The Flower Net

Rating:
Summary: Great fun read that tweaks the mystery genre
Review: I have read very few mystery novels (mostly Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot tales as a child) and I was delighted and surprised to discover Flower Net. To have a woman take the typical "male role"--stoic and yet vulnerable at times is refreshing. To then have that woman be a Chinese woman is even more revolutionary in the context of detective novels (at least from what I know about that genre). Not ever having traveled to China, I'm not sure about the accuracy about See's details in that regard. (see other Amazon customers' reviews) However, as an Angeleno, I found her research and details to be incredibly accurate: small things like the US attorney's office being on the 13th floor, etc.

I hope that Lisa See writes many more books, including a sequel to Flower Net.

Rating:
Summary: Mixing old world traditions with new world freedoms
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A superbly crafted mystery
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Unusual setting and interesting heroine
Review: 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.