The Eye of Jade Audiobook

Quotes

• “Diane Wei Liang takes what seems to be a clever gimmick—the first female private investigator in Beijing—and infuses it with a poignant mediation on being an outsider who suddenly wants to find her way back in…Liang’s clear, inviting prose already portends a strong future in the genre.”

  — Baltimore Sun

• “In Diane Wei Liang’s first novel, The Eye of Jade, chick lit meets crime fiction…It’s less a racy thriller and more a slice-of-life portrayal of a thoughtful, independent, contemporary Chinese woman who also happens to be a private detective.”

  — San Francisco Chronicle

• “[Diane Wei Liang] evokes Beijing beautifully and her excellent novel is crammed with fascinating detail.”

  — Daily Telegraph (London)

• “An exquisitely written book, with the added bonus of a great plot and an engaging leading lady.”

  — Sun-Herald (Australia)

• “Liang kicks off her new series by…focus[ing] on social, family, and feminist issues. Not your typical mystery, but written with subtle intelligence and heart.”

  — Kirkus Reviews

• “We’ve all heard of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith’s bestselling novels about a female private detective from Botswana. Now it’s China’s turn. On the surface The Eye of Jade is a classic detective fiction with lots of underworld contacts and hushed conversations in noodle bars, but underneath, Liang, who fled China after her involvement in the student protests in Tiananmen Square, is doing something much more than an examination of China old and new. There’s an incredible tension between old Communist China and a new capitalist future; this tension is at the heart of the novel. This novel takes on subjects that in the past would have been censored.”

  — BBC

• “This first novel brings the dizzying pace of modern Beijing vividly to life.”

  — Weekend Australian

• “Chinese exile Liang, who fled her country after participating in the Tiananmen Square protests, makes an impressive debut with this understated mystery set in the late 1990s…Readers familiar with Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs will find many parallels between that independent and unconventional PI and Mei. Mei’s challenging family life nicely complements the puzzle of the missing jade and the shifting Chinese political climate.”

  — Publishers Weekly

• “Diane Wei Liang has captured the vibrancy of Beijing, certainly one of the world’s most fascinating cities, and overlaid a tale rich with history and filled with complex and entertaining characters. The novel is billed as the first in a new series; I hope the second installment arrives quickly.”

  — BookPage

• “With her snappy intelligence and sharp intuition, Diane Wei Liang’s private investigator Mei could give Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency a run for its money. Set in Beijing, this lively mystery, the first in a series, provides a glimpse of modern China, both the bright sheen of economic growth and the corruption beneath.”

  — South China Morning Post

• “This may start out as a straightforward mystery but it expands to encompass a meditation on the nature of love and justice in extraordinary circumstances.”

  — Herald Sun (Australia)