Fourth Sacrifice [Mass Market Paperback]

Peter May (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2000

Li Yan and Margaret Campbell, Chinese policeman and Chicago pathologist heroes of THE FIREMAKER, meet again when Margaret's unique skills are required once more to investigate a series of ritual executions in Beijing. The first victims are drugged, tied, labelled with a single word and a single number - then expertly beheaded. But the fourth victim was an American diplomat. Compelled to work with one another, Margaret Campbell and Li Yan again feel the overwhelming attraction that nearly destroyed them both when they first met. But now Margaret has another admirer - a brilliant, charismatic American TV archaeologist. And Li has a family tragedy that demands all his heart. Slowly they tease out the killer's secrets. But the closer they come to the truth behind the executions, the more dangerously close they come to a killer who is prepared to sacrifice anyone to conceal it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

May's well-plotted follow-up to his first mystery featuring Beijing Deputy Section Chief Li Yan and American forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell (after 2005's The Firemaker) amplifies his vivid picture of a chaotic, vital modern-day China emerging from the havoc wrought by the cultural revolution and the Red Guards. A request from the American ambassador puts Margaret's imminent departure from China on hold when a series of execution-style decapitations claims a fourth victim, a Chinese-American employed by the U.S. embassy in Beijing. She and Li join forces on the difficult investigation, which is shadowed by the romantic tension of their relationship even as handsome TV archeologist Michael Zimmerman avidly courts Margaret. May evokes the intense mutual attraction between Li and Margaret against a fascinating backdrop of the cultural divide between China and America. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The second Margaret Campbell/Li Yan mystery (originally published in Great Britain in 1999) finds the American forensic pathologist and the Chinese detective investigating a series of beheadings. Four murders in a month: Could this be the work of a serial killer, the first Beijing has ever seen? While the mystery is grisly and intriguing, it's the relationship between the two leads that elevates the book above many others in the genre. May expands on the cross-cultural themes he introduced in the first novel, The Firemaker, exploring the two principals through their different approaches to solving a crime, and their gradual discovery of common investigative (and personal) ground. The author could have gone for the slick, familiar fish-out-of-water story, but by choosing a subtler approach, he rewards us with a far deeper, far more satisfying story. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 405 pages
• Publisher: Coronet (May 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340738375
• ISBN-13: 978-0340738375
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,287,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beijing mystery, July 5, 2006

By 

mtk (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fourth Sacrifice (Mass Market Paperback)

A clever mystery set in Beijing and X'ian, China, that takes place in all the spots tourists would go on their first trip there. The reason for the decapitations, the starting point, becomes clear quite early, although the reason for the fourth one does not reveal itself until the end. May's plotting is clever but his handling of Chinese history is clumsy. Can one believe that the clever protagonist, the forensic scientist who has lived in China for three months, would not know who Ch'iang Kai Shek is or would not have seen the Terracotta Soldiers and known their history?

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another outstanding Peter May offering, February 19, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fourth Sacrifice (Hardcover)

In Beijing, China, the police are investigating a series of heinous murders. Four men have died in what appears to be ritual sacrifices. Margaret Campbell is a forensic pathologist and wants to return to the Unites States. Her plans are put on hold when she is asked to help the police with the murder of Yuan Toa. She agrees to help, only because she wants to prevent another murder.

Margaret learns she is to team up with detective Li Yan and she isn't happy about the prospect of working with him. They met during a previous investigation and began a relationship with each other that was cut short by Li Yan. Margaret is unaware of the reason behind Li Yan's termination of their relationship.

When Margaret meets an American archaeologist, Li Yan becomes jealous of the budding relationship. The tension between Margaret and Li Yan builds as they follow the clues and the truth of the murders.

Peter May's novels are always exciting and The Fourth Sacrifice is no exception. His characters are richly drawn, the plot sizzles and the tension between Margaret and Li Yan is delicious. From the beginning, the reader is propelled into the action and when the book reaches its conclusion, it is a letdown because you just don't want the story to end.

Armchair Interviews says: The Fourth Sacrifice is a must read, and you'll want to check out his previous novels. You won't be disappointed.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent Chinese police procedural, February 7, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fourth Sacrifice (Hardcover)

In Beijing, the police are baffled by the serial killing with the fourth beheading having just occurred. Forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell is tired of China especially her hotel room so she asks the American Ambassador to help her leave immediately. Her plans to go home to the states change when the American Embassy asks her to help the cops with the latest murder, an employee, Yuan Tao. Reluctantly she agrees as she knows her skills might help prevent another beheading.

To her dismay, Margaret is teamed up with Chinese police detective Li Yan. They met during an investigation into a murder in nearby Ritan Park and fell in love, but he ended their relationship abruptly. She is unaware why he did that as he has not told her that his superiors warned him to do so or face termination of his career. Angering Li is that renowned archeologist Michael Zimmerman, whom Margaret met at a party in his honor, seems to want her as he shows her the exciting terra-cotta figures found at nearby Xi'an. A jealous Li and upset Margaret argue over Michael's attention even as they begin to find clues that prove THE FOURTH SACRIFICE was done by a different person than the previous three and the tie between the four is the death of the last victim's father during the Cultural Revolution. Michael proposes while he, Margaret and Li rendezvous in a hidden chamber where death waits for them from a friendly source.

This is an excellent Chinese police procedural starring a strong American protagonist and a powerful support cast. The story line is fast-paced yet enables the reader to understand the emotions especially of the heroine and the cop, who return from the terrific FIREMAKER tale. However, the star of this exciting thriller is China as Peter May brings to life the rich heritage and present of a wide awake giant.

Harriet Klausner