Customer Reviews

The Flower Net

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Those who read mysteries by the dozen can get pretty bored with the same old settings, stereotypical investigators and cookie-cutter crooks. The main virtue of "The Flower Net" is a nice change of pace on all three counts. Despite the opening of China, it's still a pretty rare setting for fiction, mystery fiction in particular. Likewise, the featuring of a female Chinese investigator was refreshing in concept. Even better is that she's a nicely complicated yet empathetic protagonist. Her American counterpart, David, isn't nearly as interesting. While the villians aren't surprising in the long haul, they aren't just the usual Triad types either.

If the book has a weakness, it's the revived romance between Liu and David. It seemed irrelevant to be crime solving and not very interesting.

This review is based on the six-hour abridged tape version. I found that the plot followed pretty well. The narrator, an American-Chinese woman was a mixed blessing. Certainly there were aspects of the story where her underlying speach patterns were perfect but sometimes her tone was a bit awkward.

Bottom-line: A nice change of pace from mysteries set in the US or England. Not great literature but I learned some new things and like Liu enough to want to read a sequel.

It took me FOREVER to get into Lisa See's book "Flower Net". It seems like the book just sat on my nightstand for 3 weeks with the bookmark protruding from the creases of Chapter One. And then when I actually made an effort to read the book, it was finished in a day.

Lisa See has succeeded in creating a unique and gripping thriller. When the son of a American Ambassador and the son of one of Beijing's political elite both turn up dead under mysterious circumstances, U.S. Attorney David Stark is reunited with an old flame, Liu Hulan, to solve the case. Following leads, the case unravels a trail of clues from China to the United States, leaving David and Hulan to find the connection.

Lisa See has developed a very intriguing read, especially to people interested in Chinese culture. I did struggle in a few parts, making me wish that I had more solid knowledge of Chinese History. It was a relief for me at the end of "Flower Net" when I discovered that most of my confusion (in reference to historical facts) had been resolved. I found See's inclusion of Chinese Herbal Medicine to be especially interesting. I do agree with some of the reviewers that some of the plot twists seemed very forced or convenient (and yet somehow you could still see them coming a mile away).

My least favorite part about this book are the characters. It seemes to me that the background characters in "Flower Net" were more interesting and appealing than David Stark and Liu Hulan were. In fact, I found both the main characters to be dreadfully dull and pretty one-dimensional.

I would recommend this book as a quick weekend read for fans of thrillers and especially to anyone interested in Chinese history and culture. Aside from that, I think it might make an interesting movie, and I enjoyed "Flower Net" enough to convince myself to check out the sequel.

Hope this helps! :)

It's not often that a novel gives the reader an insight into a secretive foreign country, but this excellent book actually does that for China. In addition to the murders and the mysteries, there is a running font of information about life in China around 1996 or so. It is very instructive to a Westerner to learn how everyday life is regimented to an almost unreal degree, down to even folks whe can come into your home and check your refrigerator! The writing is first-rate, and the plot moves along quite well. The mystery remains so almost until the end, and it leaves the reader wanting more. Fortunately, the author has written two subsequent books in this series, and I look forward very much to reading them!

I find her series with the new character very exciting and a read which pulls me in and wanting the series to go on forever. I also am fascinated and intrigued by how Lisa pulls in current general events between china and the US into eyeopening suspense

On a January morning in Beijing, a child skating on a frozen lake finds the corpse of a white man under the ice. Liu Hulan, a female detective, is assigned to head what will be a delicate investigation, for the murder victim is the son of the American Ambassador. Thousands of miles away, David Stark, an assistant U.S. attorney, boards the China Peony, a barely seaworthy freighter carrying hundreds of illegal immigrants to America. On board he finds the badly decomposed body of a "Red Prince", the son of one of China's top officials. The murders appear to be unconnected until rare plant fibers are found coating the respiratory tracts of both victims and the Chinese and Americans agree to work together. The Flower Net is a superbly crafted mystery and in this full-length, thirteen hour, unabridged, audio cassette format with flawless production values and a wonderfully gifted narrator, offers the listener a true "theatre of the mind" experience.

A good re start of a decent first novel as this book was first out in 1998 in mass paper edition.

They put a better cover on this and reissued the books as series has gained a following, so if you wonder what it is like to live in China, ok as a member of the privileged class this is a good read.

I had picked up the third novel Dragon Bones and did not know it was the third as I lked what I read, I ordered the first two books to read series in order the series is best tracked as the Red Princess Mysteries.

I read a lot of books and I always like the mystery novel's like Tony Hillerman with a bit of the exotic and different setting. I also want them to be without too much stereotypical cookie-cutter characters and settings, well The "Flower Net" is set in China, with a female Chinese investigator of the Ministry of Public Safety, the main weakness is her foil an American US Attorney who isn't nearly as interesting as she and her family, in fact his part is about the weakest in the book.

Lee also sets up a romance between Liu and David the main characters who have a past and a lame one at that! It is just not very interesting at all, the bad guys are a bit different as the motives are not the normal ones and it is well worth a read.

I think Lee was unsure here and hope her other book show us more about China and MPS and Lui than waste time on a romance story.

This thriller, set in Beijing and Los Angeles in 1997, has some real strengths. Its insight into Chinese culture and the emergence of a Chinese nouveau riche class is both interesting and authoritative. The author speaks knowledgeably about the mysteries of gaining or losing face. Her evocation of Beijing at this point in its emergence from Maoism (the book takes place in 1997 just before the death of Deng Xiaping) is also fascinating. China has changed a great deal since then so this book is already a kind of time capsule.

