Chen Cao, Chief Inspector of the Shanghai Police Bureau is asked to be a consultant in the death of Zhou Keng, Director of Shanghai Housing Development Committee, an important government official. In fact, Chen is merely asked to confirm that Zhou's death was a suicide. Apparently Zhou hanged himself in a posh hotel, while he was detained for corrupt practices by a government branch that deals with the law but has nothing to do with the police.

Zhou was apprehended after being exposed on the internet: he had a package of cigarettes worth more than his own large monthly salary, and therefore an almost certain proof of his dishonesty. The internet is just about the sole outlet for the citizens' frustration with the government, where they must remain invisible. At first glance, nothing points to a murder, but as clues and secrets slowly surface, Chen's perspective begins to shift. What at first seemed a routine investigation is made overwhelmingly tortuous by all the red tape involved: everything has to be conducted so that the Party never loses face, and that a stable and harmonious society is preserved, no matter what has to be hidden, ignored or pushed aside. And as Inspector Chen's investigation progresses, the truth becomes even more difficult to uncover.

ENIGMA OF CHINA is a wonderfully written, captivating mystery novel, but is so much more than that. While I had some knowledge of how elusive, ephemeral and murky the concept of freedom is in China, ENIGMA OF CHINA gives me an insight at how everything has to be done according to party rules and regulations, however they differ from one branch of the government to the next, how everything is connected and yet, how everyone hides things from the others, that corruption is part of everyday life, thus making police work thorny beyond our understanding. Qiu Ziaolong has penned an utterly fascinating book; as a mystery novel, it succeeds on all levels: a strong story and complex and compelling characters, as well as the importance played by the internet in the narrative.

What makes ENIGMA OF CHINA so fascinating is the myriad details on everyday life and on the strain it puts on pedestrian police work in modern China. I am very much looking forward to reading more about Inspector Chen. A most entertaining and enriching read!

Book Summary

Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department is in an unusual situation—a poet by training and inclination, he was assigned by the party to the Police Department after he graduated college, where he has continued to shine. Now he’s a rising cadre in the party, in line to take over the top politic position in the police department, while being one of most respected policeman in the department. Which is why he’s brought in by the Party to sign off on the investigation into the death of Zhou Keng.

Zhou Keng—a trusted princeling, son of a major party member—was head of the Shanghai Housing Development Committee when a number of his corrupt practices were exposed on the internet. Removed from his position and placed into extra-legal detention, Zhou apparently hanged himself while under guard. While the Party is anxious to have Zhou’s death declared a suicide, and for the renowned Chief Inspector Chen to sign off on that conclusion, the sequence of events don’t quite add up. Now Chen will have to decide what to do – investigate the death as a possible homicide and risk angering unseen powerful people, or seek the justice that his position requires him to strive for.

Qiu Xiaolong's Enigma of China is one of Publishers Weekly's Best Mystery/Thriller Books of 2013