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Business in China, which blends the personal and professional. is always a complicated situation for Americans working there. When a wealthy \client of art dealer Ellie McEnroe comes to her with a request to investigate the moral character of an American friend of his youngest son, Ellie finds that she can't say no (as much as she can sense the danger lurking below the surface).
She's familiar with the decadent lifestyles of the rich in China, and Cao's three children seem to run the gamut. His oldest son, Tiantian, is power-hungry and unsure of his father's approval. MeiMei, the daughter, seems a bit silly -- or is she merely biding her time and playing her cards close to her chest in the family grab for power? Guwei, or Gugu as he's affectionately known, is the party boy with the
questionable American friend.
Not only does this assignment not pay the bills, Ellie finds herself stressed out by her constant pain, the result of an IED blast during her service as a medic in Iraq. She's trying to keep her PTSD under control, but dealing with Chinese bigwigs and government enforcers keeps her on the edge.
Things get really dicey when a young servant girl is killed at a party at Tiantian's, where all the children (and a lot of others, including Ellie) are present. Then a second girl appears to be in danger, and
Ellie's in a race to discover who's behind the mayhem. Another issue is just how will she reveal her findings to the elder Cao, who's growing impatient with her delayed report. And then there's the further complication that Ellie herself appears a convenient candidate on whom to pin the crime.
The storyline seems to increase in intensity as the end approaches, and readers will feel Ellie's panic and anxiety as she moves forward, putting herself and loved ones at risk to find the answers for Cao. This well-written series not only keeps readers involved in the storyline, it offers some keen insights into artistic freedom in China and the difficulty of managing so many layers of bureaucracy.
§ Christine Zibas is a freelance writer and former director of publications for a Chicago nonprofit.
Reviewed by Christine Zibas, June 2015
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