Bestseller emigranta z komunistické Číny, v němž se mísí erotika, politika a napětí s úryvky ze staré čínské poezie, podává autentické svědectví o měnící se tváři asijské velmoci. Autor se inspiroval klasiky britského detektivního žánru a vytvořil originální postavu kriminálního inspektora Čchena, zapáleného idealisty, básníka, přítele žen, milovníka dobrého jídla a v neposlední řadě oddaného straníka. Po objevení mrtvoly mladé ženy Kuan, vzorné národní pracovnice, začíná Čchen rozplétat předivo intrik, maskovaných jako zájem strany, ale ve svém důsledku jen směřujících k získání absolutní moci. Před čtenářem defiluje na pozadí Šanghaje, velkoměsta plného protikladů, řada postav inspirovaných soudobou čínskou realitou - ať už je to úspěšná novinářka ve stranických novinách, rafinovaný policista na odpočinku či zvrhlý „buržoazně dekadentní“ syn prominentních funkcionářů. Příběh plný nečekaných zvratů ústí v překvapivé vyvrcholení a s (ne)příjemným mrazením připomíná českému čtenáři doby, které jsou pro něj naštěstí už jen minulostí.
Případy inspektora Chena Série
Sledujte osudy policejního inspektora v pulzující Šanghaji, kde se starodávné tradice střetávají s moderním životem. Každý případ přináší složité hádanky zasazené do bohaté kulturní krajiny Číny. Tento detektivní seriál vás ponoří do fascinujícího světa zločinu, kultury a lidské povahy, kde intelekt a empatie odhalují pravdu.
Doporučené pořadí čtení
Rudý démon
- 300 stránek
- 11 hodin čtení
Další román ze série případů šanghajské policie, v němž šéfinspektor Chen na žádost nejvyšších komunistických papalášů vyšetřuje velmi delikátní zločin. Popis vyšetřování doplňují poznámky o životě a politické situaci v Číně. Za toto propojení i své mistrné vypravěčské umění získal autor mnoho cen a uznání po celém světě. Největší filmová hvězda čínského filmu třicátých let Šang Jün-kuan tančila s velkým Maem a její dcera Čchien a vnučka Ťiao kvůli tomu byly pronásledovány. Po vydání knihy o soukromém životě Maa Oblak a déšť v Šanghaji je vrchní inspektor Čchen pověřen tím, aby zjistil, zda Šang své vnučce Ťiao nezanechala něco důvěrného o Maovi, něco natolik intimního, co by mohlo ohrozit jeho pověst, a nesmí se to proto dostat na veřejnost.
An Inspector Chen Investigation - 3: When Red Is Black
- 310 stránek
- 11 hodin čtení
Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau is taking a vacation, in part because he is annoyed at his boss, Party Secretary Li, but also because he has been made an offer he can’t refuse by Gu, a triad-connected businessman. For what seems to be a fortune—with no apparent strings attached— he is to translate a business proposal for the New World, a complex of shops and restaurants to be built in Central Shanghai, evoking nostalgia for the “glitter and glamour” of the 1930s. It is up to Detective Yu, Chen’s partner, to take charge of a new case. Yin, a novelist, has been murdered in her room. At first it seems that only a neighbor could have committed the crime, but when one confesses, Yu cannot believe that he is really the killer. As Yu looks further into Yin’s life, ample motives begin to surface, even on the part of Internal Security. But it is only when Inspector Chen steps back into the investigation that the culprit is apprehended. And then Chen discovers how Gu has played him and how he, in turn, can play the new capitalist system.
A Case of Two Cities
- 367 stránek
- 13 hodin čtení
After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the aging Dr Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil lanes of London, they are all drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror and soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.
