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Inspector Chen Cao #14
The Secret Sharers
Ex-Chief Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau investigates the case of a vanished man in this poetic, atmospheric literary mystery set in contemporary Shanghai.
Over two million copies of the Inspector Chen series sold worldwide.
With the Chinese government’s crackdown on private investigators, times are hard for those in the Which includes Inspector Chen’s good friend Old Hunter.
So when one of Shanghai’s most successful businesswomen asks Old Hunter to help a man nicknamed X who’s been vanished by the government, reason unknown, he accepts the politically dangerous—but extremely well-paid—case, and immediately turns to Chen for help in turn.
What crime has the vanished man supposedly committed? Chen plunges in, his investigations soon leading back to the massacre at Tian’anmen Square, when X spoke up against the Party—and Chen did not. And as the inspector uncovers the life of a man whose background and tastes strangely echo his own, he becomes desperate not just to save the mysterious X, but to redeem himself for his own mistakes.
Over two million copies of the Inspector Chen series sold worldwide.
With the Chinese government’s crackdown on private investigators, times are hard for those in the Which includes Inspector Chen’s good friend Old Hunter.
So when one of Shanghai’s most successful businesswomen asks Old Hunter to help a man nicknamed X who’s been vanished by the government, reason unknown, he accepts the politically dangerous—but extremely well-paid—case, and immediately turns to Chen for help in turn.
What crime has the vanished man supposedly committed? Chen plunges in, his investigations soon leading back to the massacre at Tian’anmen Square, when X spoke up against the Party—and Chen did not. And as the inspector uncovers the life of a man whose background and tastes strangely echo his own, he becomes desperate not just to save the mysterious X, but to redeem himself for his own mistakes.
205 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2026
25 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Qiu Xiaolong
61 books485 followersQiu Xiaolong (裘小龙) was born in Shanghai, China. He is the author of the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels, Death of a Red Heroine (2000), A Loyal Character Dancer (2002), When Red Is Black (2004), A Case of Two Cities (2006), Red Mandarin Dress (2007), and The Mao Case (2009). He is also the author of two books of poetry translations, Treasury of Chinese Love Poems (2003) and Evoking T'ang (2007), and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China (2003). Qiu's books have sold over a million copies and have been published in twenty languages. He currently lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 26, 2025
Ex-Chief Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau agrees to help his friend who is a private detective. A wealthy woman is paying very well for the agency to locate a man from her past whom she fears may be in prison. This man, X, once had a prestigious academic career until he spoke out against the massacre in Tian’amen Square. Sadly after this he lost everything and set himself up as a fortune teller. With the help of his employee Jin, Chen is determined to learn why X was taken away, and prove that he was not a threat to the “Big Brother” government in Shanghai. Classic and contemporary poems and allusions to literature compliment the well-told story, offering insight into contemporary China (and to authoritarian government tactics with which Americans are unfortunately becoming familiar). Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this advance copy.
January 12, 2026
I've been reading Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen series for over a decade and have come to love them for the knowledgeable look at China. I'm in the habit of preordering them and reading them as soon as I can get my hands on them and I'm never sorry. The Secret Sharers is the 14th of the series and I was delighted to get my hands on it.
I love this series because it presents a good look at Shanghai and China in an intelligent way. Qiu Xiaolong is a professor in America, he left China in 1988 with an opportunity to study T.S. Elliot in America and when the situation in Tienanmen Square developed he stayed.
Inspector Chen is intelligent as well. He quotes both Chinese and western authors and philosophers. He is a gourmet and introduces us to many dishes as fried pork buns, sizzling rice with paddy eels and across the bridge noodles.
The setting is Shanghai after Covid and with both a difficult economic and political situation. Chen needs to handle everything he does with care because of the political situation and he is tasked with finding out what happened to a man who has been disappeared. The search for understand this lost soul takes us back to the era of re-education and then onto Tienanmen Square and moves forward to the present.
This is a very cerebral mystery and not fast moving. I think that fans of literary fiction would appreciate it without reading the previous books in the series. Mystery readers would do better to start at the first one.
I love this series because it presents a good look at Shanghai and China in an intelligent way. Qiu Xiaolong is a professor in America, he left China in 1988 with an opportunity to study T.S. Elliot in America and when the situation in Tienanmen Square developed he stayed.
