Book Review: The Lake Ching Murders

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Lake Ching Murders     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
David Rotenberg
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller   Police Procedural
Series: Zhong Fong Mysteries
St. Martin's, Feb 2002, $22.95, 208 pp.

Four and a half years ago, Zhong Fong headed up the Special Investigations, Shanghai District. He fell from grace convicted as a political felon and spent two years in Prison. Upon release from the detention facility, Zhong was exiled beyond the Wall where he serves as a police officer in a village. Zhong is unable to step beyond the two-mile perimeter of the village and has no access to phones or computers. Instead, his only outside communication is receiving telegrams though he is not allowed to reply. Except for his hidden works of Shakespeare (stained with urine) that serves as his only reminder of his beloved deceased wife, Zhong is alone shunned by all as befitting a traitor.

A politico and a thug abduct Zhong. Though they obviously need his help, they abuse him as suiting his station in life. Soon Zhong meets Captain Chen and learns that they want the sleuth to investigate the murders of seventeen foreigners on Lake Ching. As Zhong leads the inquiries, he knows that his own life is forfeit if he fails to uncover what happened.

THE LAKE CHING MURDERS is an appealing unique police procedural that focuses on law enforcement in a land where political expediency supersedes justice. The who-done-it takes a back seat to the fascinating insight into modern day China through the characters. Zhong is a wonderful lead protagonist and the support cast augments the tale by their varying behavior toward the hero and his fall from grace status. David Rotenberg provides the audience with a fine who-done-it enhanced by a deep character study.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner