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Title details for Midnight in Peking by Paul French - Available

Midnight in Peking

How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China

by Paul French
Erik Singer
Audiobook
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1 of 1 copy available
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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    April 24, 2012

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781101979280
      • File size: 237276 KB
      • Duration: 08:14:19

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Erik Singer narrates a fascinating account of the investigation of the shocking murder of a young Englishwoman, Pamela Werner, set against the backdrop of Peking, a city at a crossroads in 1937, with the Japanese poised to occupy China. Singer's performance is evocative as he transports listeners to the atmosphere of Old China, with its privileged expatriate community and its dignified legations, and its vice-ridden Badlands, rife with prostitution and opium dens. The account of Pamela's brutal murder and her father's search for justice is gripping, capturing a colorful array of characters both foreign and local. Singer allows the material to speak for itself, moving the story forward seamlessly and shedding light on a China of times past. S.E.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 12, 2011
      Historian French (Through the Looking Glass: China’s Foreign Journalists from Opium Wars to Mao) unravels a long-forgotten 1937 murder in this fascinating look at Peking (now Beijing) on the brink of Japanese occupation. The severely mutilated body of 19-year-old Pamela Werner—the adopted daughter of noted Sinologist and longtime Peking resident Edward Werner—was discovered, with many of her organs removed, near the border between the Badlands, a warren of alleyways full of brothels and opium dens, and the Legation Quarter, where Peking’s foreign set resided in luxury. A case immediately fraught with tension was made even trickier when the local detective, Col. Han Shih-ching, was made to work alongside Scotland Yard–trained Richard Dennis, based in Tientsin. The investigation soon stalled: the actual scene of Pamela’s murder could not be found, and leads fizzled out. As China’s attention turned to the looming Japanese occupation, the case was deemed “unsolved.” French painstakingly reconstructs the crime and depicts the suspects—using Werner’s own independent research, conducted after authorities refused to reopen his daughter’s case. Compelling evidence is coupled with a keen grasp of Chinese history in French’s worthy account.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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