The Shanghai Murders

Irresistibly exotic, this dark thriller pits love and justice against sinister agendas in fast-changing Shanghai. Inspector Zhong Fong investigates the murder and dismemberment of American Richard Fallon. Within days, the Consul of Zaire meets a similar, brutal end. Fong wonders what Fallon, a New Orleans cop, could have in common with an African diplomat. The puzzle deepens when Fong's boss, Commissioner Hu, and the American Consul hint that something more than murder is afoot. As Fong investigates, he remains haunted by the death of his wife, actress Fu Tsong, four years ago and by the recent return to Shanghai of her lover, Canadian stage director Geoffrey Hyland. With help from Fallon's widow, Fong draws out the killer, but police bosses resist his solution. While the murders seem somewhat implausible, people and place, not plot, are the strengths in this debut by a Canadian acting instructor. Mystery conventions--e.g, the independent hero, the world-weary sidekick, cynical power brokers--ring true in this most unconventional setting, a city of 14,000,000 people making the tricky transition to capitalism. Rotenberg's Shanghai--where historic charm mingles with modern energy, Chinese actors learn Shakespeare, assassins are trained from childhood and cobras rise up in shop windows to startle unwary passersby--is a place full of effective, unexpected entertainment. (July)