Tangled Web UK Review September 2007
The Pool of Unease by
Catherine Sampson
pbk out March 08
(Pan)
at £6.99
This is a fine thriller, in an unusual setting, and written by somebody who
knows what she is talking about. Catherine Sampson is a former BBC
correspondent, now living in Beijing; so it is with a fair degree of confidence
that one opens this thriller, set in Beijing, and featuring BBC journalist Robin
Ballantyne (in the 3rd novel in this series).
Robin is in Beijing to investigate the murder of a British businessman. It
seems that his death might be connected with some vicious attacks on
women, but could it rather be linked with the fact that he is a key player in the
takeover of an English steel plant by a wealthy Chinese magnate? It's
extremely difficult for Robin to obtain concrete information, especially as she
is actually in China on a tourist visa and risks being expelled if her true
purpose is divulged. Her Chinese translator, Blue Tang, risks far, far worse.
Information there is aplenty, though, revealed through the investigations of
private detective (and ex-policeman) Song. Song is keeping an errant
husband under surveillance when he finds himself witness to a fire, and
possibly the evidence of another murder. In rescuing a beggar boy from the
fire, he becomes involved in the same investigation as Robin Ballantyne, but
from another angle.
The two investigators, English woman and Chinese man, pursue their parallel
courses until at last they meet and are able, to an extent, to share the
investigation. The suspense is maintained to the end, and the gripping
portrayal of the underbelly of life in the great Chinese city almost adds another
character to the cast of players.
(
Judith Rhodes
)
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