Paper Butterfly Review

Paper Butterfly is the second novel in the Mei Wang series written by Diane Wei Liang. Liang was born in Beijing of parents who were consigned to a remote labor camp during part of her childhood. In 1989, she was involved in the protest in Tiananmen Square. Those two experiences provided her with insider knowledge put to good use in Paper Butterfly.

The story begins with Lin, sentenced to eight years in a work camp in Gansu Province at the age of twenty due to betrayal by a childhood friend. His time at the camp cost him his youth, his sweetheart, and almost cost him his life. He served his time and was released with very little: the clothes on his back, a brand new Mao jacket, and a small amount of money. The reader follows his trail as he slowly makes his way back, physically and emotionally, to civilization.

When Mei Wang suddenly resigned from the Ministry for Public Security, she decided to open a detective agency. Although private detectives were banned in China, her title “information consultant” brought her great success with a nice apartment and new car. At thirty-one, she was still not married, a situation she heard much about due to the oft- vocal disappointment of her mother and highly successful, and very married, sister, a TV talk show host.

The president of a record company hired Mei to find a rising pop star who has gone missing. Kaili had disappeared for several days when Mei agreed to a discreet search into the troubled singer’s life. Although the police think her disappearance was related to robbery, Mei began to search into Kaili’s past. As she searched Kaili’s apartment, she found a stack of love letters tucked away years ago signed only by “L” and a homemade paper butterfly. She had no idea they might hold the key to the case.

After Kaili was found dead, Mei was dismissed from the case. Unable to let go of Kaili’s life, Mei decided to continue on her own. She soon found herself receiving threats and her life at risk. As Mei traveled throughout the city, the reader was drawn into her world, a world of promise and of danger.

Paper Butterfly was written by Diane Wei Liang, a woman who has strong insider knowledge of Beijing, its history and politics. A woman who brings her past and present into the story by deftly weaving personal experience into the narrative providing a heartbreaking tale of love lost due to the political strife of the times. The author shows how once one’s course is set, it is almost impossible to return to the old way of life.

Liang writes with poignancy, drawing on the sights, sounds, and smell of a city teeming with life. She has created a modern day female detective struggling with a mix of the new ways and the old traditions of her family. This unique mixture together with Liang’s life experiences combine genuine mystery and mystique into one thoroughly enjoyable story.

You can buy Paper Butterfly at Amazon.com.

Starvation Lake - Review

Jack Blackburn, Starvation Lake’s legendary junior hockey coach, disappeared when his snowmobile fell through the ice on Starvation Lake; his body never found. Ten years later, pieces of his snowmobile surfaced on another lake five miles away.

Gus Carpenter was the team’s star goalie until he left town in shame after blowing the one opportunity the team had to win the state hockey championship. He recently returned to Starvation Lake after a failed attempt at a career with a major Detroit, MI newspaper to become the editor of the Pilot.

Determined to solve the mysterious disappearance of his longtime hockey coach, Gus uses his investigative skills to sort through the myriad rumors, false leads, and taunts by those in town who have secrets of their own. The deeper he digs into the past the more obvious it is someone does not want him to succeed.

At the same time, he finds himself embroiled in a possible lawsuit and prison time when he will not reveal his source in a series of investigative stories he wrote while at the Detroit paper.

Bryan Gruley, award-winning Chicago bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal, has written a highly entertaining first novel. His insider knowledge into the world of journalism is apparent in the vivid descriptions and attention to detail.

Starvation Lake is a violent novel of betrayal and pain, and an example of how far some people will go to bring a dying town back to life. Frequent flashbacks to hockey scenes of the past may bother some people, but they contain important information into the motives and behavior of the players and town people years later.

Starvation Lake is a haunting story of harsh reality in a small town. The well-developed characters make it easy for the reader to become embroiled in their lives. What becomes of the small town and its people in the aftermath of the scandal? Not only does one hope that there will be another Gus Carpenter tale, but that this is only the first of many fine Bryan Gruley novels.

You can buy Starvation Lake at Amazon.com.

The Ingredients of a Good Thriller

In The Ingredients of a Good Thriller, Chris Wood has written a guide for anyone interested in writing books or screenplays in the thriller genre. Especially aimed at new mystery writers, directors, or actors, this companion piece is not meant to be complete, but a resource to draw from for anyone who would like to be a successful writer.

Filled with insights and anecdotes, Wood’s subtitle reads, “A simple guide to noir, cops, gangsters, heists, and badasses in book and film, and how to make that genre work for you as a writer.” A long subtitle, but an apt description for what the author admits is a quick and easy read.

Subdivided into five areas, the book begins with basic starting points that include different types of thrillers, plots, settings, crime scenes, and a good start. The second section describes various character types such as the sleuth, the sidekick, the villain, the victim, the anti-hero, the red herring, and the enabler.

Wood also has sections on showing and shaping characters, and approaches and details. The later section includes discussion regarding atmosphere, how to make the reader flinch, how to make a kill a crowd pleaser, and how to use suspense, humor, and reality.

How to give your writing a real feel with research, details, and facts will enlighten the beginning writer. There are times in a story when too much detail is given; for example, Wood suggests knowing the precise location of the vending machines at FBI Headquarters may be more detail than the reader needs. Such detail can slow the narrative flow and cause the reader to lose interest.

A recommended list of crime films and crime books, many of them British, will provide the budding thriller writer with plenty of examples of how to write to impress an audience. By no means a definitive list, there are numerous quality and historic movies and books to study and emulate.

The closing chapter of The Ingredients of a Good Thriller provides an essential outline of what is necessary to write a thriller, book, or movie that will drive readers and viewers to long for more from the author.

Throughout the book, Wood uses examples from well-known books, feature films, and television series to make his point. The chapters are short and to the point, and would make an excellent outline for those who want to delve deeper into any one area.

You can purchase Ingredients of a Good Thriller at Amazon.com.