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Sign up todayThe Eye of Jade
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Learn moreModern, independent Mei Wang runs her own PI business in Beijing; she even has that most modern of commodities, a male secretary. When a family friend asks her to locate a Han dynasty jade of great value that was taken from its museum during the years of the Cultural Revolution when Red Guards seized many relics, her investigation reveals a story that has more to do with the past and her own family history than she ever expected. To solve the case, Mei must delve into that dark, brutal part of China's history, Mao's labor camps, and the countless deaths for which no one was ever held responsible. It exposes the agonizing choices made during the Revolution, to kill or be killed, to love or to live.
Diane Wei Liang was born in Beijing. She spent part of her childhood with her parents in a labor camp in a remote region of China. In 1989 she took part in the Student Democracy Movement and protested in Tiananmen Square. She is a graduate of Peking University. She has a PhD in business administration from Carnegie Mellon University and was a professor of business in the US and the U.K. for more than ten years. She now writes full-time and lives in London with her husband and their two children.
Cindy Cheung is an actress whose credits include the films Lady in the Water and Spiderman 2 and the television shows Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: SVU, and Sex and the City. Cindy’s theater experience includes Lincoln Center and New York Theatre Workshop. She lives in New York.
Reviews
“Diane Wei Liang takes what seems to be a clever gimmick—the first female private investigator in Beijing—and infuses it with a poignant mediation on being an outsider who suddenly wants to find her way back in…Liang’s clear, inviting prose already portends a strong future in the genre.”
“In Diane Wei Liang’s first novel, The Eye of Jade, chick lit meets crime fiction…It’s less a racy thriller and more a slice-of-life portrayal of a thoughtful, independent, contemporary Chinese woman who also happens to be a private detective.”
“[Diane Wei Liang] evokes Beijing beautifully and her excellent novel is crammed with fascinating detail.”
“An exquisitely written book, with the added bonus of a great plot and an engaging leading lady.”
“Liang kicks off her new series by…focus[ing] on social, family, and feminist issues. Not your typical mystery, but written with subtle intelligence and heart.”
“We’ve all heard of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith’s bestselling novels about a female private detective from Botswana. Now it’s China’s turn. On the surface The Eye of Jade is a classic detective fiction with lots of underworld contacts and hushed conversations in noodle bars, but underneath, Liang, who fled China after her involvement in the student protests in Tiananmen Square, is doing something much more than an examination of China old and new. There’s an incredible tension between old Communist China and a new capitalist future; this tension is at the heart of the novel. This novel takes on subjects that in the past would have been censored.”
“This first novel brings the dizzying pace of modern Beijing vividly to life.”
“Chinese exile Liang, who fled her country after participating in the Tiananmen Square protests, makes an impressive debut with this understated mystery set in the late 1990s…Readers familiar with Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs will find many parallels between that independent and unconventional PI and Mei. Mei’s challenging family life nicely complements the puzzle of the missing jade and the shifting Chinese political climate.”
“Diane Wei Liang has captured the vibrancy of Beijing, certainly one of the world’s most fascinating cities, and overlaid a tale rich with history and filled with complex and entertaining characters. The novel is billed as the first in a new series; I hope the second installment arrives quickly.”
“With her snappy intelligence and sharp intuition, Diane Wei Liang’s private investigator Mei could give Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency a run for its money. Set in Beijing, this lively mystery, the first in a series, provides a glimpse of modern China, both the bright sheen of economic growth and the corruption beneath.”
“This may start out as a straightforward mystery but it expands to encompass a meditation on the nature of love and justice in extraordinary circumstances.”
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