A Case of Two Cities

A Case of Two Cities by Qiu Xiaolong is the 4th novel in the Inspector Chen series. The Inspector is also a published poet and samples of poetry are scattered throughout. Here's one:

35 Birthday Night

2:30 A.M. A dog barks
against the moon-bleached night.

Is the dog barking into my dream
or am I dreaming of the dog?

I appreciate this look into a foreign culture, and I'm reading these as I can. I got this one as a Christmas present. They should be read in order. You can read Chapter 1 of this book at this link.

from the back of the book:

Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department is assigned a high-profile anti-corruption case, one in which the principal figure, Xing, has long since fled to the United States and beyond the reach of the Chinese government. But Xing left behind his organization, and Chen , while assigned to root out the coconspirators, is not sure whether he's actually being set up to fail.

In a twisting case that takes him from Shanghai all the way to the United States, reuniting him with his colleague and counterpart from the U.S. Marshls Service, Inspector Cathering Rhon, Chen finds himself at odds with hidden, powerful, and vicious enemies. At once a compelling crime novel and an insightful, moving portrayal of contemporary China, A Case of Two Cities is the finest novel yet in this critically acclaimed, award-winning series.

Publishers Weekly opens a positive review with this: "Chinese expatriate Qiu's gripping fourth Inspector Chen novel ... captures an honest detective's struggle to be true to his professional ideals under a repressive regime." The Independent says, "As a detective novel this is lacking in thrills, but its pleasures lie elsewhere. A fascinating picture of the new China emerges...". Reviewing the Evidence has a positive review.

I have read:

#1 Death of a Red Heroine
#2 A Loyal Character Dancer
#3 When Red Is Black