Death of a Red Heroine

I recently finished Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong.

I'm happy to find there are other great detectives out there besides Harry Bosch! I was beginning to think that once Michael Connelly stops writing I'll be SOL.

My new hero is Inspector Chen Cao, who somehow manages to be a upstanding citizen in China despite the fact that he is often at odds with the communist party he is belongs to...how does he do it?

I loved the book's description of China, especially all the food. For someone who knows little about China this book is a great introduction to the country, its politics, and recent history.

The mystery itself is fascinating because of all the roadblocks that the communist system puts in place that hinder the investigation, some deliberate and other just symptoms of the system. I also enjoyed reading about the victim's lifestyle as a communist party role model at a time when China is in flux, caught between the old communist government and the country's burgeoning economic progress.

I already ordered the next book in the series, can't wait to read it!