The first body was found in ice: the U.S. ambassador's son, entombed in a frozen lake outside Beijing's Forbidden City. Thousands of miles away, in the heat-baked hold of a Chinese smuggling ship, another corpse is uncovered, this one a red Prince, a scion of China's political elite. Suspecting the deaths are linked, the American and Chinese governments pair ambitious attorney David Stark and brilliant detective Liu Hulan to uncover a killer and a conspiracy. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Moving smoothly from On Gold Mountain, the praised memoir of her Chinese-American family, See applies her knowledge of Chinese customs and traditions to a complex and exciting novel. See adds a solid understanding of subtle and complex Sino-American political and social differences, typifies these qualities in a range of well-crafted characters and tops it all with a suspenseful plot. She cleverly confounds readers' expectations by making her female protagonist, Chinese ministry of public security investigator Liu Hulan, far more tough and pragmatic than her American counterpart, assistant U.S. attorney David Stark. The two, who were lovers a decade ago when they were in the same L.A. law office, meet again when they are paired to investigate two suspicious deaths. The body of the son of the American ambassador to China is found in a lake outside the Forbidden City; then the bloated corpse of the son of one of the most wealthy and powerful men in China, entrepreneur Kwong Ming-yun, turns up in a freighter loaded with illegal Chinese immigrants in waters off L.A. When David and Hulan begin their investigation in Beijing, they gradually uncover a complex trail of greed and revenge that may involve the Chinese triads; the most powerful crime syndicate in Southern California, called the Rising Phoenix; government figures in both countries; high-level members of China's Hundred Families; the multimillion-dollar smuggling of animal organs; and other sinister elements. See integrates historical details, local color and such observations as the fact that shrugging is unknown to the Chinese (they jut out their chins instead). The body count escalates, rendered with realistic gore. Some clunky details intrude when Hulan and David somewhat implausibly take the law into their own hands. But the fascinating picture of China's political heritage and complex social culture makes this debut thriller a standout. $275,000 ad/promo; 200,000 first printing; rights: Sandra Dijkstra; author tour. Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Following up her well-reviewed family history (On Gold Mountain, LJ 8/95), former Publishers Weekly West Coast correspondent See pens a fast-moving thriller set primarily in Beijing. After the son of the U.S. ambassador is found murdered in Beijing, and the son of a member of China's political elite is also discovered murdered on a boat filled with illegal aliens located off the California coast, Chinese policewoman Liu Hulan and American lawyer David Stark are assigned to work together to solve the crimes. (The two are no strangers, having been lovers when Liu interned at the California law firm where Stark was an associate.) As the investigation heats up, the perpetrator commits more gruesome murders. In unraveling the crimes, Liu and Stark find a deceitful pattern reaching into the highest levels of the Chinese and American governments. See offers readers many interesting insights into Chinese culture and recent history, but the writing is marked by cardboard characters, wooden dialog, and an unfortunate tendency to tell what's happening rather than showing it. Buy where On Gold Mountain was popular. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/97.]--Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, SeattleCopyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

YA--The tranquil setting of a Chinese ice-skating pond is shattered when Wing Yun and his granddaughter discover the body of a young white man frozen in the ice. An ocean away, off the coast of Southern California, the body of a young Chinese man is found decomposing in the drinking water for a shipload of illegal immigrants. When it is found that both of the deceased have connections to a Chinese gang, the Rising Phoenix, Chinese Inspector Liu Hulan and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Stark are teamed to locate the killer. Liu and David, who had been linked romantically years before, realize their case is being run like the flower net used by Chinese fishermen who throw the mesh wide to trap everything within its reach. American and Chinese cultures are naturally juxtaposed as Liu and David move from one side of the Pacific to the other, offering a richness in background beyond the usual espionage tale. The writing is crisp and the story moves at a fast clip with flashbacks adding background fibers to the webbing. This top-quality novel will be enjoyed by teens who like romance, adventure, or just a great story.Pam Spencer, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

See's potent memoir, On Gold Mountain (1995), paid tribute to her Chinese ancestors as it signaled the writer's auspicious debut. Flower Net proclaims See's considerable talents as novelist, skillfully blending suspenseful storytelling, romantic intrigue, and stirring plot twists. Daughter of a venerable family, Liu Hulan holds an American law degree but now works in Beijing as a police inspector specializing in murder investigations. An assistant U.S. attorney living in L.A., Hulan's former lover, David Stark, discovers a bizarre corpse aboard a freighter loaded with illegal Chinese off the coast of California and believes the death to be connected to China's powerful underworld gangs. Almost inconceivably, the governments of the U.S. and China agree to work together after linking that death to a high-profile murder of the American ambassador's son in Beijing. Shocked to find themselves teamed up together, Hulan and Stark risk their lives in order to penetrate society's upper echelons, eventually coming to grips with a bewildering conspiracy. If dialogue is not one of See's strong points, a definite compensation is her ability to vividly render the turmoil of China's recent history and the paradoxes of contemporary life there. This formidable portrayal of China's culture and the country's harsh system of justice constitutes a striking backdrop for See's compelling tale. (Reviewed Aug. 1997)0060175273Alice Joyce From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.