Praise for A Loyal Character Dancer : "Another wonderful novel featuring Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau ... for Sinophiles like myself who fantasize about taking an insider's tour of Shanghai."-Maureen Corrigan, NPR, "Fresh Air," Washington Post Book World "A sequel [to Death of a Red Heroine ] that in many ways is even more impressive . . . [Qiu] has moved from the poetic, exotic milieu of his first book (although plenty of elements remain) into a tougher, wider, probably more commercial and modern version of China as seen by America."- Chicago Tribune Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau is taking a vacation, in part because he is annoyed at his boss, the Party Secretary, but also because he has been made an offer he can't refuse by a triad-connected businessman. For what seems to be a fortune-with no apparent strings attached-he is to translate into English a business proposal for the New World, a complex of shops and restaurants to be built in Central Shanghai evoking nostalgia for the "glitter and glamour" of the '30s. So Detective Yu, Chen's partner, is forced to take charge of a new investigation. A novelist has been murdered in her room. At first it seems that only a neighbor could have committed the crime, but when one confesses, Detective Yu cannot believe that he is really the murderer. As the policeman looks further, ample motives begin to surface, even on the part of Internal Security. But it is only when Inspector Chen steps back into the investigation that the real culprit is apprehended. And then Chen discovers how the triad has played him. Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai. He is the author of two previous Inspector Chen Mysteries, Death of a Red Heroine and A Loyal Character Dancer . He lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter.