The Last Six Million Seconds

The Last Six Million Seconds is a marvelous combination of engrossing mystery and the drama of Hong Kong's transition from a British colony to the control of a Chinese dictatorship. Throughout the story, one of Burdett's strengths is his ability to capture the intangibles of culture. Consider this insight: "In the beginning was the Word. But it was sung, not spoken. Prehistoric humans from Peking Man in the East to Cro Magnon in the West used the full range of the vocal scale to sing instructions for the hunt, sing guidance to their children, sing reverence to the gods that provided the mammoths. They would have despised the flat, dead speech of modern times for the tuneless whitterings of ghosts.....the oldest language in modern usage is also the most musical. With nine tones to condition meaning, Cantonese can present a challenge to a tin ear from the Bronx." (p.283) Burdett uses Richard Hughes' formula of 'a borrowed place living on borrowed time' to explain the psychological challenge Hong Kong residents face during the last six million seconds before they return to Chinese control. The criminal activities of the People's Liberation Army, including their willingness to use violence and intimidation to create rigged enrichment for a small handful of Generals, are described in accurate details. Burdett even uses official United Nations reports to enhance the sense of realism. He also manages to weave through all this the issue of the Laogai--the prison/slave labor system by which 50,000,000 people live lives of enslavement in China, according to Burdett. Burdett's protagonist is a driven Chinese-Irish policeman seeking answers to the brutal deaths of two Chinese men and an American girl. The journey is worth the read. Indeed I am beginning to believe that anything John Burdett writes is worth reading.

It's Hong Kong and there are two months left to the PRC's (People's Republic of China) takeover of the British Colony. Detective Inspector Chan Siu-kai, called Charlie Chan by just about everybody who knows him after the character in the old movies, is out in a launch in search of a clear garbage bag that had been reported floating off the coast by some tourists. The contents, three human heads. And by strange coincidence the Hong Kong police have the remains of three bodies, sans heads, that had been fed alive into a giant meat grinder.Charlie and his comrades find the bag and its grisly contents, but a PRC Coast Guard launch comes up on them as they are in PRC waters. The Chinese want the bag, Charlie bribes them and takes the heads back to Hong Kong even as he wonders who told the PRC about the heads and why would they care?The powers that be in Hong Kong meet secretly and they are of two minds. Some of them want Charlie taken off the case because he has a high success rate and he's honest. They don't want the case solved and they definitely don't want someone working it who they can't control, because the British don't want to rock the boat before the Communist takeover and this case has potential huge political considerations. They eventually decide to keep Charlie on the case, but to have him report to an officer they think they can trust.However Charlie isn't so easy to control and when wealthy Emily Ping commits suicide and Charlie is framed for her murder, he goes all out to solve the crime and it looks like the political bosses on both sides of the border may learn that not only can Charlie not be bought, but he can't be threatened either.This mystery by Mr. Burdett is one of the best I've read in ages and it's a crying shame that it's out of print. One can't help but wonder what in the world is going on in the book industry when they allow an excellent book like this to die. Fortunately you can still get "Bankok 8" by Mr. Burdett everywhere books are sold. As far as "The Last Million Seconds" goes, my recommendion is to buy it used if you can find it, because you won't find a better thriller or mystery anywhere.

I, too, can't believe this is out of print and only available as a used book. It should be in paperback, and is far superior to most thriller/mystery books available today. Mr. Burdett writes with an insider's knowledge of Hong Kong prior to its transfer from Great Britain to the PRC, as well as knowledge of the sinister world of both the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese Triads. His protagonist, Chief Inspector Chan, is believable and human. Chan makes mistakes and suffers from self-doubt like everyone else. His uncanny ability to solve crimes comes more from good police work and determination than anything super human, despite the bureaucratic roadblocks and red tape he meets along the way...as well as the political dirtywork that thwarts his investigation of one of the grizzliest murders you'll find in literature today. Royal Hong Kong Police Chief Inspector "Charlie" Chan isn't James Bond...Thank God! No gimmicks. No sci-fi gizmoes. Just plain old police work. He's half Chinese-half Irish and 100% real (warts and all)! I hope Mr. Burdett writes another Chief Inspector Chan novel soon. I hated to see this one end.

Set in the moments before the Chinese takeover of HK (the last 6M seconds) this novel uses a rather gruesome murder investigation as background noise to explore the transition, its tensions and the power shakeup. While the investigation is a fine writing in itself (along with the babe who falls in love with the main good guy) I found the book fascinating as it explores the challenge of managing China (1 billion people) and the westernized HK. Most memorable, is the passage where the author asks rhetorically what kind of governing willpower does it take to provide civil administration for this huge mass of people. The book is certainly thought provoking and arguments are so well crafted that you start to understand some of the reasons behing the [not so humane] decisions of the Chinese leadership. Also delightful is the exposition of the oh, so British, approach to politics of the outgoing administration. A good book.

This book informs, terrorifies, and insires the reader. I found myself fascinated and repelled by its graphic depiction of the murders, but more so by its message: be very afraid of the new China. It inspired me to seek more information about the Red Chinese army, its tactics, both in business and in culture, and the new Hong Kong. I certainly recommend this book to anyone seeking a thriller, but also to those who want to read further on this area.