The Firemaker (China Thrillers Series #1)

by Peter May

Overview

THE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY AND THE ENZO FILES
AWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021

'Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.' Undiscovered Scotland
'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of Books

The first of Peter May's China critically acclaimed thrillers featuring Beijing detective Li Yan and American pathologist Margaret Campbell.

LI YAN

A grotesquely burned corpse found in a city park is a troubling mystery for Beijing detective Li Yan. Yan, devoted to his career as a means of restoring the respect his family lost during the Cultural Revolution, needs outside help if he is to break the case.

MARGARET CAMPBELL

The unidentified cadaver in turn provides a welcome distraction for forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell. Campbell, married to her work and having left America and her broken past behind, throws herself into the investigation, and before long uncovers a bizarre anomaly.

THE FIREMAKER

An unlikely partnership develops between Li and Campbell as they follow the resulting lead. A fiery and volatile chemistry ignites: exposing not only their individual demons, but an even greater evil - a conspiracy that threatens their lives, as well as those of millions of others.

LOVED THE FIREMAKER? Read the second book in the series, THE FOURTH SACRIFICE
LOVE PETER MAY? Buy his new thriller, THE NIGHT GATE

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780879567
Publisher:	Quercus Publishing
Publication date:	06/14/2012
Series:	China Thrillers Series , #1
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	15,197
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Peter May was born and raised in Scotland. He was an award-winning journalist at the age of twenty-one and a published novelist at twenty-six. When his first book was adapted as a major drama series for the BBC, he quit journalism and during the high-octane fifteen years that followed, became one of Scotland's most successful television dramatists. He created three prime-time drama series, presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland as script editor and producer, and worked on more than 1,000 episodes of ratings-topping drama before deciding to leave television to return to his first love, writing novels.

In 2021, he was awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. He has also won several literature awards in France, received the USA's Barry Award for The Blackhouse, the first in his internationally bestselling Lewis Trilogy; and in 2014 was awarded the ITV Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year award for Entry Island. Peter now lives in South-West France with his wife, writer Janice Hally.

Editorial Reviews

A forensic pathologist takes a short-term lecturing job in China to escape the bitter memories of her husband's disgrace and death, little knowing that her decision will change her life. Too distraught to read her briefing papers, Margaret Campbell makes many mistakes in dealing with the tender sensibilities of the Chinese, whose customs are so different from her own. She gets off to a rocky start with Deputy Section Chief Li Yan, but her expertise with burn victims comes in handy in his investigation of three murders. She soon becomes committed to helping Li solve the murders, apparently the work of a hit man from Hong Kong. Margaret's work with Li exposes her to a broad section of Chinese culture and opens her eyes to a vastly different world that she comes to respect in many ways. With each new discovery, she and Li become more aware of a cover-up by highly placed government officials. Margaret is set up for death by an alcoholic plant geneticist, Li is framed for the death of his beloved uncle and both must run for their lives in the hope that they can tell the world what they know of a dangerous secret that could lead to disaster on a grand scale. British TV writer May's frightening premise powers a tale that satisfies as a mystery, a romantic adventure and a fascinating look at the new China.

Kirkus Reviews

Longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award, 2018

"The Firemaker is a remarkably detailed picture of daily life in Beijing with all of its Big Brother rules and rewarded propensity to report all activities which may fall out of the ordinary. If a look into Chinese culture is your quest, look no further. if you like a good romance, it's right here. And if you can't resist a whodunit, yes, the murders do get solved. It's messy, it's unexpected, and it's all a part of an extremely well-written book."
—Danny Lindsey, Killer Nashville

Praise for Peter May

"Peter May is an author I'd follow to the ends of the earth."—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times

"He is a terrific writer doing something different."—Mark Billingham, bestselling author of the Tom Thorne series

"From the first page I knew I was in safe hands. I knew I could trust this writer."—Sophie Hannah, bestselling writer of The Monogram Murders

From the Publisher