ABOUT THE BOOK

Playing for Thrills follows the investigation of a mysterious murder of a possibly imaginary character that took place more than 10 years before. The chief suspect is the narrator of the novel who may or may not have committed the crime - even he isn't sure. As our charismatic antihero careers around Beijing drinking beer, having sex and questioning a bunch of people who speak like characters in a gangster movie, he tries to find someone who can remind him which girl he was with and what he was doing at the time of the murder. Suddenly the narrative explodes and the reader is thrust into a countdown leading up to the crime itself. The result is a frightening, sometimes hilarious, always astonishing novel that is totally unlike anything ever published from China.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

'The most brilliantly entertaining "hardboiled" novel of the 90's...call it China noir. If you can imagine Raymond Chandler crossed with Bruce Lee (or maybe Richard Brautigan crossed with John Woo), that gives you the flavour...but you really have to experience this in order to really get it. Most ultimately cool.' - Stephen King.

'The satire is smart, the action relentless, the pleasures distinct and notable' - Washington Post

'China's Kerouac' - New York Times