Inspector Chen is intelligent as well. He quotes both Chinese and western authors and philosophers. He is a gourmet and introduces us to many dishes as fried pork buns, sizzling rice with paddy eels and across the bridge noodles.
The setting is Shanghai after Covid and with both a difficult economic and political situation. Chen needs to handle everything he does with care because of the political situation and he is tasked with finding out what happened to a man who has been disappeared. The search for understand this lost soul takes us back to the era of re-education and then onto Tienanmen Square and moves forward to the present.
This is a very cerebral mystery and not fast moving. I think that fans of literary fiction would appreciate it without reading the previous books in the series. Mystery readers would do better to start at the first one.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Qiu Xiaolong's The Secret Sharers (Severn House 2026), Book 14 of the Inspector Chen series, is a mix of poetry from thoughtful Chinese minds--
"...quoted from a Han dynasty scholar, saying something to the effect that when the whole bird’s nest has fallen to the hard ground, how could people expect to find an unbroken egg buried under the debris?"
Chinese philosophers--
"Just as Lao Tzu says in the Daodejing, ‘The Way that can be traveled is not the ordinary Way. The name that can be named is not the ordinary name.’”
Ideas from Western writers--
“The horror, the horror,” Chen murmured, echoing in the depth of his mind the tragic ending of a novel about the heart of darkness. It was another novel by Conrad."
... and wisdom from the greats like Heraclitus--
"There’s no stepping into the same river twice, Heraclitus had said long, long ago."
It is soaked in Chinese culture and left me always feeling a peace and acceptance of circumstances no matter how dire the search for the missing person X had become or the dangers to Cheng and his friend, Old Hunter. Chen recognizes the difficulties of the Chinese overlords but also knows the challenge of fighting against them:
"We stopped holding those even before the bulldozers moved in to demolish the lane. You must have heard of the latest political term—‘thoughtcrimes.’"
"A well-known professor surnamed Lu, the compiler of a large English and Chinese dictionary, has recently written to me that he was great-walled."
It brought to mind the writings of Dostoevsky as he railed against Russian rulers and Solzhenitsyn as he snuck his rants against Communism through the socialist thought police. Mixed throughout are Chen's brilliant detective skills to search out the missing X. I felt honored to follow along as a reader in his wake. Highly recommended for those looking for a detective story that is nothing like the usual and will not only challenge your problem-solving skills but for you to think about the world around you.
"...quoted from a Han dynasty scholar, saying something to the effect that when the whole bird’s nest has fallen to the hard ground, how could people expect to find an unbroken egg buried under the debris?"
Chinese philosophers--
"Just as Lao Tzu says in the Daodejing, ‘The Way that can be traveled is not the ordinary Way. The name that can be named is not the ordinary name.’”
Ideas from Western writers--
“The horror, the horror,” Chen murmured, echoing in the depth of his mind the tragic ending of a novel about the heart of darkness. It was another novel by Conrad."
... and wisdom from the greats like Heraclitus--
"There’s no stepping into the same river twice, Heraclitus had said long, long ago."
It is soaked in Chinese culture and left me always feeling a peace and acceptance of circumstances no matter how dire the search for the missing person X had become or the dangers to Cheng and his friend, Old Hunter. Chen recognizes the difficulties of the Chinese overlords but also knows the challenge of fighting against them:
"We stopped holding those even before the bulldozers moved in to demolish the lane. You must have heard of the latest political term—‘thoughtcrimes.’"
"A well-known professor surnamed Lu, the compiler of a large English and Chinese dictionary, has recently written to me that he was great-walled."
It brought to mind the writings of Dostoevsky as he railed against Russian rulers and Solzhenitsyn as he snuck his rants against Communism through the socialist thought police. Mixed throughout are Chen's brilliant detective skills to search out the missing X. I felt honored to follow along as a reader in his wake. Highly recommended for those looking for a detective story that is nothing like the usual and will not only challenge your problem-solving skills but for you to think about the world around you.
January 23, 2026
I have been an avid fan of the Inspector Chen series by Qiu Xiaolong throughout its history, it offers a glimpse into the modern world of China and Shanghai in particular, as Chen tries to deal with the intricacies of navigating the communist system while staying true to his morals and beliefs. The latest (fourteenth) entry in this long running series is “The Secret Sharers”, a play on the Joseph Conrad book focusing on paths not taken in life.
