Shanghai: A Novel
Named a Best Mystery & Suspense Book of the Year by BookPage and CrimeReads

“A steamy, thrilling crime story” (The Washington Post) from New York Times bestselling author Joseph Kanon set in pre-World War II Shanghai, where glamour and squalor exist side by side and murder is just the cost of doing business.


After the violence of Kristallnacht (1938), European Jews, now desperate to emigrate, found the consular doors of the world closed to them. Only one port required no entry visa: Shanghai, a self-governing Western trading enclave in what was technically Chinese territory, a political anomaly that became an escape hatch-if you were lucky enough to afford a ticket on one of the great Lloyd liners sailing to the East and safety.

Daniel Lohr was one of the lucky ones-lucky enough to have escaped the Gestapo when his colleagues in the resistance were caught, lucky to have an uncle waiting in Shanghai, lucky to find a casual shipboard flirtation that turns unexpectedly passionate. But even lucky refugees have to confront the reality of Shanghai. With all their assets and passports confiscated by the Nazis, they arrive penniless and stateless in a tumultuous, nearly lawless city notorious for vice. When you can sink fast, how far are you willing to go to survive? What lines do you cross? As Daniel tries to navigate his way through his uncle's world in Shanghai's fabled nightlife, he finds himself increasingly ensnared in a maze where politics and crime are two sides of the same shiny coin. The trick, his uncle tells him, is to stay one step ahead. But how do you stay ahead of murder? How do you outrun your own past?

“A Casablanca-worthy setting for World War II-era intrigue” (Parade), Shanghai is the story of a political haven that becomes a minefield of conflicting loyalties-“one of [Kanon's] most satisfying historical thrillers to date” (The Wall Street Journal).
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Shanghai: A Novel
Named a Best Mystery & Suspense Book of the Year by BookPage and CrimeReads

“A steamy, thrilling crime story” (The Washington Post) from New York Times bestselling author Joseph Kanon set in pre-World War II Shanghai, where glamour and squalor exist side by side and murder is just the cost of doing business.


After the violence of Kristallnacht (1938), European Jews, now desperate to emigrate, found the consular doors of the world closed to them. Only one port required no entry visa: Shanghai, a self-governing Western trading enclave in what was technically Chinese territory, a political anomaly that became an escape hatch-if you were lucky enough to afford a ticket on one of the great Lloyd liners sailing to the East and safety.

Daniel Lohr was one of the lucky ones-lucky enough to have escaped the Gestapo when his colleagues in the resistance were caught, lucky to have an uncle waiting in Shanghai, lucky to find a casual shipboard flirtation that turns unexpectedly passionate. But even lucky refugees have to confront the reality of Shanghai. With all their assets and passports confiscated by the Nazis, they arrive penniless and stateless in a tumultuous, nearly lawless city notorious for vice. When you can sink fast, how far are you willing to go to survive? What lines do you cross? As Daniel tries to navigate his way through his uncle's world in Shanghai's fabled nightlife, he finds himself increasingly ensnared in a maze where politics and crime are two sides of the same shiny coin. The trick, his uncle tells him, is to stay one step ahead. But how do you stay ahead of murder? How do you outrun your own past?

“A Casablanca-worthy setting for World War II-era intrigue” (Parade), Shanghai is the story of a political haven that becomes a minefield of conflicting loyalties-“one of [Kanon's] most satisfying historical thrillers to date” (The Wall Street Journal).
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Shanghai: A Novel

Shanghai: A Novel

by Joseph Kanon

Narrated by Jonathan Davis

Unabridged — 10 hours, 24 minutes

Shanghai: A Novel

Shanghai: A Novel

by Joseph Kanon

Narrated by Jonathan Davis

Unabridged — 10 hours, 24 minutes

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Overview

Named a Best Mystery & Suspense Book of the Year by BookPage and CrimeReads

“A steamy, thrilling crime story” (The Washington Post) from New York Times bestselling author Joseph Kanon set in pre-World War II Shanghai, where glamour and squalor exist side by side and murder is just the cost of doing business.


After the violence of Kristallnacht (1938), European Jews, now desperate to emigrate, found the consular doors of the world closed to them. Only one port required no entry visa: Shanghai, a self-governing Western trading enclave in what was technically Chinese territory, a political anomaly that became an escape hatch-if you were lucky enough to afford a ticket on one of the great Lloyd liners sailing to the East and safety.

Daniel Lohr was one of the lucky ones-lucky enough to have escaped the Gestapo when his colleagues in the resistance were caught, lucky to have an uncle waiting in Shanghai, lucky to find a casual shipboard flirtation that turns unexpectedly passionate. But even lucky refugees have to confront the reality of Shanghai. With all their assets and passports confiscated by the Nazis, they arrive penniless and stateless in a tumultuous, nearly lawless city notorious for vice. When you can sink fast, how far are you willing to go to survive? What lines do you cross? As Daniel tries to navigate his way through his uncle's world in Shanghai's fabled nightlife, he finds himself increasingly ensnared in a maze where politics and crime are two sides of the same shiny coin. The trick, his uncle tells him, is to stay one step ahead. But how do you stay ahead of murder? How do you outrun your own past?

“A Casablanca-worthy setting for World War II-era intrigue” (Parade), Shanghai is the story of a political haven that becomes a minefield of conflicting loyalties-“one of [Kanon's] most satisfying historical thrillers to date” (The Wall Street Journal).

