A Drop of Chinese Blood: A Mystery (Inspector O Novels Book 5)

Like Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy, A Drop of Chinese Blood presents an unfamiliar world where the rules are an enigma James Church's Inspector O novels have been hailed as "crackling good" ( The Washington Post ) and "tremendously clever" ( Tampa Tribune ), while Church himself has been embraced by critics as "the equal of le Carré" ( Publishers Weekly , starred). Now Church--a former Western intelligence officer who pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of North Korea in a way that no one else can--comes roaring back with an unputdownable new series featuring Inspector O's nephew, Bing, the director of state security in a region in northeast China bordering North Korea. When clues point to a connection between a beautiful woman's disappearance and Bing's sensitive assignment to bring an agent across the North Korean border, O reluctantly helps him navigate an increasingly complex and deadly maze. James Church has crafted a...

James Church’s Inspector O novels have been hailed as “crackling good" (The Washington Post) and “tremendously clever” (Tampa Tribune), while Church himself has been embraced by critics as “the equal of le Carré” (Publishers Weekly, starred).  Now Church—a former Western intelligence officer who pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of North Korea in a way that no one else can—comes roaring back with a new novel introducing Inspector O’s nephew, Major Bing, the long-suffering chief of the Chinese Ministry of State Security operations on the border with North Korea.

 

The last place Bing expected to find the stunningly beautiful Madame Fang—a woman Headquarters wants closely watched—was on his front doorstep.  Then, as suddenly as she shows up, Madame Fang mysteriously disappears across the river into North Korea, leaving in her wake both consternation and a highly sensitive assignment for Bing to bring back from the North a long missing Chinese security official.  Concerned for his nephew’s safety, O reluctantly helps him navigate an increasingly complex and deadly maze, one that leads down the twisted byways of O’s homeland. In the tradition of Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy, and the Inspector Arkady Renko novels, A Drop of Chinese Blood presents an unfamiliar world, a perplexing universe where the rules are an enigma to the reader and even, sometimes, to Inspector O.  Once again, James Church has crafted a story with beautifully spare prose and layered descriptions of a country and a people he knows by heart.

 

James Church's Inspector O novels have been hailed as "crackling good" (The Washington Post) and "tremendously clever" (Tampa Tribune), while Church himself has been embraced by critics as "the equal of le Carré" (Publishers Weekly, starred). Now Church—a former Western intelligence officer who pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of North Korea in a way that no one else can—comes roaring back with a new novel introducing Inspector O's nephew, Major Bing, the long-suffering chief of the Chinese Ministry of State Security operations on the border with North Korea.

The last place Bing expected to find the stunningly beautiful Madame Fang—a woman Headquarters wants closely watched—was on his front doorstep. Then, as suddenly as she shows up, Madame Fang mysteriously disappears across the river into North Korea, leaving in her wake both consternation and a highly sensitive assignment for Bing to bring back from the North a long missing Chinese security official. Concerned for his nephew's safety, O reluctantly helps him navigate an increasingly complex and deadly maze, one that leads down the twisted byways of O's homeland. In the tradition of Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy, and the Inspector Arkady Renko novels, A Drop of Chinese Blood presents an unfamiliar world, a perplexing universe where the rules are an enigma to the reader and even, sometimes, to Inspector O. Once again, James Church has crafted a story with beautifully spare prose and layered descriptions of a country and a people he knows by heart.

James Church, a former Western intelligence officer who pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of North Korea in a way that no one else can, comes roaring back with a new novel introducing Major Bing, the nephew of Inspector O and the long-suffering chief of the Chinese Ministry of State Security operations on the border with North Korea. Bing is faced with a highly sensitive assignment to bring back from the North a long missing Chinese security official. Inspector O reluctantly helps him navigate an increasingly complex and deadly maze, one that leads down the twisted byways of his homeland. When clues link a beautiful woman's disappearance to a sensitive mission to deliver an agent across the North Korean border, Bing, a director of state security in a volatile region of China, receives reluctant help from his uncle, Inspector O, to navigate an increasingly complex investigation