Inspector Chen is still on medical leave from his government post, shuffled aside when he became too inconvenient and slowly fading from the spotlight, still being taken care of by his loyal secretary Jin. When his retired colleague Old Hunter approaches him with a missing person PI job, Chen is intrigued enough to help his friend find the victim.
The missing person is a fortune teller known as X, and the client is a wealthy real estate developer whose life had crossed paths with X from their early youth to recent times. Each time X had helped steer her into life changes that seemed to work out for the best, now she needs to rescue her friend. As Chen digs into X’s past, he sees eerie parallels to his own life, to crossroads where a different decision could have led Chen to a completely different life.
As many of the other books in this series, this was an exploration of the individual vs. the state, of confronting while also living with an all-knowing totalitarian state. The author also includes poetry throughout the story, both old and new, starting every chapter, as well as many, many sayings and quotes from Chinese philosophers, some of which can overwhelm the story. I knew all of this going in, however my main complaint is that this novel isn’t really about solving a mystery or crime, it is mostly about Chen exploring the life of someone that he could have become. The missing person mystery is almost besides the point, which is a departure from earlier books in this series. As an exploration of modern day Shanghai, this is a fine story. As a mystery, not so much.
Inspector Chen is still on medical leave from his government post, shuffled aside when he became too inconvenient and slowly fading from the spotlight, still being taken care of by his loyal secretary Jin. When his retired colleague Old Hunter approaches him with a missing person PI job, Chen is intrigued enough to help his friend find the victim.
The missing person is a fortune teller known as X, and the client is a wealthy real estate developer whose life had crossed paths with X from their early youth to recent times. Each time X had helped steer her into life changes that seemed to work out for the best, now she needs to rescue her friend. As Chen digs into X’s past, he sees eerie parallels to his own life, to crossroads where a different decision could have led Chen to a completely different life.
As many of the other books in this series, this was an exploration of the individual vs. the state, of confronting while also living with an all-knowing totalitarian state. The author also includes poetry throughout the story, both old and new, starting every chapter, as well as many, many sayings and quotes from Chinese philosophers, some of which can overwhelm the story. I knew all of this going in, however my main complaint is that this novel isn’t really about solving a mystery or crime, it is mostly about Chen exploring the life of someone that he could have become. The missing person mystery is almost besides the point, which is a departure from earlier books in this series. As an exploration of modern day Shanghai, this is a fine story. As a mystery, not so much.
January 30, 2026
good luck to Chen and Jin
Inspector Chen is now Chen, but this does not stop him from investigating crimes in the endlessly fascinating city of Shanghai. I have been to the Bund and can testify that it is as amazing as it is described in this book. To the Chinese, everything is apart of a long long series of dynasties and emperors, and whatever is happening now is a small bubble in Chinese time. All of the books in the series are equally intriguing and worth reading and re-reading. I think they offer us a glimpse into China and more importantly to the people and the way they see things.
Inspector Chen is now Chen, but this does not stop him from investigating crimes in the endlessly fascinating city of Shanghai. I have been to the Bund and can testify that it is as amazing as it is described in this book. To the Chinese, everything is apart of a long long series of dynasties and emperors, and whatever is happening now is a small bubble in Chinese time. All of the books in the series are equally intriguing and worth reading and re-reading. I think they offer us a glimpse into China and more importantly to the people and the way they see things.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2.5 stars out of 5
This was a pretty quick read, but I also found it pretty repetitive. I've not read any of the other Inspector Chen books so don't know if this one follows a similar pattern to those; perhaps I might pick one up if I saw it in my local library, perhaps not.
In any case, one doesn't need to have read the rest of the series to follow the plot of this one, it just wasn't really to my liking how much things seemed to be reiterated. It's not so long a book that I'd expect to forget the plot details all that easily, and it all just felt a little lacklustre to me.
This was a pretty quick read, but I also found it pretty repetitive. I've not read any of the other Inspector Chen books so don't know if this one follows a similar pattern to those; perhaps I might pick one up if I saw it in my local library, perhaps not.
