The large cast of shady characters that populates his tale of venality and governmental corruption is balanced by the righteous Lu Fei, a beacon of integrity.
