Christopher West
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First British Edition Allison & Busby (2000) |
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| Paperback - Allison & Busby (2002) |
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The Third Messiah
See Review by
Bernard Knight
- Author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series set in Medieval Devon
Disappointed in her love affair with a wealthy businessman, Julie Lin is left feeling bereft and heartsick, not just with her failed relationship but with her whole way of life. When the New Church of the Heavenly Kingdom offer her the chance to join their spiritual, harmonious life far from the distractions of contemporary Beijing it seems like an answer to her prayers. She leaves behind strict instructions that she should not be contacted by her family and goes to join the other young people who are opting out of Chinese society at the turn of the millennium.
Understandably concerned, her sister Rosina discusses her fears that Julie is being indoctrinated into a cult with her husband, Wang Anzhuang, an inspector in the police force. When Wang learns of reports of the death of the cult’s mystical leader, he feels bound to investigate for both professional and personal reasons. The truth he discovers, underneath the persuasive rhetoric, is terrifying and time is rapidly running out.
Written with a sympathetic eye for detail and a gripping plot, The Third Messiah offers a rare glimpse into the heart of contemporary Chinese society.
Praise for Christopher West
'A dazzling tour of contemporary Beijing life' Publishers Weekly
‘First class’ Marcel Berlins, The Times
‘Skilful and vivid, with history running through it like adrenaline’ Philip Oakes, Literary Review
‘Does for China what Gorky Park did for Russia’ Florida Sun Sentinel
A bang-up-to-date commentary on the dilemmas of modern China, where young and old are grappling with the change from ancient traditions and Marxism to consumer-crazy Westernization’
Bernard Knight, Tangled Web
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First British Edition HarperCollins (1997) |
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Death Of A Red Mandarin
See Review by
Martin Edwards
- creator of the highly acclaimed, Liverpool based Harry Devlin Mysteries
When the body of a senior Beijing official is found floating in Hong Kong harbour, its wrists fastened with handcuffs, Inspector Wang of China's Criminal Investigation Department is sent to investigate. Against the backdrop of the impending handover of the colony, Wang sets out to unravel the links between the dead man, the Triads and the burgeoning trade in pirated software. Or is the murder more closely lined with the victim's personal life?
As Wang works his way towards the truth, he is joined by his young wife Rosina, whose view of Hong Kong (as of many things) is very different to his own. His inquiries also bring him in contact with the departing colonialists - are they to be trusted? - and the world of computers and western youth culture. His search also begins to earn him powerful enemies, among whom are his superiors, who appear to want the truth hidden. Why?
Death of a Red Mandarin's range of characters bring to life the real China, a country that is in the throes of change. They act out the drama of Hong Kong 1997 - the new masters, the old colonialists, the busy streetwise people of the colony itself.…
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First British Edition HarperCollins (1995) |
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| Paperback - Allison & Busby (1999) |
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Death on Black Dragon River
Death on Black Dragon River takes newly married Inspector Wang and his young wife to the Chinese countryside, where the couple are anticipating a quiet break in the village of Wang's birth, Nanping. But their initially friendly welcome turns sour when they are suddenly ordered to leave the village. Puzzled and angry, Wang is determined to stay on - the more so when a local Party dignitary is found bludgeoned to death.
Death on Black Dragon River is appearing in UK paperback this Autumn, published by Allison and Busby at £5.99
'Not only an ingenious whodunnit, but an inquest into the Cultural Revolution and the violence it did to a generation… Skilfully assembled, with people and places vividly rendered, and with history speeding through the narrative like adrenalin.' Philip Oakes, Literary Review
'A wonderfully descriptive tale, which evokes a convincing picture of everyday life in the new China. It is also a very good traditional mystery.' Deadly Pleasures
'A genuinely refreshing detective story' Michael Pollitt, Eastern Daily Press
'Christopher West's fine new novel about Inspector Wang of the Beijing CID not only soars over the notorious second book hurdle: it is one of the most absorbing books I have read in a very long time.
