The Interior - (Red Princess Mysteries) by Lisa See (Paperback)

About the Book

Beijing police detective Liu Hulan sets out to find the truth about the suicide death of her friend's daughter. The case takes Hulan into her own buried past, and into the heart of a dangerous mystery--and brings her and her American lover, attorney David Stark, closer than they ever imagined.

Book Synopsis

"See paints a fascinating portrait of a complex and enigmatic society, in which nothing is ever quite as it appears, and of the people, peasant and aristocrat alike, who are bound by its subtle strictures."--San Diego Union-Tribune

While David Stark is asked to open a law office in Beijing, his lover, detective Liu Hulan, receives an urgent message from an old friend imploring her to investigate the suspicious death of her daughter, who worked for a toy company about to be sold to David's new client, Tartan Enterprises.

Despite David's protests, Hulan goes undercover at the toy factory in the rural village of Da Shui, deep in the heart of China. It is a place that forces Hulan to face a past she has long been running from. Once there, rather than finding answers to the girl's death, Hulan unearths more questions, all of which point to possible crimes committed by David's client. Suddenly Hulan and David find themselves on opposing sides: One of them is trying to expose a company and unearth a killer, while the other is ethically bound to protect his client. As pressures mount and danger increases, Hulan and David uncover universal truths about good and evil, right and wrong-and the sometimes subtle lines that distinguish them.

Praise for The Interior

"[See] illuminates tradition and change, Western and Eastern cultural differences. . . . All this in the middle of her thriller which is also about greed, corruption, abuse of the disadvantaged, the desperation of those on the bottom of the food chain, and love."--The Tennessean

"Sophisticated . . . graceful . . . See's picture of contemporary China's relationship with the United States is aptly played out through her characters."--Los Angeles Times

"Immediate, haunting and exquisitely rendered."--San Francisco Chronicle

Review Quotes

"Lisa See [does] for Beijing what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did for turn-of-the-century London or Dashiell Hammett did for 1920s San Francisco: She discerns the hidden city lurking beneath the public facade." -- "Washington Post Book World""Original and fresh, an absorbing look at an unfamiliar world."-- "Publishers Weekly""A must-read for those looking for foreign intrigue."-- "Rocky Mountain News"

About the Author

Lisa See is the New York Times bestselling author of Dreams of Joy, Shanghai Girls, Peony in Love, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Flower Net (an Edgar Award nominee), The Interior, and Dragon Bones, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir On Gold Mountain. The Organization of Chinese American Women named her the 2001 National Woman of the Year. She lives in Los Angeles.