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A steamy, thrilling crime story that blends a film noir sensibility with eye-opening historical fiction." —Washington Post

“With Shanghai, Mr. Kanon has given readers one of his most satisfying historical thrillers to date.” —Wall Street Journal

“Kanon has a great ear for noir-ish, hardboiled quips and a gift for believably plunging his characters into the relentless flow of historic skullduggery.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Trust is a rare commodity in Joseph Kanon’s Shanghai which unfurls in such a classic noir style you expect Humphrey Bogart to turn up in one of its gangster-infested casinos.” —New York Times Book Review

“Kanon has selected a perfect location for intrigue, danger, and treacherous political dynamics. The strength of Shanghai is in its skillful plotting, with numerous twists and turns as befitting this tumultuous period in the city’s history. Kanon ably depicts the combustible elements fighting each other as well as the contrasts between the rich and the impoverished population. The novel teems with scheming characters, feints and deceptions, and an interwoven romance which will gratify readers.” —New York Journal of Books

“Nobody writes sophisticated, atmospheric spy fiction like Joseph Kanon. Vividly depicted, Shanghai is one of the best entries in a storied career. Kanon is quite simply a master storyteller.” —CrimeReads, Best Crime Novels of 2024

“The threats, narrow misses, and one-liners pack a punch in this tale of loyalty and survival.” —Christian Science Monitor

"Joseph Kanon's novels of wartime crime and espionage inhabit a perfectly evoked intersection between noir and Greeneland. . . . [his] cabaret is always a pleasure." —The Times (UK)

"Fascinating and tautly suspenseful . . . Joseph Kanon is known for his elegantly written, impressively immersive World War II thrillers, and Shanghai is no exception. . . . [he] transports readers to 1939 Shanghai, conjur[ing] the city’s veneer of glamour, and the danger and desperation festering beneath, with his trademark skill and verve. Shanghai artfully balances violence, romance, and edgy suspense in a layered and compelling tale of an extraordinary place and time in human history.” —BookPage (starred review)

"Joseph Kanon makes Shanghai a Casablanca-worthy setting for World War II-era intrigue. . . . Start casting the movie version now." —Parade

“As in his spy novels, Kanon demonstrates a mastery of closed-in drama. Such is the jabbing understatement of the dialogue—what’s withheld matters more than what’s said—that it holds you in suspense as much as any action scene. The contrast between his impeccable control and the nightmarish chaos of this time and place gives things a powerful edge. Kanon goes to China with stirring results." —Kirkus (starred review)

"A fast-paced thriller featuring vice, corruption and espionage in Shanghai before the start of World War II when Jewish people fled persecution in Germany." —AARP

“[A] superbly written WWII espionage thriller. . . . From the opening paragraph, it’s clear readers are in expert hands: Kanon writes with a master’s touch, flexing his gift for atmosphere and crafting characters who seem capable of walking off the page and taking a seat next to the reader. With pulse pounding suspense, top-shelf dialogue, and a palpable evocation of its period setting, this is as good as crime fiction gets.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Edgar–winning Kanon plays global and personal intrigues to perfection here. Fans of historical thrillers will appreciate Kanon’s ability to cloak betrayals with the period’s looming uncertainty and evoke Shanghai’s particular vitality.” —Booklist (starred review)

AudioFile Magazine

"Jonathan Davis digs deep into his narration toolbox in this atmospheric audiobook set in 1939. As the world prepares for war, displaced European Jews attempt a departure to parts unknown. Davis employs a stoic tone when describing Kristallnacht, the beatings, and the rounding up of family members. When the disparate citizens gather on a last-chance trip to Shanghai, Davis modulates the tempo and emotion throughout the remainder of the audiobook, ratcheting up the excitement for the final confrontation between the protagonist, Daniel, who is on the run from the Nazis, and Colonel Yamada, head of the Japanese Gestapo. Author Kanon is a master of plot coordination and mood, making this journey to Shanghai a satisfying listen."

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2024-04-20
In the aftermath of Kristallnacht, German resistance fighter Daniel Lohr escapes to Shanghai only to be surrounded by a different brand of violence.

Daniel, who’s half-Jewish, is among a shipload of European Jews who jump at the chance to relocate to Shanghai, even if it means surrendering all their money and worldly goods to the Nazis. As unlikely a destination as it is, it’s the only port that doesn’t require an entrance visa. Daniel, whose Jewish father was killed by the Nazis, goes to work for his uncle Nathan, who runs a successful casino in a dangerous part of Shanghai in advance of the anticipated Japanese occupation. Daniel is quickly indoctrinated into the Chinese gang warfare being waged over control of the clubs when Nathan is shot and wounded. Soon enough, Daniel is as enmeshed in the killing culture as anyone, committing bad acts when not diplomatically making nice to bad sorts—chief among them Colonel Yamada, slimy head of Kempeitai, the Japanese gestapo. When Daniel sees Leah, his shipboard romance, in the forced company of Yamada, you know a violent reckoning awaits. As in his spy novels (The Berlin Exchange, 2022; Istanbul Passage, 2012), Kanon demonstrates a mastery of closed-in drama. Such is the jabbing understatement of the dialogue—what’s withheld matters more than what’s said—that it holds you in suspense as much as any action scene. Though the author’s use of the Holocaust as a mere backdrop to the story may leave some readers uneasy, the contrast between his impeccable control and the nightmarish chaos of this time and place gives things a powerful edge.

Kanon goes to China with stirring results.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940159391452
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 06/25/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
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