A long time ago (2017, or BC, as I like to say Before Covid), I read most of the Inspector Singh series. The premise is a pudgy (much is made of this) detective, beleaguered by both supervisor and wife, is involved in various countries to solve a case. At the time, my library system did not have this book, so I was left unfulfilled, or so I thought. Efforts to find my mom a read brought up this series, so I checked for availability. The rest is history.

Hopefully, at least. Because this book worked only marginally for me. It could be the 2024 mentality, when I can no longer gloss over the constant references to Singh's 'bulk,' or his harridan wife. But mostly, it is that it no longer straddles the tone between thoughtful social commentary and mystery. Like a hammer, Flint is intent on showing the worst sides of the Chinese system. I'll admit that this approach could have been apparent in other books, and time has glossed over the memory. But I seem to remember them more as more gentle cultural commentaries.

Singh is pulled into it by a high-level diplomat seeking to find out who killed her son. Told from multiple points of view, almost everyone is complicit and receives authorial condemnation, excepting, perhaps, a young woman. It is told from a wide variety of viewpoints: a male graduate student, Singh, a factory worker from the provinces, the villain, a teacher and revolutionary, the daughter of a diplomat, a Chinese detective, etc. We switch from one to the next in real time, watching as Singh happens on the threads weaving around him. This wouldn't be terrible, except there is a lot of frank corruption, and lives are virtually meaningless here. Death spoiler: there's the first death that starts the case, then there are five more deaths the professor, the worker, the assassin, the husband, the other wife. In China, it appears, life is not precious (except as it is commodified), and Flint wants us to know it (I wonder what would happen if Flint came to America?). Unsurprisingly, this tips the balance between light murder mystery into heavy-handed commentary.

I didn't feel good finishing it. The mystery worked, more or less. As a book, decidedly less so; neither cosy nor [b:Hamlet|1420|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1351051208l/1420._SY75_.jpg|1885548], I can't really recommend it. ( )

This was a great read, though much darker than I had expected.
The setting in China made for a great deal of social commentary and
Cultural color.Falun gong and tianemen square are a few of the touchstones The characters were well drawn, with a bit of good guy/bad guy simplicity
That was fine for this kind of book. The plot was easy to follow without being too simplistic.
Will definitely try more by this author ( )

I always loved the covers on these books but not being a mystery fan, I figured I'd never get around to reading them...until this past week when I got myself into a situation for class and ended picking this one up at the last minute. Could Shamini Flint turn me into a mystery reader? The jury's still out on that, but I will definitely be sure to read the other books in this series. I loved Inspector Singh's role as "the corpulent copper," who loves his curries, cold beer, and cigarettes (clearly more culturally a Sikh than religiously) nearly as much as he loves solving a tricky murder. I loved the sense of place Flint created here--the setting was so well-constructed, I was totally immersed, wandering through the streets, markets, and restaurants of Beijing as well. I loved the peculiarities of all the characters, with even the bad guys being so bad they were delightful. And even though grisly murders pepper the novel, it sustains a quaint level of humor throughout that it's just totally charming. My only regret is that, per the parameters of my RA class, I started with the latest installment in the series, not that it really seems to matter necessarily the order they're read, but it does bristle my OCD tendencies to read an author/series chronologically. Ah well, I'll be happily starting at square one with Singh and enjoy the ride.

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Serendipitously counting for my "takes place in Asia" criteria for the Read Harder challenge. ( )

Inspector Singh again finds himself with an overseas posting. Not that he will have authority A crime has been committed against a Singaporean national in Beijing and he is being sent to represent Singaporean interests. The First Secretary at the Singapore embassy in Beijing has personally requested him. No one is suggesting that he will be able to solve the crime. In fact he suspects that his superiors are hopeful that his involvement will in some way be terminal and that he will not return to Singapore.

This series is a delightful read and this title is no exception. Throughout the series Singh's character has become stronger and I think he has become a better detective. In Beijing he is given a disgraced retired detective as his offsider and interpreter and between them they actually make a formidable pair. The setting is very topical because it involves land development in Beijing, the removal of century old hutongs and their replacement with modern buildings, but it also involves graft and corruption at the highest level even in the police force. In the background there is the handling of protest through re-education, and a sniff of other forms of corruption.

Singh steams on, sampling local cuisine with gusto, and following his intuition.

Recommended. ( )

The First Secretary at the Singaporean embassy to the People's Republic of China asks for Inspector Singh to look into the murder of her son, which the Chinese authorities seem too ready to write off as a mugging gone wrong.

As usual, despite the semi-comic figure of Inspector Singh, the author does not flinch from looking at political and social issues which some might say are nastier than individual crimes. ( )