Flower Net: A Red Princess Mystery (The Red Princess Mysteries)

I generally read a book in a day or two but this one took me over a week. I kept waiting for it to get better and it never did.

I loved this book! You take a journey into a China you never knew and it is a great trip. It is more of exciting trip on a train and you do not want to get off. The characters ( I felt I know them) are my friends. It is more than a mystery it is a whirlwind tour de force.

"Flower Net," the first novel in Lisa See's "Red Princess" mystery series, has duo settings. In the People's Republic of China, just before the death of Deng Xiaoping, a body is found frozen in a Beijing lake. The corpse is identified as the son of the US Ambassador. In the United States, off the coast of California, a body is found by authorities investigating a boat loaded with starving, near-dead, illegal Chinese immigrants. The corpse is discovered floating in the ship's water tank. The illegals have not been able to quench their thirst because their drinking water is polluted by death. And they are too terrified to provide any information. The dead man was a "red prince," the son of a Chinese millionaire - one of China's new rich and powerful political elite. He stood to inherit major wealth & government power because of his father's status. Deng, the former leader of China's Communist Party, was recognized officially as "the chief architect of China's economic reforms and China's socialist modernization." It was under his reign that millionaires emerged, (and still do), from the country's new deal. The US government, and the Chinese powers that be, suspect that the murders are linked and make the unprecedented decision to jointly investigate the crimes. Liu Hulan, an inspector in China's Ministry of Public Security, and David Stark, Assistant US Attorney, join forces to investigate and solve the case. Liu Hulan is a "red princess." Her father is an old-time Communist, who is now a government minister. He is not particularly fond of Hulan, nor are her superiors. She is a brilliant detective but her methods are unorthodox, and she is way too independent to conform to the ministry bureaucracy. Hulan studied in the US, received a law degree in Los Angeles, and worked for a top-notch law firm there. Coincidently David Stark was employed by the same firm. The two became involved and then parted when Hulan returned to China. It may sound hokey when I describe the relationship and the reunion of the former flames, but, trust me, Lisa See make it all seem very logical. It works. The investigation takes Stark and Hulan to the far reaches of today's China - to both modern and ancient cultures. They discover corruption, greed, political maneuvering galore, a conspiracy between big business, the Rising Phoenix crime gang, and government officials, and many, many more gruesome murders than they bargained for. I was truly surprised and shocked by the conclusion. Ms. See explores here the very nature of evil. Much of the novel's narrative involves flashbacks to the period of the Cultural Revolution, (1966-1976), and the traumatic effect it had on an entire people. Even today, more than 33 years after the end of this terrible time, many Chinese bare deep emotional scars. It is during these glimpses into the past that the reader gains insight into Hulan's complex personality and her troubled family history. I have read all three books in the "Red Pr

It's not often that a novel gives the reader an insight into a secretive foreign country, but this excellent book actually does that for China. In addition to the murders and the mysteries, there is a running font of information about life in China around 1996 or so. It is very instructive to a Westerner to learn how everyday life is regimented to an almost unreal degree, down to even folks whe can come into your home and check your refrigerator! The writing is first-rate, and the plot moves along quite well. The mystery remains so almost until the end, and it leaves the reader wanting more. Fortunately, the author has written two subsequent books in this series, and I look forward very much to reading them!

A good re start of a decent first novel as this book was first out in 1998 in mass paper edition. They put a better cover on this and reissued the books as series has gained a following, so if you wonder what it is like to live in China, ok as a member of the privileged class this is a good read. I had picked up the third novel Dragon Bones and did not know it was the third as I lked what I read, I ordered the first two books to read series in order the series is best tracked as the Red Princess Mysteries. I read a lot of books and I always like the mystery novel's like Tony Hillerman with a bit of the exotic and different setting. I also want them to be without too much stereotypical cookie-cutter characters and settings, well The "Flower Net" is set in China, with a female Chinese investigator of the Ministry of Public Safety, the main weakness is her foil an American US Attorney who isn't nearly as interesting as she and her family, in fact his part is about the weakest in the book. Lee also sets up a romance between Liu and David the main characters who have a past and a lame one at that! It is just not very interesting at all, the bad guys are a bit different as the motives are not the normal ones and it is well worth a read. I think Lee was unsure here and hope her other book show us more about China and MPS and Lui than waste time on a romance story.

This novel is excellent! It well plotted, well researched and well written. Ms. See obviously knows her subject matter in ways that few other people do. She knows how to string plots and information in a seamless fashion that keeps the reader engaged throughout the story.