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Bad Traffic: A Novel
by
Simon Lewis (Goodreads Author)
Inspector Jian is a tough Chinese cop who thinks he's seen it all. But his search for his missing daughter takes him to the meanest streets he's ever faced -- in rural England.
Migrant worker Ding Ming is distressed -- his gang master is making demands, he owes a lot of money to the snakeheads, and no one will tell him where his wife has been taken. Maybe England isn't the
...moreHardcover, 384 pages
Published
December 9th 2008
by Scribner
(first published January 1st 2008)
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Inspector Jian comes to England to search for his daughter, who he believes from a phone message she left him is in trouble. Jian is a Chinese cop who speaks no English, but this problem fails to sway him from pursuing leads. After a while in the country, he comes to believe that his daughter is dead and starts searching to avenge her. At the same time Ding Ming and his wife Little Ye enter England as imigrant migrants smuggled into the country. Ding Ming is quickly separated from his wife, w...more
Datsun
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Recommends it for:
Someone on a plane, looking to kill 2.5 hours, maybe...
The concept was a good one, worthy of Elmore Leonard: A Chinese police detective, used to the perks of power and authority in Beijing, comes to England in search of his wayward daughter; alone, friendless, and unable even to speak a single word of English, he crosses paths with people traffickers and drug dealers.
But just as the story is getting into to the truly dirty details that would bring it to life, it wimps out. The degradation is suggested, but avoided. The torture is implied...more
But just as the story is getting into to the truly dirty details that would bring it to life, it wimps out. The degradation is suggested, but avoided. The torture is implied...more
An enormously accomplished piece of work.
I don't want to say too much, but it's the sort of thing you finish and tear up thinking about -- not necessarily because of the story or what's happened, but because of the deftness and unexpected grace of the writing. Completely deserve of all the praise it's received.
I don't want to say too much, but it's the sort of thing you finish and tear up thinking about -- not necessarily because of the story or what's happened, but because of the deftness and unexpected grace of the writing. Completely deserve of all the praise it's received.
The author is originally from Wales and Scotland, but now he spends only a part of the year in London and the rest in Japan and China. He's a backpacker and I assume much of his knowledge of the people he portrays is from people he has met and had dealings with. I think he is trying to portray the cultural clash as well. The story revolves around the illegals coming to the UK. Their transportation debt is to be worked off, and they are literally owned until they so do. This one comes to a h...more
When Inspector Jian, a Chinese cop, receives a cryptic call for help from his daughter in England, he drops everything and heads out to find her, despite not knowing how to read or speak English. Meanwhile Ding Ming and his wife Little Ye have been illegally transported to England to work for a Chinese gang in hopes of one day providing a better life for their family back home in China.
When Jian and Ding Ming's paths cross in rural England, sparks start flying. They can help each oth...more
When Jian and Ding Ming's paths cross in rural England, sparks start flying. They can help each oth...more
First Sentence: Jian walked into Leeds University and handed his message, written for him on the back of an aeroplane boarding pass, to the front desk security guard.
Inspector Jian is a man of personal and professional stature in his native China. He receives a desperate call from his daughter, who is supposed to be studying in England, that sending him flying from his world into one completely foreign to him both in custom and language and into a world of smuggled migrants.
...more
Inspector Jian is a man of personal and professional stature in his native China. He receives a desperate call from his daughter, who is supposed to be studying in England, that sending him flying from his world into one completely foreign to him both in custom and language and into a world of smuggled migrants.
...more
Great Book! The story revolves round two Chinese men who are in England for entirely different reasons. The first, a policeman, is there to find his daughter, who is at university in England, and had called him on the phone asking for help and has disappeared. The second, an illegal worker, has become separated from his work group and his wife and is desperately trying to get back to them. The detective, Inspector Jian, speaks no English, and is forced to rely on a series of unwilling interprete...more
Fast-paced adventure/mystery novel - a real page turner! If you like the Jane Whitefield series by Thomas Perry (or the Jason Bourne movies), you'll enjoy this. The premise is also a unique and clever one - a mainland Chinese cop who goes to England in search of his missing daughter. The language and cultural barriers (Jian doesn't speak any English) add a fresh perspective.
I'd heard good things about this novel, so it was on my list of stuff to try and get hold of from the library now they're very kindly doing free inter-library requests...
The basic premise of 'Bad Traffic' is that it's the story of Jian, a policeman in China who is pretty much just getting by, taking bribes and concentrating on feathering his own nest no matter what - all that changes, however, when he gets a panicky phone call from his daughter, who is at university in England.
...more
The basic premise of 'Bad Traffic' is that it's the story of Jian, a policeman in China who is pretty much just getting by, taking bribes and concentrating on feathering his own nest no matter what - all that changes, however, when he gets a panicky phone call from his daughter, who is at university in England.
...more
All the way up to the last few paragraphs, this book had 4 stars. It was slow to start; it took about 100 pages for all the plot threads to come together. (That made it hard to stay interested; I'd get involved in a character, and the focus would switch to another.) Once it got going, though, it was a fun, suspenseful, though very violent mystery. I particularly liked the Chinese view of the UK; the illegal immigrants were especially appealing.