In any case, one doesn't need to have read the rest of the series to follow the plot of this one, it just wasn't really to my liking how much things seemed to be reiterated. It's not so long a book that I'd expect to forget the plot details all that easily, and it all just felt a little lacklustre to me.
January 21, 2026
A gentle mystery intertwined with two love stories, set in Shanghai under the ominous reality of CCP repression and surveillance. All in a little over 200 pages! Plus every chapter begins with 2 poems: one from Song or Tang Dynasty and one from the author. The text is replete with references to chinese proverbs and sayings - almost to an absurd degree, but really it makes it fun.
I couldn't fully enjoy it because most of it I read in the hospital, so I wasn't always open to its gentle pacing and poetic asides.
But a delightful story. I will read more by this author.
I couldn't fully enjoy it because most of it I read in the hospital, so I wasn't always open to its gentle pacing and poetic asides.
But a delightful story. I will read more by this author.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Inspector Chen is on leave from his former Chief Inspector position posibly to keep him out of sight. Things are not easy in modern China, and sometimes being good in your job isn't good for you. While on his convelescent leave, and Chen takes on a case for a real estate woman, Mei. He is asked to try to find a man named X, who has disappeared. It isn't unusual in china to have someone disappear. He was last seen in Red Dust Lane. X used to be a college professor before hanging out at Red Dust Lane and then disappearing. Chen has help from Jin, a young woman who is not as well known as Chen and can thus be in public more often. Chen finds out that X gave a speech at the last Red Dust meeting, and then his speech was denounced.
I found it a little confusing to try to keep track of all the names, but it was fun to read a book taking place in China. I thank Netgalley and Severn House for the ARC so that I could read the book before publication.
I found it a little confusing to try to keep track of all the names, but it was fun to read a book taking place in China. I thank Netgalley and Severn House for the ARC so that I could read the book before publication.
January 13, 2026
This was very informative. I learned quite a bit about the history of China along with how their government is.
I loved all the poetry scattered throughout the story.
The authors note tugged at my heart.
Even though this isn’t the first in the series’s I decided to read it either way. I’m so glad I did! I loved this so much. I’ll be reading the other books in this series some time soon.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved all the poetry scattered throughout the story.
The authors note tugged at my heart.
Even though this isn’t the first in the series’s I decided to read it either way. I’m so glad I did! I loved this so much. I’ll be reading the other books in this series some time soon.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 19, 2026
I particularly liked the authors use of poetry in this one- a juxtaposition of old masters versus chens own poems. I have avidly read them all, and find him an interesting protagonist in a world / country that is unfamiliar to me. Well written.
November 22, 2025
fun and timely book that goes into depth about the Chinese government and some of their less-than-democratic tools, focused around the Tienanmen Square massacre. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.
December 7, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for an advance copy of this mystery set in the post-COVID world of Shanghai, about the disappearance of a man, taken by the government for unknown reasons, and the ways in which his life mingled over time with another, and how the one searching sees so much of himself in the disappeared.
I loved mysteries for the longest time, but have become detached from them for various reasons. Police procedurals, CIA thrillers and such don't have the same flavor in this world of ICE and coups in our capital. However I still enjoy mysteries set overseas, in countries that I would like to see, but know that I never will. Crime novels tell quite a bit about a place and their culture. The way the police act to crimes big and small. How people perceive the law, and what they allow themselves to bend at, push at, or just break. These kinds of stories focus on the people the media care little about. The people struggling to get by, without money to tell their stories, or force to back up what they say is the truth. I have learned much about the world this way, and found many series that I really enjoy. Especially this one, as the writing is so strong, and the characters so rich and intriguing. The Secret Sharers by Qiu Xiaolong is the fourteenth book in the Inspector Chen series and takes place in modern Shanghai with the Inspector, on medical leave and and under observation from his superiors, searching for the reasons why a man disappeared, a man that reminds the Inspector much about himself.
