What readers think of Whispering Shadows, plus links to write your own review.

After reading The Art of Hearing Heartbeats for my book club, I couldn't wait to read Whispering Shadows, the 2nd novel written by Jan-Philipp Sendker. He didn't let me down. Confuscious once said "Trust once lost can never be regained" and Whispering Shadows tries to prove this wrong. Trust plays a large part in this book of mysteries. "Trust is a part of life, the basis for every human contact, friendship and love" -all of which come together in an eminently readable story, which goes beyond the usual thriller. The author is truly in tune with Eastern feelings, lending authenticity to Whispering Shadows. I will definitely recommend it to our book club for reading this summer in Maine. I again look forward to the next novel by Mr. Sendker.

Whispering Shadows is a splendid read that draws one into the little known cultural world where modern China and Hong Kong meld into the complex setting for this murder mystery. And yet this story is much more than a murder mystery as Sendker deftly explores with tenderness and compassion the deepening friendships between painfully wounded people who, despite their flaws and vulnerabilities, risk building a trust that transcends cultural lines and personal struggles with their own past demons. I love this book for its humanity and wisdom .

Sendker's newest book is an unusual novel. In some ways, it is like his first book "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" in that the author can evoke strong, empathetic feelings for the main character. In other ways, however, it is a 'whodunit' as to who killed Michael Owens. It is rare when an author can successfully blend both types of novels into one & I believe that Sendker has accomplished it.

Paul Leibovitz, a emotionally distanced American, is living in Lamma, an outlying island of Hong Kong. He meets another American, Elizabeth Owen whose son is missing in China. Paul and his detective friend, Zang, investigate this disappearance.

What makes this novel so interesting is that the author takes you deep into the culture of China. We take so much for granted here in the USA. In China, people are treated differently; politics are different; business is different; and how people survive is challenging. The author was for many years an Asian correspondent for "Stern" and in 2000 published "Cracks in the Wall", a nonfiction book about China. The author does an exceptional job presenting this personal insight into his new fiction novel - a world most of us Americans really don't understand.

Although "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" remains my favorite book of his, Sendker has penned another winner. The reader will love the way Sendker writes. He thoroughly engages you in the story and the insight into the world of China is fascinating. I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for an interesting change of pace. You won't be disappointed.

A wonderful story of a mystery set in China of today. I loved the characters and savored reading the book. Well written and flowed. Not for readers that want a one night read.

Set in contemporary Hong Kong and the industrial zones of Southern China the narrative of Whispering Shadows is about the violent death of a young American businessman and the search for his killer. Beyond the narrative, though, is an exploration of the meanings of truth, friendship and trust, the ways in which we are molded by our past (whether that past is the death of a young child or service in the Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution) and whether we are destined to be limited by our past or alternatively have the capacity to build on the past. Less personally the story questions whether modern China is really much different than Mao's China.

The novel has come compelling strengths. The descriptions of the settings are wonderfully crafted as the reader shares the smells and sounds of the crowded Hong Kong streets and appreciates the verdant beauty of Lamma Island off of Hong Kong where the protagonist lives. The descriptions of murder, destruction and family disintegration during the Cultural Revolution are so real as to invoke outrage and horror in the reader.

The author also effectively captures the feelings and emotions of the characters using realistic dialogue and penetrating descriptions of mental state to convey grief, sadness, anger, fear, remorse and love. The reader is able to identify with these conditions of the heart in a way that makes the characters seem very real.

The story is also well structured. As each of the characters is introduced in the linear narrative the author effectively weaves the character's backstory into the prose in a way that provides depth to the character but does not interrupt the flow of the story.

The weakness of the novel is the plot. On a positive note the lives of two of the characters are creatively intertwined and the resulting relationship is interesting and thought provoking and drives the denouement. The problem with the plot lies in the lack of believability and in its predictability. Well before the conclusion the reader has some idea where the story is going which detracts from the suspense. Moreover, the building blocks of the plot are in part created by the unrealistic ignorance or naivete on the part of primary characters on matters of central importance to the plot and of an obliviousness to the predictable consequences of actions. For instance, an American's belief in the justice of the Chinese legal system is not believable, but it is just such a belief that the reader is asked to accept.

Whispering Shadows is an unusual book. As a murder mystery the novel is wanting, telegraphing as it does the direction of the story. This would be a fatal flaw in most books of this genre. But in this book it is not. The story is so well structured, the characters are so deep and the descriptions are so vibrant that Whispering Shadows succeeds as quality literary fiction.

Paul has chosen to live in Hong Kong as almost a hermit when he loses his young son. Through the request of an American woman whom he meets in a cafe, he becomes embroiled in the search for her missing son. This search develops into a level of secrecy and deception that changes Paul's life. This book is interesting primarily in that it does deal with a place and plot that was certainly foreign to me and would be to most people, coupled with suspense and good character development.

I found Whispering Shadows, which takes place in Hong Kong, to be a pretty good read, but not initially compelling It took many pages to become engaged, but it grabbed me as the protagonist, an expat journalist, Paul Liebovitz, in contemporary China, seeks to solve a murder case. The extent of corruption in China's booming economy was revealing. I liked the earnestness of the expat's police detective's friend, and the developing relationship between Paul, a fractured and fearful person, and Christine, whom he meets by chance. The descriptions of Hong Kong and the locales in China ring true. Whispering Shadows is a good read.

I was attracted to the book Whispering Shadows as I loved The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by the same author. What I enjoyed about this book is the insights Sendker had into politics and culture of Hong Kong. The characters are very well developed and one can't help but feel a kinship with the protagonist. Part love story, part suspense, Whispering Shadows is rich with descriptions and a good story line.