This is clearly meant to be the star...more
This is clearly meant to be the star...more
FM Inspector Jian of China receives a call for help from his daughter studying in Great Britain. Without any English language skills he rushes off to Great Britain to find that his daughter is not at school anymore and when he finds her phone, he sees a video of her being killed. Filled with rage, he sets out to find her killers and stumbles upon an English speaking illegal immigrant and a ruthless operation of smuggled Chinese slaves. This is a taut, exciting, and bloody story made more rema...more
This was a sprint. Simon Lewis' prose is perfectly paced. The urgency felt by the main character is matched by deft development of a plot to justify his frantic pursuit and by his policeman's assumption of power and control. Lewis has written the Rough Guides for several Asian cities, and apparently lives in China as much as possible. Set in England, this novel demonstrates a keen eye for the nuances of cultural difference.
The book ends well, but without slowing down. I felt like I'd...more
The book ends well, but without slowing down. I felt like I'd...more
I was prepared to dislike this based on the photo of the author and his bio. (He's one of these guys who gets to wander around the world on an expense account.)
This is a good story — with two parallel strands — involving illegal Chinese immigrants, a renegade Chinese cop on the loose in England, and some icky sex.
The writing is fast and confident, and if the two strands are wrapped up a little too neatly, so what.
This is a good story — with two parallel strands — involving illegal Chinese immigrants, a renegade Chinese cop on the loose in England, and some icky sex.
The writing is fast and confident, and if the two strands are wrapped up a little too neatly, so what.
view all 3 comments
Friend Sarah loaned me this book. What a plot! Chinese policeman (in China) learns his daughter needs help (in England). Despite the fact he doesn't speak a word of English and has very little to go on, ruins his credit card and loses most of his belongings, he is determined to find the man who he believes killed his daughter. Pretty far fetched? Sure. But it is really hard to put this book down. I loved it.
The story is set amidst the gangland world of human slavery & exploitation. Inspector Jian has traveled to Britain with almost no English and a short video of his daughter's last moments. Will he find any trace of her and why she died? It's not literature but it was fun to watch him work. A nice change from the American lawman who goes off to another country to seek justice.
I'm a big fan of fast-paced, exciting books, so I really liked this. I thought the main characters and the Chinese viewpoint was delivered without patronization or crude stereotype, which was good. I picked it up after reading reviews on the spread-the-word website. It was really well-written and readable.
This is another of a group of fine literary thrillers that came from abroad in 2008.
Highly recommended for anyone who likes character-driven, fast-paced thrillers in the mode of Elmore Leonard. Inspector Ma Jian and migrant worker Ding Ming have to be the oddest couple to hit Britain in years. Lots of action, humor and pathos.
Read my review on Amazon.
Highly recommended for anyone who likes character-driven, fast-paced thrillers in the mode of Elmore Leonard. Inspector Ma Jian and migrant worker Ding Ming have to be the oddest couple to hit Britain in years. Lots of action, humor and pathos.
Read my review on Amazon.
I don't generally read crime fiction but found this in a second hand book shop for a swap in Bali and read it virtually in one sitting. Fast-paced and amusing in parts whilst dealing with the emotive subject of illegal immigrant smuggling in the UK.
I had read a review that this book was fantastic. So, I was a little disappointed when it didn't live up to its expectations. That said, it is about two men, the women they love, and a fuled 48-hour chase that will leave several dead. It may not be fantastic, but I will agree it is good.
This is a mystery/thrill written primarily from the point of view of a Chinese cop dropped into rural England. Great premise, neat plot twists, and the author clearly shows knowledge of the Chinese and their customs. That said, the ending was a little weak and a little too Hollywood-ish. But still an enjoyable read.
What a great read! This book will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Starts out like the recent movie, "Taken." Father in law enforcement, daughter out of the country, not telling the whole truth of what she is doing. Gets in with the wrong people, calls her father on a cell phone, "Help me." Phone goes dead. Amazing action. Don't miss it!
A great first novel for Simon Lewis. Gives an eye into Chinese society of today made especially startling when set against contemporary Britain. Offers a hard look at the business of trafficking in human beings.
A good edge-of-your seat thriller mixed with interesting observations on China and Western cultures. If you want an easy read that you won't want to put down, this is a good pick.
Very intense, cruel and at the same time funny story. The hard and cruel world of human trafficking is mingled with the sometimes very funny way Chinese look at the Western world.
I recommend the book to anybody who likes the genre.
I recommend the book to anybody who likes the genre.
Really good...lots of twist and turns and one really lucky illegal immigrant that you will love by the end. "I really need to stop jumping out of moving cars."
Very different from the usual pulp detective novel. About illegal immigrant traffic from China. Very entertaining since we're going to China this summer.
Chinese policeman goes to England to find his daughter who is studying there after getting a frantic phone call from her. Mayhem ensues....
Dark vision of England's criminal factions and humerously interpreted culture through non English speaking Chinese Sleuth and peasant .
Good exciting book, and it was neat to have the "foreign land" to which the heroes must adapt be England.
highly entertaining screwball, violent fish out of water. chinese cops daughter is in trouble in the uk so he goes there to save here. then the wild ride begins.
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