Qiu Xiaolong's police procedural novels, featuring Shanghai police inspector Chen Cao, have gradually shifted from the earlier themes dealing with the deep wounds left by the insanity of the 1960s' Cultural Revolution, and have more recently focused on social issues more relevant to present-day China. His previous work, "Don't Cry, Tai Lake," dealt with whistle-blowers trying to halt the industrial pollution of a famous scenic lake in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.
ENIGMA OF CHINA, by Qiu Xiaolong. Minotaur Books, 2013, 288 pp., $25.99 (hardcover)
THE CORPSE READER, by Antonio Garrido. AmazonCrossing, 2013, 494 pp., $14.95 (paperback)