Book Worms Delight: Red Mandarin Dress by QIU XIAOLONG

SHANGHAI, the birthplace for capitalists and money in China. Set in 1980s, Red Mandarin Dress being a crime story revolves around this very city. From its politics to its people, all seems to be evolved from revolutions of the past. The authorities have a strict control over the city, the corrupt Big Bucks seem to own the city, as there a line says "In Shanghai, nothing but money matters". Although, most big cities and cultural hubs around the world bear the same tag but none advertise it. Shanghai among citizens is a controlled, patrolled and protected city.

So, when a serial killer strikes in Shanghai, it's most unusual within the guarded city. People rather than being paranoid are inquisitive. On the contrary, the city police has never been so humiliated. A red Mandarin dress (popular traditional attire in Chinese culture) of similar design and slits has been worn by each and every victim. A jigsaw puzzle with so many lost pieces, Chief Inspector Chen ponders over the past details dating back to the Cultural Revolution of 1966 for clues. Chen being the protagonist is likely human. Nothing but knowledge about his profession and poetry drives him. Unlike the popular master geniuses or straight-out-of Sherlock Holmes persona, Chen works perfect as a regular policeman. What makes this man interesting is his ardent desire for poetry and Confucius. Mr Xiaolong  often quote the master Chinese scholar. 

Now, what intrigued me most? 

It's without a doubt, the city of Shanghai. A city where the rich and poor divide stretches miles, a city too over powered by the Big Bucks and a society whose mindset quite resembles my own. But honestly, I still don't understand their delicacy for live monkey brain. And since the book is termed as Fiction, facts can be borrowed or inspired. 

Coming back to the book...

It's a drift from a story without loose motive or logic. Crime-thrillers offer to give an insight of the victim, the saviour and the culprit's mind. My last Crime-thriller was nothing but a story served from the cold storage where as Red Mandarin Dress was a sumptuous meal. It's story added as to what was being told, there relevance was understood and well descriptive details. It threw maximum light on the culture and framework of  how things work in a capitalist arena

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Since set back thirty years ago, there is a technology gap and the police works in constraints. 

Red Mandarin Dress is intriguing and fresh. You wouldn't mind reading the fine print, which by the way is a problem for many! 

Happy Reading

(It feels good to write after such a long time, waiting to hear from my readers!)