Midnight in Peking : The Murder That Haunted the Last Days of Old China Paperback / softback

Midnight in Peking is a gripping true murder mystery by Paul FrenchTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4'A first-rate murder story, a thrilling narrative.

Hurtles along from one cliffhanger to the next' SpectatorPeking, 1937:The teenage daughter of a British consul is brutally slaughtered.

The police investigation is botched; as war looms British and Chinese authorities close ranks.

A grieving father vows to uncover the truth - alone. Seventy-five years later, historian Paul French uncovers a stash of forgotten documents revealing the killer's identity . . . For those who loved The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil this is a riveting and evocative true crime classic. 'Gripping, spellbinding . . . drawing the reader from the very first pages into an unwholesome, macabre world' Guardian'Part historical docudrama, part tragic opera . . . it is French's enormous achievement that he pieces together the puzzle.

He tells this tale with the skill of an Agatha Christie' Financial Times'Fascinating and irresistible.

I couldn't put it down'John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'Vivid, pulsating, riveting.

It is the storytelling flair that marks Midnight in Peking so highly: with its false leads and twists . . . it sucks the reader in like the best fiction' ScotsmanBorn in London, Paul French has lived in China for more than 10 years.

He is a widely published analyst and commentator on China; his books include a history of North Korea, a biography of Shanghai adman and adventurer Carl Crow, and a history of foreign correspondents in China.