Customer Reviews

The Killing Room

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This mystery is a bit chilling. It brings up the obvious but not so obvious problems with the one child policy and how China is struggling with their over population and how people respond as well as the more personal story of expatriates who live and love China.

When the bodies of eighteen women are discovered in a mass grave at a construction site in Shanghai, Deputy Section Chief Li Yan is sent to establish if the corpses relate to an unsolved similar murder in Beijing. He requests that American pathologist Margaret Campbell be allowed to assist with the forensics. Their on again-off again relationship remains rocky, especially because of local Deputy Chief Nien Mei-Ling, who Margaret finds a formidable competitor for Li Yan's heart. While examining the bodies, Margaret discovers that all of them had organs removed while they were still alive.

I particularly like two aspects of May's books. One is the culture clashes between Li Yan and Margaret Campbell. Despite their strong feelings for each other, they are just very different people. I learn a lot about Chinese culture through Margaret's eyes and would probably make the same missteps she does.

The other is May's ability to explore social and cultural problems in Chinese society. He tries hard to portray both sides of a controversial subject without taking sides. In this book, and a bit of the previous book, The Fourth Sacrifice, that subject is the single-child policy enacted to reduce the population in China. Li Yan's sister previously dropped off her daughter with him when she found she was pregnant with a son. Li Yan remains the child's guardian in this book.

I found more humor in this book than the previous two in this series. The competitions between Margaret and Mei-Ling for the attentions of Li Yan were laugh-out-loud funny. I also find it interesting that these books are written by a Scottish man living in France, writing about an American woman living in China. And he does it very well.

Armchair Interviews says: Super read as a mystery with a lot of cultural learning thrown in.

Already upset that a killer was freed because of either corruption or incompetence in the Procurator's office, Ministry of Public Security Deputy Section Chief Li Yan is not in the mood to talk to anyone. However Detective Wu tells his superior that the dismembered girl found in the shallow grave near the Summer Palace was not buried alone; upwards of twenty females share a grave with her. The powers that be demand Li fix the mess that was shown internationally as a New York bank CEO was the VIP digger in a sea of body parts.

Shanghai Public Security Serious Crime Squad Deputy chief Mei-Ling is assigned to assist Li, who learns from her that there are eighteen torsos and sixteen heads so far. Li's on and off Irish girlfriend pathologist Margaret Campbell arrives following the wake of her deceased father. Although the two ladies compete for the affection of Li, the trio works together realizing that someone apparently conducted autopsies on the female victims while they still lived; the cause of death in each case is the autopsy. They know preventing the monster from more killings comes before straightening out their personal relationships.

This excellent Chinese police procedural will please fans of that sub-genre immensely as this is a top rate whodunit in a country in which connections impedes the strong investigation much more so than in the United States where influence gets a great lawyer. The story line is action-packed and the triangle cleverly developed to allow the reader to understand the motivations including personal demons of the investigating team. However, as with THE FOURTH SACRIFICE, the novel belongs to Peter May's deep insightful look at modern China's Socialist market economy in which Shanghai is filled with Porches, sex shops, discos and nightclubs standing near traditional mom and pop stores.

Harriet Klausner

This book opens with a prologue so intense that I almost tossed my cookies as I was reading it, but there was no way I was going to put it down. With Stephen King like description, coupled with a hard hitting style reminiscent of the hard boiled P. I. books I used to sneak away from my dad and read when I was a kid, Mr. May has put together a story that will capture you from the first page and it won't let you go for weeks after you finish reading it.

The American CEO of the New Shanghai-New York Bank falls into a mud pit full of the mutilated bodies of young woman. Li Yan is tapped to head the case and he insists on having his old flame, American pathologist Margaret Campbell, on his team. However, Margaret finds that good looking police detective Mei-Ling, the deputy head of Shanghai's serious crime squad, has set her sights on capturing more than the serial killer. It appears that she's got plans on capturing the heart of Li as well.

Margaret wonders how she as a "foreign devil" can compete with Mei-Ling, but she has to put personal feelings aside as the three try to uncover the identities of the murder victims and catch a grisly killer who apparently subjected his victims to live autopsies. And as they close in on the killer they also close in on their own personal demons.

