Thief of Souls by Brian Klingborg is a 2021 Minotaur Books publication.

A young woman is brutally murdered just weeks after her mother died. A suspect is quickly brought in, but Lu Fei isn’t convinced he is the guilty party. As he digs deeper, he comes under scrutiny by the CID who has been called in to help with the investigation. Lu Fei doesn’t play by the same rules and is the only one truly interested in seeking justice for the murder victim.

But as he dodges political interests, he slowly comes to a horrifying realization, one that could put those he cares about in grave danger…

A modern-day murder mystery set in China- I think that would be a first for me. This story forced me to pay closer attention to details, to absorb a different political landscape and the corruption that lay within.

Because of the unique cultural setting, the story feels fresh, and a change of scenery can certainly do wonders-

But at the end of the day, this is still basically your standard police procedural. Once this became apparent, I couldn’t allow the uniqueness of the location to distract me from the quality of the mystery itself.

After some thought, I’ve decided the story was very solid. The author follows the usual formula for this genre and doesn’t veer too far of course in that regard. Still, despite having made a few guesses, I found I was way off track.

Once I saw how the pieces of the puzzle were coming together, I was embarrassed that I had not seen it sooner. Nevertheless, for the first book in a series, the author gives the reader a good foundation to build on. Lu Fei has great potential, and I am looking forward to seeing how this series will progress from here. I hope that once the cultural novelty wears off, what remains will be a go-to series with developing characters and thought-provoking mysteries.

4 stars ( )

The killer is obvious, but never mind, the story is fun anyway. Brian Klingborg's Inspector Lu Fei is a new addition to the bookshelves of those of us with affection for books set in China. Here Lu Fei, despite having been banished to the countryside for being too clever for his superiors in the city, still manages to get involved in an unusual murder that he solves using his wits.

I received a review copy of "Thief of Souls: Inspector Lu Fei 1" by Brian Klingborg from Minotaur through NetGalley.com. ( )

Brian Klingborg's first Inspector Lu Fei mystery set in northern China had me looking for a heavy winter coat and a thicker pair of gloves. It was interesting to read a mystery set in an area other than one of the well-known large cities, especially one in the Harbin area which has a strong Russian influence.

Lu Fei is a strong main character. Luckily for him, he's well versed in the martial arts, but he lives a very lonely life, spending many evenings after work drinking in a local bar. One of the reasons why he's lonely is due to his integrity. He's going to do what's right, no matter what, and that puts him at odds-- over and over again-- with corrupt police officers. He even has problems with the constables in his station. The constables' pay is unbelievably low, and they get so much disrespect from people that they have no real incentive to do their jobs properly.

The strongest parts of Thief of Souls are Lu Fei himself and all the information Klingborg gives readers about modern China, a lot of which is fascinating, and I felt that I came away from the book with a much better understanding of the country. However, that presented a problem. The author had to interject this information into the story so often that I began to feel as though I were attending class instead of reading a mystery. To his credit, I really don't see how he could've done this any differently. The information was crucial to the story, but it constantly interrupted the flow.

I also found the killer's identity much too easy to deduce, and I hope Klingborg spends more time in the next book fleshing out his secondary characters because, even though Lu Fei is an interesting character, he can't do it alone.

Even though this first book in the series has some problems, it's still a read that kept my interest throughout, and I'll be interested to see what sort of investigation Lu Fei will be heading next. ( )

“Thief of Souls” opens on Saturday, and a quote from Chairman Mao Zedong sets the tone as each new day begins. Readers learn everything they need to know in the first sentence.

“On the night the young woman’s corpse is discovered, hollowed out like a birch bark canoe, Inspector Lu Fei sits alone in the Red Lotus bar, determined to get gloriously drunk.”

The grammar and present tense construction create a sense of immediate action, of conscious time, of being in the moment evolving along with the plot. The week and a half that follows are filled with a slow deliberate investigation, increasing in intensity till the frantic dramatic end.
It is exceedingly cold in Heilongjiang in January. Chinese citizens regard The Public Security Bureau, the institution of law enforcement in the People’s Republic, as equivalent to a pit of quicksand. However, solving crimes and catching criminals is part of the job, and there has been a murder. This death has very unusual aspects that point to something very sinister, more than just any “ordinary” murder. Her heart is missing.

The investigation is organized and methodical with a mixture of traditional procedures and modern technology. As one might expect, there is also some degree of politics involved. However, the rules of investigation are different in China. There is no right to remain silent and a lawyer is not required to present during police questioning. As a result, threats (such as going down to the station to let the sergeant here pry off a few toenails) are used to encourage the “sharing “of information.

“Thief of Souls” is compelling and surprising; it provides an insight into the rapidly evolving modern Chinese society. The strategies, people, and atmosphere are all unique; however, the goal is the same as in any crime fiction-- solve the terrible crime. I received a review copy of “Thief of Souls” from Brian Klingborg, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur books. This has everything a reader expects in a great mystery – unexplained murders, complex situations, a dedicated investigator, a little light hearted humor, and a surprise ending. As a bonus, it is set in an uncommon location. It is listed as book one in a series, so I cannot wait to find out what adventures await Inspector Lu Fei in the next books ( )

Thief of Souls is the first in a new mystery series featuring Inspector Lu Fei. Set in a backwater in contemporary northern China. Lu is a graduate from China’s best police college who could reasonably be expected to be much higher up and closer to the centers of power in Beijing. His assignment to such a small town is a sign that he ruffles feathers.

When a woman is murdered in his town, though, it attracts national interest because of the gruesome details. Some of her organs were removed and money to pay for her expenses in the afterlife was placed in her mouth. Naturally, a group of crime scene technicians, a medical examiner, and a someone officious higher ranked investigator were sent to run the investigation. They are eager to close the case and are thrilled to have a convenient neighbor that they can fit to the crime. Lu is not so sure and his continued investigation trods on more than a few toes.

I enjoyed Thief of Souls quite a bit. It was absolutely fair and for that reason, I knew who the murderer was long before Inspector Lu. There should have been a couple more viable suspects just to make it difficult. Of course, as a reader I had an advantage over Inspector Lu with interludes from the killer’s point of view. I really don’t think those interludes are necessary and they quickly made the killer obvious. When they reviewed two other cases, there was a detail that should have been investigated and it was not. I noted it as a reader and was surprised Inspector Lu missed it at first.

However, other than that, I enjoyed the book. It is a good procedural that is enhanced by the details about Chinese criminal justice practices. The characters are sufficiently complex, except for a couple oafish cops on the force. There is also a good sense of place, rich in context and social texture. I hope to read more in the series.

I received an e-galley of Thief of Souls from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thief of Souls at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan
Brian Kingborg on Twitter

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