Possibly Zhong Fong is the Only Person in all of China who can completely decipher Lily's English, and he hasn't heard from her -- or anyone else -- in fifty-four months. His own English is excellent, but it has been that long since he had a use for it -- fifty-four months since Shanghai Head of Special Investigations Zhong had been reduced to convicted political felon Zhong and exiled to the remote and barren north country, far from the crowded, bustling world he knew. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Canadian Rotenberg's second Detective Zhong novel (after 1998's The Shanghai Murders), with its exotic setting (rural China) and bizarre crime (the murder of a boatload of foreigners), certainly intrigues. Unfortunately, the story reads like a condensed version of a more developed book, failing to convey much sense of place or to give its characters enough room to move about for the reader to get to know them. The pity is that Rotenberg's characters are genuinely interesting, in particular his Chinese equivalent of hillbillies. Det. Zhong Fong, formerly head of Special Investigations in Shanghai, has been condemned as a traitor. First, he was imprisoned, then exiled to a remote village in the north. After two years, two mysterious men rudely throw him into the trunk of a car and drive south. The authorities have a special assignment for Zhong that no one else wants. A pleasure boat that has been burned is frozen in the ice of Lake Ching. Its cargo includes 17 corpses of different nationalities (two American) killed in a variety of gory ways. Who were these people? What were they doing on the lake? And who would hate them enough to kill them in such horrible fashion? From there, the characters multiply like rabbits, while the harrowing plot gets as twisty as a Rubik's Cube. Other mysteries about China, both ancient and modern, may do a better job of exploring the people and culture, but as sheer entertainment this fills the bill. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

After two years of exile in northern China, detective Zhong Fong (The Shanghai Murders), formerly of Shanghai, must prove his investigative skills. Seventeen foreign diplomats and scientists have been murdered on board a ship on Lake Ching, and Fong's life may also be forfeit. Irresistible intrigue. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

David Rotenberg has directed plays on Broadway, in Montreal, in Toronto, in Cape Town, and in Shanghai, PRC. He is one of Canada's foremost acting teachers. His first novel, The Shanghai Murders, has been optioned for the movies, and he is presently at work on the third Zhong Fong novel. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Susan, and their children, Joey and Beth. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

A Telegram from Another Life	1
In the Trunk	12
Another Night in Jail	16
An Envelope in a Car	29
The Specialist	32
Photos, Peasants, Anklets	50
It Begins	61
Getting Back the Team	71
The 14K Triad, the Recreation, the Meeting	77
Smother, Murder, Patents	101
Parallel Patterns	119
An Island Funeral	139
Interviews in Xian	168
With a Piece of Chalk	188
Cormorants	193
In the Air	199
All Roads Lead Back to Xian	201
Dreams of Dreams	213
At the Recreation	216
The Deal	227
Rickshaws, Fathers, Babies	232

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.