Red Mandarin Dress
- 320 stránek
- 12 hodin čtení
Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department is often put in charge of politically sensitive cases. Having recently ruffled more than a few official feathers, when he is asked to look into a sensitive corruption case he takes immediate action - he goes on leave from work. But while on vacation, the body of a murdered young woman is found in a highly trafficked area and the only notable aspect is that she was redressed in a red mandarin dress. When a second body appears, this time in the People's Park, also in precisely the same kind of red mandarin dress, the newspapers start screaming that Shanghai is being stalked by its first sexual serial killer. With the Party anxious to resolve the murders quickly, Chen finds himself in the midst of his most potentially dangerous and sensitive case to date.
Inspector Chen - 6: The Mao Case
- 400 stránek
- 14 hodin čtení
Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department heads the Special Case group, often handling politically sensitive investigations due to his rising status in the party. A poet at heart, he takes his role seriously and resists compromising his principles for political gain. However, pressure mounts when the new Minister of Public Security assigns him a 'special assignment' related to an ongoing Internal Security investigation. The party is concerned about two recent books that cast Mao in a negative light, particularly regarding Jiao, the granddaughter of a woman suspected to be one of Mao's mistresses. Jiao has quit her job, moved into a luxury apartment, and integrated into a social circle that echoes pre-Communist Shanghai. The party fears she may possess an artifact linked to Mao that could cause embarrassment if revealed. Despite the lack of evidence for such material, Chen is tasked with infiltrating her circle to uncover the truth and retrieve any potentially damaging items discreetly. Time is of the essence, as failure to resolve this 'Mao case' within the given deadline could lead the party to resort to more severe measures.
Don´t Cry, Tai Lake
- 262 stránek
- 10 hodin čtení
"Dark, gorgeous...feels authentically Chinese and it works like a charm." --Washington Post Book World on A Case of Two Cities Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department is offered a bit of luxury by friends and supporters within the Party - a week's vacation at a luxurious resort near Lake Tai, a week where he can relax, and recover, undisturbed by outside demands or disruptions. Unfortunately, the once beautiful Lake Tai, renowned for its clear waters, is now covered by fetid algae, its waters polluted by toxic runoff from local manufacturing plants. Then the director of one of the manufacturing plants responsible for the pollution is murdered and the leader of the local ecological group is the primary suspect of the local police. Now Inspector Chen must tread carefully if he is to uncover the truth behind the brutal murder and find a measure of justice for both the victim and the accused.
Chief Inspector Chen Cao never had a choice about his career. A poet by training, he was assigned to the Shanghai Police Department after college. To his own surprise, he became an excellent detective, and now he's in line to take over the top political position in the department. Which is why the Party has chosen him for the investigation into the death of Zhou Keng. Zhou Keng was running the Shanghai Housing Development Committee when a number of his corrupt practices were exposed. Removed from his position and placed into detention, he apparently hanged himself while under guard. The Party is anxious to have Zhou's death declared a suicide, but the sequence of events doesn't quite add up. Now Chen will have to decide what to do - follow the party line, or seek the justice his position requires and risk angering powerful people...
Shanghai Redemption
- 336 stránek
- 12 hodin čtení
Now a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series. 'The system has no place for a cop who puts justice above the interests of the Party. It's a miracle that I survived as long as I did.' For years, Chen Cao managed to balance the interests of the Communist Party and the demands made by his job. He was considered a rising star until, after one too many controversial cases that embarrassed powerful men, he found himself neutralised. Under the guise of a promotion, he's been stripped of his title and his influence, discredited and isolated. Soon it becomes clear that his enemies still aren't satisfied, and that someone is attempting to have him killed - quietly. Chen has been charged with the investigation into a 'Red Prince' - a high Party figure who embodies the ruthless ambition, greed and corruption that is on the rise in China. But with no power, few allies, and his own reputation and life on the line, he knows he is facing the most dangerous case of his career.
Hold Your Breath, China
- 336 stránek
- 12 hodin čtení
Chief Inspector Chen is assigned to investigate a group of environmental activists trying to tackle the pollution issues in China. The case is supposed to be simple, but it is complicated by Chen having history with the leader of the group. Meanwhile Detective Yu is on the trail of a serial murderer.