Wang is a man divided between his country's turbulent past and present. As a consequence he is often confused, but for all that he is a strong, determined and honest cop. He is burdened with heavy mental baggage: his father before his death was a man of local standing, the respected Party secretary in the northern village of Nanping where Wang was born. Wang himself served loyally in the army in the sixties, imbued with his father's high principles. Meantime, his elder brother became a Red Guard who participated in the frenzy of denunciation and worse inspired by the capricious whims of the tyrant Mao.
Things are significantly different today, and Inspector Wang has perforce to accept that though still a Party member he can no longer cling to the certainties that sustained him as a young man. He has a new, strong-minded wife, a nurse who is also a party member but strictly for career reasons. While very much in love, Wang is capable of being shocked by Rosina's matter-of-fact irreverent pragmatism.
The Wangs go to Nanping for a holiday and are at first made welcome by the incumbent Party secretary, and Wang is reunited with his elder brother, now a tormented alcoholic.
They hear about the ambitious plans for the development of the village economy, and meet some of those opposed to them. Whereupon the party secretary abruptly summons Wang to his house and orders him and his wife out of the village; but not much more than an hour later the man is bludgeoned to death.
What follows is not only a first-rate mystery jointly solved by a persistent and likeable couple, but also a beautifully drawn, vivid study of a rural community riven by class hatred and haunted by the memories of events of a generation earlier.' James Melville, Hampstead and Highgate Times.
| Paperback - Allison & Busby (1999) |
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First British Edition HarperCollins (1994) |
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Death of a Blue Lantern
Nominated 'Best First Novel' at the 1995 World Mystery Convention
April 1991. Beijing, People's Republic of China. Inspector Wang Anzhuang of the Public Security Bureau is expecting a pleasant and well-earned night out at the People's Opera House. Instead, he finds himself face to face with a murder victim. A victim who has slipped through the hands of even China's relentless system of mass surveillance.
Wang's search for answers takes him into the underworld of the Chinese capital, into the secret, sinister world of Communist Party politics, and out to the ancient caves of Huashan, where a killer's secret awaits discovery. It also takes him on an inner journey of confrontation: a loyal party member until the Tiananmen massacre, the inspector finds himself plagued with ever-growing doubts. Can he resolve the conflicting claims of ideology and humanity; Party and country; conscience and duty?
Death of a Blue Lantern takes you right to the heart of contemporary China. The plot is fast-moving and ingenious; the sense of place pervasive and powerful. But above all it is the characters that make this book so compelling, and Modern China itself - changing, dreaming, loving, fighting, losing, winning. And killing... with impunity?
Death of a Blue Lantern is published in the USA by Berkey Prime Crime.
A Japanes edition, published by Kodansha, is published in 1998.
'Death of a Blue Lantern has everything one can ask for in a crime novel - pace excitement and a skilfully convincing portrait of modern China' Simon Brett
'The ambivalent morality of modern China is intelligently exposed, but not at the expense of a first-class crime story' Marcel Berlins, The Times
'Wang is, I think, destined to be one of the great fictional detectives' James Melville, Ham & High
About The Author
Christopher West was born in 1954 He went to the LSE where he took a degree in Philosophy, then travelled in the Far East - an experience which produced "Journey to the Middle Kingdom", published in 1991. He has now written three mysteries featuring Inspector Wang and Rosina, and is currently working on a fourth. He is a musician, playing drums in a travelling "functions" band.
Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.
The Third Messiah
(Allison & Busby,
2000)
Allison & Busby Pbk Apr 02
Red Mandarin
(Allison & Busby,
2000)
Death Of A Red Mandarin
(HarperCollins,
1997)
( Wang)
Death on Black Dragon River
(HarperCollins,
1995)
Allison & Busby Pbk Feb 99
( Wang)
Death of a Blue Lantern
(HarperCollins,
1994)
Allison & Busby Pbk May 99
( Wang)
Journey to the Middle Kingdom
(
1991)
The Third Messiah
Email: 
by Christopher West
