Rock, Paper, Tiger - Lisa Brackmann

First of all an apology, this was supposed to be up earlier in the week to tie in with Lisa's appearance on Ravenous Wednesday, but I forgot that there are only 24hours in every day and so it's a couple late.

Rock, Paper, Tiger
By Lisa Brackman
Pub: Soho
Cover: HandsDesign.ca

Ellie McEnroe is separated from her husband, suffering post traumatic stress disorder and an injured leg and is trying to get her visa to stay in China. Now her friend and sometimes lover has disappeared and both the Americans and Chinese are chasing Ellie down for reasons that no one has made clear to her.

As a thriller this novel is a little strange. We follow Ellie as she tries to navigate the various agencies looking for her and unravel the mystery of her friends disappearance, which is normal enough. The Chinese influence though means that the characters are forced to use unusual means to coordinate. It adds an interesting level to the book that I can't really explain without giving too much away, so my advice is be like Ellie, trust there is a point and go with it.

Chinese is thrown in casually and translated in a way that makes it feel natural. That the book is set in China comes through strongly not just through the language, but the writing style, the food and conversation, the way people interact. It’s very clear that China and America are in some ways very different. There is a strong sense of culture and character and Ellie seems at home there.

Ellie is a great lead, cynical, funny and tough, but still believing in people. The mystery is fascinating, it quickly becomes impossible to know who to trust. At times extremely grim and honest it’s a great journey with fascinating characters. It's well written and quick to draw the reader in, perhaps partly because of the slight quirks of the writing style.