Book Number 69

So I want to try a new format with my book reviews. I'm going to give it a go and hope for the best.....

The Novel: Flower Net
The Author: Lisa See


Synopsis (Taken From Author's web page):
In the depths of a Beijing winter, during the waning days of Deng Xiaoping's reign, the U.S. ambassador's son is found dead- his body entombed in a frozen lake. Almost simultaneously, American officials find a ship adrift in the storm-churned waters off Southern California. No one is surprised to find the fetid hold crammed with hundreds of undocumented Chinese immigrants- the latest cargo in the Chinese mafia's burgeoning smuggling trade. What does surprise Assistant U.S. Attorney David Stark is his discovery that among the hapless refugees lies the corpse of a Red Prince, a scion of China's political elite.

The Chinese and American governments suspect that the deaths are connected, and in an unprecedented move they join forces to solve this cross-cultural crime. Stark heads for Beijing to team up with police detective Liu Hulan, whose unorthodox methods are tolerated only because of her spectacular investigative abilities. Their investigation carries them (and the reader) into virtually every corner of today's China- from its glitzy karaoke bars, where the nation's new elite cuts deals, to the labyrinthine hutongs, where ordinary Beijingers have lived and died for centuries.

Stark and Liu's search leads them from the Chinese capital to Los Angeles' thriving Asian community and turns up a bloodthirsty murderer at the very apex of China's power structure. Their work together also ignites their passion for each other- a passion forbidden by their respective governments and one that plays right into the hands of a serial killer.


Link: http://www.lisasee.com/
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this Novel. I find Lisa See's work to be very entertaining and I immediately become engrossed in whatever she has written.
I found the characters to be interesting, although I preferred Liu Hulan to her male (American) counter-part.
The setting and the little intricacies of the land and it's people really made the plot and characters believable.
I always feel as though I learn something after reading one of Lisa See's novels. Usually cultural historical information. However, with this novel being set in current times, it was nice to get a glimpse into "today's" China from the perspective of a female investigator.

I give "Flower Net" a rating of 3.5 out of 5.

Lisa See did a pretty good job with this novel and I expect I'll enjoy the other novels in this series just as much. That being said I am a much bigger fan of her historical fiction......which is saying a lot considering I used to hate historical fiction before I came across Lisa See's brilliant novel "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". I am a changed woman. I can now look at historical fiction on the shelves of my library and not cringe.