Inspector Chen is not in the police any more, and his latest government job has him on indefinite medical leave, and he is sure under observation by the Chinese authorities. Chen is approached by a past colleague, Old Hunter who is working as a private detective. Or trying to, as the the government has decided to make private inquiry a difficult thing. Hunter has been asked to track down a fortune teller, known as X by a wealthy female real estate developer. X has been disappeared by the government, but no one knows how or why. The woman owes X for his insight into the real estate market, saving her millions when the market collapsed. As Chen looks into the case, he finds that there is more to X than expected, as well as ties between the disappeared and the real estate maven that few would expect. Chen learns that X's life was taken away from him by his stance against Tiananmen Square. Chen, a poet at heart is drawn deeper into the mystery, one that explores the post-COVID world of China, the economic collapse that is destroying neighborhoods, and of course the sin of envy.
I have been a fan of this author for quite a while reading this series and his series on Judge Dee. There is a mystery here, in fact a murder that occurs later in the book, but this is more a mystery about the decisions we make. The mystery in little things that mean much to some, but pass unnoticed by others. The book has a very poetic feel to the writing, as well as there being quite a lot of poetry throughout the novel. This fits as both X and Chen share a love of the past, a love of words, and an understanding of what choices and decisions mean to a person. The characters are all interesting and well-defined, but the story is really about China and what is happening there. One that doesn't get coverage in the breathless news about electric cars and fast trains. The little stories that people who live there know, but will never be told. There is a paranoia that fills this book, but there is always something else. Hope. That a person can make a difference to someone else. Be it inspiring a person to try something new, or not giving up when the government kidnaps one for reasons of their own.
Another fine entry into a series I look forward to reading. Well-written, well plotted with lines that really hold the reader. A good jump on point for new readers, and an excellent addition to the series.
I loved mysteries for the longest time, but have become detached from them for various reasons. Police procedurals, CIA thrillers and such don't have the same flavor in this world of ICE and coups in our capital. However I still enjoy mysteries set overseas, in countries that I would like to see, but know that I never will. Crime novels tell quite a bit about a place and their culture. The way the police act to crimes big and small. How people perceive the law, and what they allow themselves to bend at, push at, or just break. These kinds of stories focus on the people the media care little about. The people struggling to get by, without money to tell their stories, or force to back up what they say is the truth. I have learned much about the world this way, and found many series that I really enjoy. Especially this one, as the writing is so strong, and the characters so rich and intriguing. The Secret Sharers by Qiu Xiaolong is the fourteenth book in the Inspector Chen series and takes place in modern Shanghai with the Inspector, on medical leave and and under observation from his superiors, searching for the reasons why a man disappeared, a man that reminds the Inspector much about himself.
Inspector Chen is not in the police any more, and his latest government job has him on indefinite medical leave, and he is sure under observation by the Chinese authorities. Chen is approached by a past colleague, Old Hunter who is working as a private detective. Or trying to, as the the government has decided to make private inquiry a difficult thing. Hunter has been asked to track down a fortune teller, known as X by a wealthy female real estate developer. X has been disappeared by the government, but no one knows how or why. The woman owes X for his insight into the real estate market, saving her millions when the market collapsed. As Chen looks into the case, he finds that there is more to X than expected, as well as ties between the disappeared and the real estate maven that few would expect. Chen learns that X's life was taken away from him by his stance against Tiananmen Square. Chen, a poet at heart is drawn deeper into the mystery, one that explores the post-COVID world of China, the economic collapse that is destroying neighborhoods, and of course the sin of envy.
I have been a fan of this author for quite a while reading this series and his series on Judge Dee. There is a mystery here, in fact a murder that occurs later in the book, but this is more a mystery about the decisions we make. The mystery in little things that mean much to some, but pass unnoticed by others. The book has a very poetic feel to the writing, as well as there being quite a lot of poetry throughout the novel. This fits as both X and Chen share a love of the past, a love of words, and an understanding of what choices and decisions mean to a person. The characters are all interesting and well-defined, but the story is really about China and what is happening there. One that doesn't get coverage in the breathless news about electric cars and fast trains. The little stories that people who live there know, but will never be told. There is a paranoia that fills this book, but there is always something else. Hope. That a person can make a difference to someone else. Be it inspiring a person to try something new, or not giving up when the government kidnaps one for reasons of their own.
Another fine entry into a series I look forward to reading. Well-written, well plotted with lines that really hold the reader. A good jump on point for new readers, and an excellent addition to the series.
January 21, 2026
Not his best. Still worth a read. I would have given it 3 1/2 stars if I could
January 22, 2026
It's always a pleasure to read an Inspector Chen Cao book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews