Jordan Calinoff -- China Hand

[max doyle]

My first post here.

I was looking for a couple of guidebooks for an upcoming trip to Xian area. At amazon, I stumbled across the above book, which I guess is misfiled by Amazon...it is a novel not non-fiction. It was only $2.99, so I gave it a try. It blew me away. I read it in two sittings a couple of weekends ago. Probably would classify it as a thriller but what got me was the detailed portrayal of all that is modern China...especially the food. The chief protagonist must be a foodie...he's in restaurants a lot...the details about some the food exotica is great but it doesn't diminish the plot. Exciting and fun.

The author's bio indicates that he was journalist in China for a number of years, which is probably why the fiction has a non-fiction ring. A really good cheap read.