The book also has some weaknesses. The plotting is clunky and relies too much on coincidence and the characters are wooden. The author occasionally slips into "professor" mode, even at moments of high tension, and delivers a five paragraph tutorial on various aspects of Chinese history or culture. The dialogue is often stiff and unnatural. For example, after the heroine Hulan delivers a heartfelt confession about her role in the Cultural Revolution as a little girl, culminating in a powerful scene where she is forced to denounce her own father, she is whisked away to a swanky boarding school in Connecticut. "That must have been quite a culture shock," her lover David says. Hmmm.

The plot concerns a Chinese underworld conspiracy to smuggle bear bile into the United States using the son of the U.S. ambassador to Beijing. When a deputy U.S. attorney uncovers a murder in the United States, he's put in touch with a Chinese police investigator who has been probing a similar murder in Beijing. By coincidence, the two happened to have been former lovers years ago who still hanker for one another. Their love story, to me, was unconvincing, lacking in passion. But the plot hums along and there is enough interesting stuff going on all the time to keep the reader hooked.

File this one under "good, but could have been better."

Inspector Liu Hulan of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security investigates the murder of the son of the U. S. Ambassador. At the same time, Assistant U. S. Attorney David Stark is searching for the murderer of the son of an influental and powerful Chinese businessman. Shortly thereafter, the two former business associates and lovers are reuinited by their respective governments in a joint effort designed to fail. Lisa See has done a marvelous job of depicting the heavily instilled traditions and repressions in a China that is struggling to incorporate the benefits of the modern world. Her writing tone changes to match the mood of life in China and then the frenzied pace of freedom in Los Angeles. Even the contrast of life in ethnic Chinese areas within Los Angeles is eye-opening. The reader is easily swallowed into the places and activities of each chapter. Thoroughly enjoyable.

"Flower Net," the first novel in Lisa See's "Red Princess" mystery series, has duo settings. In the People's Republic of China, just before the death of Deng Xiaoping, a body is found frozen in a Beijing lake. The corpse is identified as the son of the US Ambassador. In the United States, off the coast of California, a body is found by authorities investigating a boat loaded with starving, near-dead, illegal Chinese immigrants. The corpse is discovered floating in the ship's water tank. The illegals have not been able to quench their thirst because their drinking water is polluted by death. And they are too terrified to provide any information. The dead man was a "red prince," the son of a Chinese millionaire - one of China's new rich and powerful political elite. He stood to inherit major wealth & government power because of his father's status. Deng, the former leader of China's Communist Party, was recognized officially as "the chief architect of China's economic reforms and China's socialist modernization." It was under his reign that millionaires emerged, (and still do), from the country's new deal. The US government, and the Chinese powers that be, suspect that the murders are linked and make the unprecedented decision to jointly investigate the crimes. Liu Hulan, an inspector in China's Ministry of Public Security, and David Stark, Assistant US Attorney, join forces to investigate and solve the case.

Liu Hulan is a "red princess." Her father is an old-time Communist, who is now a government minister. He is not particularly fond of Hulan, nor are her superiors. She is a brilliant detective but her methods are unorthodox, and she is way too independent to conform to the ministry bureaucracy. Hulan studied in the US, received a law degree in Los Angeles, and worked for a top-notch law firm there. Coincidently David Stark was employed by the same firm. The two became involved and then parted when Hulan returned to China. It may sound hokey when I describe the relationship and the reunion of the former flames, but, trust me, Lisa See make it all seem very logical. It works.

The investigation takes Stark and Hulan to the far reaches of today's China - to both modern and ancient cultures. They discover corruption, greed, political maneuvering galore, a conspiracy between big business, the Rising Phoenix crime gang, and government officials, and many, many more gruesome murders than they bargained for. I was truly surprised and shocked by the conclusion. Ms. See explores here the very nature of evil.

Much of the novel's narrative involves flashbacks to the period of the Cultural Revolution, (1966-1976), and the traumatic effect it had on an entire people. Even today, more than 33 years after the end of this terrible time, many Chinese bare deep emotional scars. It is during these glimpses into the past that the reader gains insight into Hulan's complex personality and her troubled family history.

I have read all three books in the "Red Princess" series and each one is better than the next. The mysteries are thrilling, complex and exceptionally well thought out. The in-depth character development, here and in the other books, is part of what what makes this series so extraordinary. Ms. See's writing style is tight, very descriptive and colorful. I learned so much about China by reading "Flower Net" - its rich and varied culture, teeming economy, institutional politics, the nuanced manner of communication, the sensitive use of interpersonal skills, the very sights, sounds and smells of the country. The author reveals a China most Westerners never see. This aspect of the novel is every bit as exciting and new as the mystery itself. Highly recommended!

Jana Perskie

The Interior: A Red Princess Mystery (Red Princess Mysteries)

Dragon Bones: A Red Princess Mystery (Red Princess Mysteries)

Peony in Love: A Novel

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

The sights, sounds and smells of modern day China leap from each page of this complex mystery. Assistant US Attorney, David Stark is reunited with his former lover, Liu Hulan of the Chinese Ministry of Public Safety as they unravel a mystery involving gangs and the illegal shipment of medicinal products made from endangered specieis, into the US. The resolution reaches to the highest levels of both governments involving six murders along the way.

Liu Hulan had been educated in the US, received a law degree there and was working in a top notch law firm in Los Angeles when she became involved with Stark. She mysteriously leaves him and returns to China only to be unexpectedly reunited with him many years later in this novel. The resolution of this fine mystery also unravels Hulan's complex personal and family history spanning China from Mao's Revolution, the Cultural Revolution to the modern day.