8. "Death of a Red Heroine" by Qiu Xiaolong

Qiu Xiaolong's debut mystery takes place in 1990, a year after the Tiananmen Square events and at a time when China was transitioning to a free-market economy. Death of a Red Heroine highlights tensions between the old guard of the Party, those who lost opportunities during Mao's Cultural Revolution, and those poised to benefit from the changes in China.

Chief Inspector Chen Cao has risen rapidly through the ranks of the Shanghai police department due to political connections. Yet he's also a man of integrity, dedicated to serving his people and doing his job to the best of his ability. The son of a professor, Chen wanted to pursue a PhD in literature, but the Communist regime had other plans for him. Finding professional success in a career he didn't choose, he struggles to balance his ongoing love of literature--he writes poetry and translates mysteries into Chinese--with his responsibilities as a police officer and Party member.

His first major case as a chief inspector, however, may prove to be his last. Chen and his assistant, the initially prickly but good-hearted Yu, investigate the body of a naked woman found in a canal. When they learn the woman's identity, the case rapidly assumes an unwelcome political dimension: She was Guan Hongying, known nationally as an ideal worker. Yet no one, not her colleagues or her neighbors, seemed to have a personal connection with her; apparently the role of national model worker subsumed her whole identity. Chen and Yu persist in their investigation, but when they find a suspect, the case becomes even more political; they learn that the proper, reserved Guan was having a secret affair with the son of a high Party official.

This novel isn't a whodunit, because the only suspect emerges quite early. Instead, it's a sometimes labyrinthine procedural fraught with backstabbing, political agendas, behind-the-scenes maneuverings, and complex interplays of power. Qiu, a professor of Chinese literature in the United States, intersperses classical Chinese poetry and references throughout the novel, always with explanations that aren't condescending but that offer valuable context and background for Western readers not familiar with Chinese traditions. (I say this as a Western reader not familiar with Chinese traditions; I appreciated the many poetic references, as well as the insights into Chinese culture, aesthetics, and values.)

Death of a Red Heroine does have its flaws; it becomes quite bogged down toward the end. Notwithstanding this, however, I thoroughly enjoyed it, not only for the cultural aspects but because I found myself missing the characters after I finished--always the mark of an excellent book. I look forward to reading more about Chen and Yu in other entries in this series.