I mostly enjoyed this book. Two thirds of the way through I was wishing the killer would soon be caught, then towards the end I became engaged in the story again. I would read another Inspector Danilov mystery. It was entertaining. ( )

Shanghai in the 1920s and the city is a melting pot of cultures and vices. The French control one sector and another sector is international - run mainly by the British, there are native Chinese and many Russians displaced by the Revolution. One such Russian is Inspector Danilov, a policeman who is successful but faces prejudice from the British officers, he is a lone wolf but places some trust in Strachan, a mixed race junior officer. One morning a half-naked young woman called Sally Chen is discovered bleeding and hysterically shouting Danilov's name, she later dies, then a body is discovered in the grounds of the exclusive Country Club and two more are discovered at a local monument. All had links to a previous case solved by Danilov, one in which he shot and presumably killed the perpetrator, but as the body count rises Danilov realises that the case was not solved and someone is out for revenge.

I had read the first in this series but not the second and I may have to go back to that book as I thoroughly enjoyed this outing for Danilov. As expressed before, I feel that the setting in Shanghai is unusual and very atmospheric, Shanghai in the 1920s was pre-Communist and quite a hedonistic place, this gives Lee a lot of scope with plot lines and also with a variety of scenarios to provide background and colour. Although this is at heart a police procedural it is a well-written one and the characters are interesting. ( )