This is the third in Mr. Mays excellent China series and is every bit as wonderful as the two that came before and the two that follow. If you can get a hold of his work here in America, I'm here to tell you that it's well worth the effort. You won't be disappointed.

Can a Scotsman living in France write about an American pathologist and a Chinese detective and make it real?

Without a doubt!

May has written six novels about his unusual pair of protagonists, but only three have been printed in the U.S. so far. The first two do a wonderful job of introducing the "real" China to his readers by giving insight and joy to the daily lives of people in Beijing. I found them to be a wonderful education as well as a delightful read.

In this novel, the action moves to Shanghai, and his insights into the differences between that city and Beijing are fascinating. He is the only westerner to be given honorary membership to the Chinese mystery writers Association, and when you read his novels, you'll understand why.

Oh yes, the mystery part is remarkably good as well. Well plotted, good characterization, and all three books catch you off gaurd at the end, as good mysteries should!

Peter May's China Thriller series of books continues with The Killing Room. All is not well with Margaret and Li's relationship as the location is mostly Shanghai in his third of the series.

Having visted Shanghai nine times in the past two years, I find the Chinese background and culture in this series and this mystery in particular are outstanding. Written in 2000 and just released in the USA, this highly charged mystery actually foretells some of Shanghai's modern 21st Century political history of local corruption. While other novelists may touch on the corruption in a lighter, more oblique way, May gets right to the point in demonstrating how the hierarchy works. He touches on the continuing power struggle between Beijing and Shanghai.

The other reviews cover the story line well. The setting of Shanghai is remarkably accurate, and the description of life and families is still quite relevant eight years after the book was authored. (Many things can change in Shanghai in eight years.) As I have Shanghai friends to explain many customs in modern China, I find that May captures them in very subtle ways. May distills the Chinese manners and details them into background throughout the novel.

If you are travelling to Shanghai and want to get an inside look into the city's life, this is a must read. Only you will find that Shanghai is a much safer place than what happens in the vicinity of Margaret and Li.

I just started reading this book and I'm already hooked. I will definitely be reading any others that Mr. May has written or writes in the future. Definiately a must read!

First Sentence: The rain, like tears, streaks his view of the world from the back seat of his limousine.

Beijing detective Li Yan is working on a case where a woman's body has been found. It appears the victim had undergone an autopsy while alive, organs removed and her body cut into pieces.

Now Yan is sent to Shanghai to oversee the investigation instigated by a mass grave being found there with the similar remains of 18 women. Yan, oblivious by the attentions of his female counterpart in Shanghai, sends for American pathologist Margaret Campbell, with whom he has worked before and with whom he is lovers. While the nightmare of the case escalates, so do the problems with their relationship.

There was definitely more to like about this book than not. I really enjoy learning about China of today and seeing it through the eyes of both a resident, albeit of Beijing who, himself, doesn't feel comfortable in Shanghai, and an American make the story particularly interesting. Yan is a very good policeman who is classically clueless as a male at times, while Margaret is an excellent pathologist who is almost overwhelming insecure as a woman. Those aspects make the characters very believable and human.

I also learned about pathology and science, but in a way that was clinical; not horrific or ever boring. There is suspense that does build nicely. Although I suspected one villain, I didn't see the other one coming.

The first book of the series, "The Firemaker," is still my favorite, but I shall definitely continue on with Margaret and Li.

This was a very exciting and suspenseful book though too much time is spent on the relationship between Inspector Li Yan and Dr. Margaret Campbell. Is it a romance or a mystery? I enjoyed it in spite of the distractions.

I simply can't believe the reviews done on this book. These reviewers must all be friends, neighbors or relatives of Peter May. I thought I'd give the book a try as my wife and I visited Beijing in 1996 and I figured the travel experience would make the book that much more interesting. Swing and a miss. I made it through the first 100 pages, then gave up. I found the writing sophomoric and the editing poorly done. The characters were shallow and the story line was slow to develop. I won't be reading any more of Peter's books. Once and out.