Death of a Red Heroine (Inspector Chen Cao)
by Qiu Xiaolong

This political mystery offers a peek into the tightly sealed, often crooked world of post-Tiananmen Square China in the 1990's. Chen Cao, a poet and T.S. Eliot translator is bureaucratically assigned to be chief inspector. He is assigned to investigate the murder of Guan Hongying, a young woman celebrated as a National Model Worker, but who kept her personal life strictly and mysteriously confidential. Chen and his comrade, Detective Yu, take turns interviewing Guan's neighbors and co-workers, but it seems most of them either know nothing or are afraid to talk openly about a deceased, highly regarded public figure.

Maybe they shouldn't be so uneasy, some characters reason; after all, these are "modern times" and socialist China is taking great leaps toward free speech. Chen and Yu make headway when they stumble on Wu Xiaoming, senior editor of Red Star magazine, who apparently was involved with Guan before her death. Tiptoeing around touchy politics and using investigative tactics bordering on blackmail, Chen slowly pieces together the motives behind the crime.

This is an intriguing novel as we see how life is in 1990's China. The main character translates English literature into Chinese but also writes his own poetry. We see how various relationships have established the person he is now and who he is to become. I am looking forward to reading more books in this series.