{"product_id":"inspector-chen-and-the-private-kitchen-murder-9780727850713","title":"Inspector Chen and the Private Kitchen Murder","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChen Cao has been removed from his chief inspector role, but that doesn't stop him investigating a 'private kitchen' murder that has similarities to a Judge Dee story.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNo longer a chief inspector, Chen Cao finds himself as director of the Shanghai Judicial System Reform Office. To outsiders it's a promotion, but Chen knows he's being removed from the spotlight as he's immediately placed on involuntary 'convalescence leave' to stop him interfering with any cases. However, with various high-profile crimes making headlines and fears escalating over vigilante reprisals, Chen's superiors know he must at least appear active. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne case revolves around Min Lihau, a \u003ci\u003emingyuan\u003c\/i\u003e, who runs a 'private kitchen' for powerful figures in Shanghai. Min's accused of murdering her assistant, yet Chen is struck by the similarities to a historic case involving the famous Judge Dee. When an acquaintance of his is murdered in connection with Min, Chen knows he can't stand idly by . . . but he must act in secret, under the cover of writing a Judge Dee novel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnthony Award-winning author \u003cb\u003eQiu Xiaolong\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Shanghai and moved to Washington University in St Louis, US, to complete a PhD degree in comparative literature. After the Tiananmen tragedy in 1989 he stayed on in St Louis where he still lives with his wife. Qiu's sold over two million copies of his Inspector Chen mysteries worldwide and been published in twenty languages. On top of his fiction, he is a prize-winning writer of poetry. He is Junwu Distinguished Professor at Guangxi University. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAll the titles in the Inspector Chen series, including \u003ci\u003eHold Your Breath, China\u003c\/i\u003e, have been dramatized in BBC Radio 4 productions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Judge Dee novel that Chen Cao is writing in \u003ci\u003eInspector Chen and the Private Kitchen Murder\u003c\/i\u003e will soon be published by Severn House. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ewww.qiuxiaolong.com\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Severn House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50495756534034,"sku":"9780727850713","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_dc61819f-c20e-4902-b1b1-500d61f1a56e.jpg?v=1730687362","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/inspector-chen-and-the-private-kitchen-murder-9780727850713","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}