Midnight in peking fulldescription winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa non fiction dagger from the author of city of devils. Jul 11, 2012 midnight in peking is a combination of what happened, analysis of the police investigation, and guide to 1937 peking. It was first published by penguin australia in association with penguin china in 2011 and has since been published by penguin books in the uk and by penguin group usa. An instant true crime classic which grips and hooks from the first page to the last. Wonderfully written, it proves fact is stranger that fiction. Apr 16, 2012 penguin books, the publisher of shanghaibased author paul frenchs successful book midnight in peking, announced today that television serial rights have been sold to kudos television of.
Ebook midnight in peking as pdf download portable document. Midnight in peking king county library system overdrive. More tales of intrigue in old peking from bestselling author paul french through portraits of eight residents of pekings infamous badlands district, paul french brings the area and 1930s peking vividly to life. Frenchs recreation of the police investigation will have you enthralled. Midnight in peking top nonfiction true crime books. Winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa non fiction dagger from the author of city of devils chronicling an incredible unsolved murder, midnight in peking captures the aftermath of the brutal killing of a british schoolgirl in january 1937. Jun 08, 2012 midnight in peking could be usefully supplemented by a book such as robert bickerss empire made me, which tells the tale of a british policeman stationed in shanghai between the wars, and. I admit i was a bit uncertain as to how well this book would lend itself. In this deft reconstruction of events from newspaper and police reports, diaries and archives, shanghaibased historian french through the looking glass. It tells the story of pamela werner, a 20 year old englishwoman who was brutally murdered on the night of the russian christmas in 1937 in peking. As an example of criminal nonfiction this book ranks alongside notable works such as in cold blood by truman capote. Winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa nonfiction dagger from the author of city of devilschronicling an incredible unsolved murder, midnight in peking captures the aftermath of the brutal killing of a british schoolgirl in january 1937. Midnight in peking goodreads meet your next favorite book. Yet midnight in peking grabs the reader from the first paragraph and reads with all the suspense and immediacy of a work of fiction.
More stories from midnight in peking a penguin special author. Book overview winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa nonfiction dagger from the author of city of devils chronicling an incredible unsolved murder, midnight in peking captures the aftermath of the brutal killing of a british schoolgirl in january 1937. The murder was investigated by a british detective and a chinese detective. Midnight in peking is both a detective story and a social history, and therefore as it should always keeps the hunt for pamelas killers somewhere near the center of the narrative. The japanese are encircling the city, and the discovery of pamela werners body sends a shiver through already nervous peking.
Midnight in peking deserves a place alongside both these masters. The book is eminently readable, despite the shocking nature of the crime. Midnight in peking paul french paperback books online. The book takes the reader into the intricacies of the foreign legation quarter, and the lives that the areas inhabitants lived, surrounded by the poorer areas of peking, on the verge of the japanese invasion of china.
Joseph kanon is the author of six novels, most recently istanbul passage. Midnight in peking is the painstaking reconstruction of the unsolved murder of a 19yearold daughter of a retired british diplomat and scholar beijing in the late 1930s. A bestselling book, midnight in peking, declared the murderer to be an american dentist, but english policeman graeme sheppard, 30 years with scotland yard, decided that conclusion was flawed, spent years investigating all aspects of the case and came up with an entirely different conclusion. How the murder of a young englishwoman haunted the last days of old china by paul french about the book in the last days of old peking, where anything goes, can a murderer escape justice. The mutilated body of pamela werner was found at the base of the fox tower, which, according to local.
If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that. It is the storytelling flair that marks midnight in peking so highly. Certainly not more information midnight in peking starts off like a usual cold case book. Bbc radio 4 book of the week, paul french midnight in peking. A father hunts for his daughters killer in the gripping true story midnight in peking by paul french which finally solves the case. Midnight in peking is the black dahlia meets inspector morse, with a little empire of the sun thrown in. Midnight in peking is one of the best true crime book that ive ever read. Midnight in peking by paul french is a nonfiction crime book, a novelization of the whole affair, following the investigations led by the british and chinese police, as well as pamelas own father. If youve picked this book up expecting yet another truecrime novel filled with the. Winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa non fiction dagger from the author of city of devils. Part history, part coldcase mystery, midnight in peking began literally as a. Penguin books, the publisher of shanghaibased author paul frenchs successful book midnight in peking, announced today that television serial rights have been sold to kudos television of. Peking is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, lavish cocktail bars and opium dens, warlords and corruption, rumours and superstition. Paul frenchs most popular book is midnight in peking.
Winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa nonfiction dagger. Sydney morning herald a brilliantly evocative book. Midnight in peking could be usefully supplemented by a book such as. Midnight in peking by paul french is highly recommended. Having long lived in peking, werner sensed that such a murder had not been committed by chinese. A suspenseful murder mystery set on the eve of the japanese invasion of old peking in 1937. His book on pamela, midnight in peking, is a fascinating tale of life and death in a city on the brink of allout war, a world of. This is non fiction and takes place in 1937 when a 19 year old english woman is found murdered and mutilated in peking. Midnight in peking is the true story of the murder of a young british woman in peking in january 1937, written by paul french. Aug 22, 2012 peking in 1937 is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, opulence and opium dens, rumors and superstition. How the murder of a young englishwoman haunted the last days of old china by paul french. Midnight in peking by paul french penguin books new zealand.
