Posted: May 1st, 2012 | No Comments »
I’ll be in Houston this Wednesday at the marvellously named Murder by the Book store (and I’ve never been to Texas before so obviously expecting oil, cowboys, beer, presidential assassinations, JR and all that)….the shop’s slogan by the way is ‘where a good crime is had by all’…
Wednesday, May 2 at 6:30pm, Murder by the Book presents Paul French. Paul French will sign and discuss Midnight in Peking (Penguin; $26).
2342 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005
In the last days of old Peking, where anything goes, can a murderer escape justice?
Peking in 1937 is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, opulence and opium dens, rumors and superstition. The Japanese are encircling the city, and the discovery of Pamela Werner’s body sends a shiver through already nervous Peking. Is it the work of a madman? One of the ruthless Japanese soldiers now surrounding the city? Or perhaps the dreaded fox spirits? With the suspect list growing and clues sparse, two detectives–one British and one Chinese–race against the clock to solve the crime before the Japanese invade and Peking as they know it is gone forever. Can they find the killer in time, before the Japanese invade?
Historian and China expert Paul French at last uncovers the truth behind this notorious murder, and offers a rare glimpse of the last days of colonial Peking.
Posted: May 1st, 2012 | 1 Comment »
First off all things Midnight in Peking in America are on the Twitter feed #whokilledpamela?
I’ll post here too occasionally but up to date reviews and events are all there…
And so I’ll do it a little plug for some of my first US reviews as they’re pretty good.
The Wall Street Journal did a blinder
The New York Post’s Required Reading column got the Neil Heywood link – I imagine this will be a theme in the coming weeks – Dead Brits in Mysterious circumstances now becoming a bit of a specialty for me!
The Seattle Post Intelligencer – I’ll be in Seattle (my first time there) at Elliot Bay Books on Monday May 7th by the way
Time‘s blog review was rather good I’m happy to say
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Posted: April 30th, 2012 | 4 Comments »
I’m indebted to the Old China Hand and ever alert Italian Journalist in Beijing Laura Daverio for this photo. Destroy a hutong, rebuild a hutong in fake replica style and then let Colonel Sanders move in with that tradition Jingpai special sauce and then illegally park a crappy German car outside!! Oh dear!!
Posted: April 30th, 2012 | No Comments »
Not many know that the regal Astor Hotel on the banks of the Hai River in the heart of the former British Concession of Tientsin (Tianjin) was the favourite hotel of a young American mining engineer by the name of Herbert Hoover who later became the 31st President of the United States. In reality the Hoover’s only stayed in the Astor for a few weeks in 1899 but that hasn’t stopped the hotel opening a “Hoover Suite†and intimating he was President when he stayed there – not quite, Hoover wouldn’t be the Commander-in-Chief for another 30 years. Still, he did pick up a little Chinese and reportedly used it in the White House when he wanted a private conversation with his wife.
Herbert and Lou Hoover
Posted: April 29th, 2012 | No Comments »
Midnight in Peking, and me, will be at Left Bank Books in St Louis, MO this week on May 1. It somehow seems appropriate to be visiting Left Bank Books on May Day!
- Left Bank Books – Central West End
- 399 N. Euclid Ave.
- Saint Louis
- Missouri
- 63108
- United States
- More details here
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Posted: April 28th, 2012 | No Comments »
The Shanghai Power Company was the major electricity generator for the International Settlement and also sold electricity into nearby Chinese controlled areas and Frenchtown. But the company was also a retailer, the Gome chain of its day! And, of course, as a company that sold electricity they were rather keen, in 1937, for you to buy electric cookers…
Posted: April 28th, 2012 | No Comments »
The Bookreporter site is giving away 25 free copies of my book Midnight in Peking to US readers – you just have to go to this site and fill out some form before May 3rd.
Posted: April 28th, 2012 | No Comments »
I’m greatly looking forward to talking about Midnight in Peking at the Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse on the 28th at 1pm. More details here
