Qiu Xiaolong's mystery novels, featuring Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department, have largely dealt mainly with victims and perpetrators of China's tumultuous cultural revolution. While they gave historical insights into contemporary China, it is also fair to describe them as a form of dissident literature.
With "Don't Cry Tai Lake," Qiu turns his attention from the political baggage of the past to the devastating impact that China's rapid economic growth has been wreaking on the environment.
Chen, on break from his duties in Shanghai, finds himself in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, an ancient city famous for its scenic gardens and Lake Tai. For reasons that are hinted at but which never fully emerge, a senior party official has arranged for Chen to stay at the luxurious Wuxi Cadre Recreation Center on the shore of Lake Tai.