Midnight in Peking

I very much enjoyed Midnight in Peking by Paul French which is the true story of the murder of a British woman, Pamela Werner, in Peking in 1937.  This was a turbulent time in China with different political factions and the Japanese vying for full control of the country.  There was an area within Peking where the foreigners lived, some had been there for many years.  There were refugees fleeing communist Russia and other assorted "characters" who lived in this "foreign enclave".  Werner's father, a Sinophile, had lived in China for many years teaching and researching the country.  His daughter Pamela was to be home for dinner on a night in January 1937 but her body was found the following morning.  The investigation into her murder was hampered by conflict between the British investigators and the local Chinese investigators and the investigation was not as thorough as it might have been.  The victim's father was relentless in his pursuit of justice and the author has weaved an intriguing tale of corruption and debauchery.  The War then intervened and justice was "put on hold" and the reader will then learn more about the author's own discoveries. This story has all the elements of a thriller, "fact is stranger than fiction" as history and mystery converge. A very interesting story. 5/5