About this item
Winner of the both the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and the CWA Non-Fiction Dagger Peking in 1937 is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, opulence and opium dens, rumors and superstition. The Japanese are encircling the city, and the discovery of Pamela Werners body sends a shiver through already nervous Peking. Is it the work of a madman? One of the ruthless Japanese soldiers now surrounding the city? Or perhaps the dreaded fox spirits? With the suspect list growing and clues sparse, two detectivesone British and one Chineserace against the clock to solve the crime before the Japanese invade and Peking as they know it is gone forever. Can they find the killer in time, before the Japanese invade? Historian and China expert Paul French at last uncovers the truth behind this notorious murder, and offers a rare glimpse of the last days of colonial Peking.
About the Author
Born in London and educated there and in Glasgow, Paul French lived and worked in Shanghai for many years before returning to London in 2013. He is a widely published analyst and commentator on China and North Korea having written a number of books including a history of foreign correspondents in China and a biography of the legendary Shanghai adman, journalist and adventurer Carl Crow.His literary non-fiction book, Midnight in Peking, was an international success becoming a New York Times Bestseller, BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and has been optioned for television by Kudos Film and Television in the UK. Midnight in Peking was a 2012 Choice Awards finalist and also won both the 2013 Edgar Best Fact Crime book award by the Mystery Writers' of America and the Crime Writers' Association (UK) non-fiction Dagger award. The judges praised 'the way he brilliantly evoked the uneasy atmosphere of China's capital 80 years ago.'
