Midnight in Peking
The Murder That Haunted the Last Days of Old China
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Midnight in Peking
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Narrated by:
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Crawford Logan
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By:
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Paul French
Summary
The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Paul French's Midnight in Peking, a gripping, true murder mystery story read by the actor Crawford Logan.
Who killed Pamela Werner?
On a frozen night in January 1937, in the dying days of colonial Peking, a body was found under the haunted watchtower. It was Pamela Werner, the teenage daughter of the city's former British consul Edward Werner. Her heart had been removed.
A horrified world followed the hunt for Pamela's killer, with a Chinese-British detective team pursuing suspects including a blood-soaked rickshaw puller, the Triads, and a lascivious grammar school headmaster. But the case was soon forgotten amid the carnage of the Japanese invasion... by all but Edward Werner. With a network of private investigators and informers, he followed the trail deep into Peking's notorious Badlands and back to the gilded hotels of the colonial Quarter.
Some 75 years later, deep in the Scotland Yard archives, British historian Paul French accidentally came across the lost case file prepared by Edward Werner. Unveiling an undercover sex cult, heroin addicts and disappearing brothels, the truth behind the crime can now be told - and is more disturbing than anyone could imagine.
Not just the unputdownable story of a savage murder, Midnight in Peking is a sweepingly evocative account of the end of an era.
Critic reviews
This is one of the few audiobooks that I know I'll return to in a year or so. My experience was enhanced by having read other historical documents from this era of Peking, but the political inner turmoil as documented here through the lens of a suspicious murder, corrupt officials and chinese folklore was just tremendously enjoyable.
Exciting
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Fascinating.
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Historian and author, Paul French evokes a lost world with this portrait of the waning Colonial Peking of the 1930s, capturing a gilded community of ex-pats, privileged chancers, petty diplomats and bored youth on the cusp of dramatic change. The book provides an informed but accessible historical-political context for the story, coming most alive when describing the seedy demimonde of the Peking Badlands: a flophouse district of brothels, casinos, opium dens and slum rookeries populated by the desperate and indigent jetsam of a world in turmoil. Here, amongst the heroin smugglers and people traffickers, the small-time lowlife and destitute Tsarist exiles, bright young things would dance through the last nights of a passing era.
French keeps his sympathy with Pamela pinned to the forefront of the story, but is blessed by a narrative rich with colourful characters, bizarre twists, exotic atmosphere and lurid details; Graham Greene and Raymond Chandler would build careers from these sort of ingredients. With official investigation perfunctory and the case unsolved, French draws many of his conclusions from a private report collated by Pamela's father, whose dogged attempts to find justice for his murdered child met only with heart-breaking intransigence from the supercilious Colonial authorities.
Veteran actor Crawford Logan provides a patrician tone to the narration, dignified but capturing the author's latent sense of outrage at the callousness involved.
The audiobook format means that occasional recaps from one chapter to the next seem more frequent than they would on the page, and whilst the lack of photos is a shame, the story is easily strong enough to ignore such issues.
The Heart of the Matter
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The story was exceptionally detailed and re-reading may gather up more details than on first listen. The book didn't take long for me to get through, as I travel an hour to and from work on public transport.
What other book might you compare Midnight in Peking to, and why?
The book most reminds me of Empire Made Me by Robert Bickers. This was the first book I ordered as an e-book over in China. The two books are cross over the same time period in the same country. The two non-fiction books used detailed historical references, letters and notes to support the narrative.
What about Crawford Logan’s performance did you like?
The narrators performance was exemplary. It couldn't be better and I eagerly await more books read meticulously by him.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I developed great empathy with Mr Werner, for his loss but also a huge amount of respect for the strength of character he showed throughout his search for the truth and the culture and background he had, that had made him that way. It reminded me of a stronger more resolved version of myself. A character to aspire to. I felt sickened at Mr. Han's creative derailment of the investigation, and Officer Botham's unprofessional and brutish drunken man-handling of the witnesses. I felt revulsion at the self-serving bureaucrats who's cowardice and self-serving actions made no sense in blackballing a man who from every angle out flanked them in class, dignity and resolve.
Any additional comments?
Class from start to finish. It was a pleasing touch that the author had a chance to speak at the end of the work. I hope that this practice is carried over onto other books as I felt it added sincerity, insight and respect for both the writer and the listener - me. Thank you very much!
A worthy first foray into the talking book
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If you could sum up Midnight in Peking in three words, what would they be?
Authentic, Unusual, InterestingWhat did you like best about this story?
Builds on an genuine case using historical documents and fills in the backdrop with convincing atmospheric detail.What about Crawford Logan’s performance did you like?
The story came to the forefront not the narration and this felt very professional. i e. an excellent performance.Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Made me want to find out a lot more about the history of this period in China.Any additional comments?
A fabulous listen whilst in early stages of planning for a trip to China.Atmospheric recreation of an era
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