The Lake Ching Murders: A Mystery of Fire and Ice

Jerremie Clyde is a reference librarian at the University of Alberta.

Zhong Fong, former head of Special Investigations Shanghai District and
current political felon, is called back from his exile beyond the Wall
to help solve the murder of 17 foreigners on Lake Ching. Zhong, who has
had little communication with the outside world for two years, gathers
together members of his old unit. He knows that the only way to stay on
the civilized side of Wall, and possibly return to Shanghai, is to solve
the case and hope that the truth is what people really want to hear.

Crime scene investigation and police technique is the focus of this
competent mystery. Two weaknesses are the self-conscious delivery of the
main character’s thoughts and a romantic view of China that recalls
the fiction of Pearl Buck. The crime in the story bears a very strong
resemblance to a murder that took place in China on Qiandao Lake in the
province of Zhejiang on March 31, 1994. If that crime was a source of
inspiration for the author, it probably would have been appropriate for
him to say as much. Recommended for mystery lovers rather than those
with more than a passing knowledge of China.