Why write detective stories set in modern day China?

My priorities in a book are that it should entertain (paramount) but also inform (very important). There's something unfullfilling about reading a book, no matter how well written and enjoyable, and yet learning nothing.

I am excited and hopeful that my Inspector Lin series of novels, set in Guangzhou, China satisfies these priorities and will resonate with the reading public.

There is no tradition, a la the West, of the police or private detective novel in China, not even in Chinese language books. There is no Chinese Marlowe, Spade, Cole or Bosch. Yes, there is Charlie Chan but he operated in the States.

I became aware of this when I lived in China and, having written (and liked) my detective novel - Disbelief - set in DC, I wondered if I couldn't fill this obvious gap.

Why China?

The main reason is because China is a truly fascinating place.

Also, I know the country well, particularly the southern part. I spent three years working on a project in Guangzhou in the early '00s. I made good friends and traveled there for vacations and to see my friends many times in the mid '00s. I also spent a lot of time in Beijing and Chengdu. Then, when my private life fell apart, I moved to Guangzhou to try and heal myself. Writing helped me a lot.

I am often struck by how little many of my western friends know about China, the country likely to dominate our little planet for the next hundred years.

Ignorance begets misconceptions. I felt that by writing a series of detective novels set in China I could help to dispel those misconceptions, give people insights into what is a truly interesting culture while at the same time indulging myself by writing  in my preferred genre - crime.

I write the novels in my usual style. I do not put mangled English into my characters' mouths. Why? Well, most of my Chinese friends are, it must be said, well educated middle-class urbane types with excellent English. Also I find it irritating to write, or read, pidgin.

Each novel takes a particular aspect of Chinese society and weaves that into the story. I accept that, particularly with "Chingland" where I introduce my Inspector Lin character, this can slow the pace of the story down somewhat but I think this is Ok since I wish my readers to be both entertained by the story and come away with the real feeling that they have learned something about China and the Chinese that they didn't know previously.

The strange thing about China and the Chinese is that, in many many ways, they are not so strange at all.

Read my books and see if you agree.