Chinas foreign journalists from opium wars to mao, 2009, etc. But halfway through something magical happens and every revelation is jaw dropping and a testament to etc werners love for his daughter. The first thing that needs to be stated is that at no point did french substitute facts with sensationalism. Midnight in peking fulldescription winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa nonfiction dagger from the author of city of devils. This is a genrebreaker that captures the atmosphere of 1930s peking. Paul frenchs midnight in peking is a reallife murder mystery in licentious thirties china.
Midnight in peking won the 20 cwa dagger award for non fiction. The selection for this session was midnight in peking by paul french. Midnight in peking, by french politics and prose bookstore. Aug 22, 2014 midnight in peking by paul french is a non fiction crime book, a novelization of the whole affair, following the investigations led by the british and chinese police, as well as pamelas own father. John berendt, author of midnight in the garden of good and evil vivid, pulsating, riveting. Winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa nonfiction dagger from the author of city of devils chronicling an incredible unsolved murder, midnight in peking captures the aftermath of the brutal killing of a british schoolgirl in january 1937. The judges praised the way he brilliantly evoked the uneasy atmosphere of chinas capital 80 years ago. Midnight in peking is the unputdownable true story of a murder that will make you hold your loved ones close, and also a sweepingly evocative. The mutilated body of pamela werner was found at the base of the fox tower, which, according to local superstition, is home to. Midnight in peking was a 2012 goodreads choice awards finalist and also won both the 20 edgar best fact crime book award by the mystery writers of america and the crime writers association uk nonfiction dagger award. Apr 11, 20 john berendt, author of midnight in the garden of good and evil vivid, pulsating, riveting. Mr french approaches the mystery, not as a writer of detective fiction, but as an. Midnight in peking was a 2012 goodreads choice awards finalist and also won both the 20 edgar best fact crime book award by the mystery writers of america and the crime writers association uk non fiction dagger award.
Im really glad ive joined my non fiction book clubs because, with the exception of one, all of the selections have been delightful. Midnight in peking could be usefully supplemented by a book such as robert bickerss empire made me, which tells the tale of a british policeman stationed in shanghai between the wars, and. Winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa nonfiction dagger from the author of city of devils. Ebook midnight in peking as pdf download portable document format. The independent a pageturning and fascinating true crime book. Etc werner was pamelas adoptive father, a retired consul who was an academic of chinese with a particular interest in mythology and language. Pdf midnight in peking download full pdf book download. Peking in 1937 is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, opulence and opium dens, rumors and superstition. In midnight in peking, historian and china expert paul french follows the unsolved murder of a british schoolgirl in 1937, as well as its bizarre aftermath. Peking is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, lavish cocktail bars and opium dens, warlords and corruption, rumours and superstition and the clock is ticking down on all of it.
But paul frenchs truecrime story is more than just a compelling cold case from late 1930s beijing then called peking by westerners. Chronicling an incredible unsolved murder, midnight in peking captures the aftermath of the brutal killing of a british schoolgirl in january 1937. Midnight in peking takes readers inside in the decadent final days of peking before the cataclysm of. To take the approach of a pitch for a hollywood movie. The success of the book is due to frenchs remarkable ability to spark the readers interest in events of long ago and far away, and, ultimately, to care about the victim. This is nonfiction and takes place in 1937 when a 19 year old english woman is found murdered and mutilated in peking. Paul french midnight in peking book of the week crawford logan reads the details of a scandalous murder mystery, mired in conspiracy and corruption, that haunted the last days of old peking. Midnight in peking is an intriguing book which looks at the gruesome murder of pamela werner at the same time as the japanese were poised to invade china. It was pamela werner, the teenage daughter of the citys former british consul etc werner. As an example of criminal non fiction this book ranks alongside notable works such as in cold blood by truman capote. Winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa non fiction dagger from the author of city of devilschronicling an incredible unsolved murder, midnight in peking captures the aftermath of the brutal killing of a british schoolgirl in january 1937. Midnight in peking by paul french penguin books australia. The bookseller selected as one to watch the most talkedabout read in.
If it were a work of fiction one might rate it highly, in spite of some odd phrases. Paul french has 30 books on goodreads with 31668 ratings. Paul frenchs narrative of the investigation is spellbinding, drawing the. Midnight in peking is a combination of what happened, analysis of the police investigation, and guide to 1937 peking. Paul frenchs midnight in peking to become a tv drama. Midnight in peking npr coverage of midnight in peking. Born in london, paul french has lived in china for more than 10 years. David peace, author of the damned utd unputdownable. Jan 11, 2016 midnight in peking is the painstaking reconstruction of the unsolved murder of a 19yearold daughter of a retired british diplomat and scholar beijing in the late 1930s. How the murder of a young englishwoman haunted the last days of old china paul french pdf. Midnight in peking how the murder of young englishwoman.
Midnight in peking could be usefully supplemented by a book such as robert bickerss empire made me, which tells the tale of a british policeman stationed in shanghai between the. Winner of the both the edgar award for best fact crime and the cwa non fiction dagger. Midnight in peking won the 20 cwa dagger award for nonfiction. Paul french pdf midnight in peking books to read kaabinet. Midnight in peking a book discussion books to the ceiling. Blending narrative history and the suspense of true crime, paul french solves this.