Review: Gentle crime story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 29, 2011
This tale is presently available as a free download on Kindle. It is a short story at just under 9,000 words and demonstrates the author's adaptability in expertly penning a tremendous variety of style in his fictional works.It introduces readers to the very dapper Inspector Zhang of Singapore Police. Together with his sidekick Sergeant Lee, the narrative has the Inspector leading his sergeant through his very carefully deliberated thought processes in solving the murder of a businessman in a five star hotel - a crime that is very rare in Singapore.I have read almost all of Stephen Leather's work and Inspector Zhang is very different from his previous work. The main character has a very gentle feel to him.The author demonstrates the ability to please aficionados of serial killer fiction with work such asThe Basement; crime/action thrillers with the Dan Shepherd series - the next in the seriesFair Game (A Dan Shepherd Mystery)(The 8th Spider Shepherd Thriller) is due out at the end of July; vampire tales withOnce Bittenand the Inspector Zhang stories will certainly suit those of a gentler disposition!I do hope Stephen will produce more tales about Inspector Zhang - perhaps in a longer novella?If you're looking for a short, fairly gentle crime tale, this will definitely suit you.UPDATE - Another three Inspector Zhang short stories are now available at a very minimal cost (less than a daily newspaper):Inspector Zhang And The Falling Woman (a short story)Inspector Zhang And The Dead Thai Gangster (a short story)Inspector Zhang and the Disappearing Drugs (a short story)