Bad Traffic: An Inspector Jian Novel

by Simon Lewis

Book Overview

In this "GREASED-LIGHTNING" crime debut (Kirkus Reviews), Simon Lewis has created two unforgettable characters and a critically acclaimed novel that will stay with you long after the final page is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416593535
• ISBN13: 9781416593539
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 375 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

So Very Good, I Can't Wait for the Next Inspector Ma Jian Story

Inspector Ma Jian is an influential Chinese policeman who is also a bit corrupt. One night when he's about to bed his current young mistress he gets a call from his daughter, who he believes is going to college in England. "Help me!" she says, then the line goes dead. Jian doesn't think twice, he gets on a plan and heads to England, even though he doesn't speak a word of English. Ding Ming is Chinese as well. He wanted to be an English teacher, but somebody who wasn't qualified but was much better connected got the job, So Ding and his wife sell themselves as indentured servants and suffer through a long, arduous journey to England. When Jian gets to London he's like a fish out of water, but he does manage to get up to Leeds where he finds his daughter had been lying to him, she hadn't been attending school, instead she was working as a waitress and hanging out with a Chinese gangster called Black Fort. Ding Ming and his wife arrive in England to find it's not the golden mountain they'd been led to believe. They are separated by a snakehead called Black Fort (yes the same Black Fort) and Ding isn't happy. He wants to please his captors, but he want to see his wife, too. Jian's investigation leads him to Ding and he forces the young man to help him, because he needs his English skills. Ding doesn't want to go along and often tries to thwart Jian, because he thinks if he gives him up to the gangsters, they'll look favorably on him and let him see his wife. Little does he know what's in store for his wife and without Jian he has no hope of ever seeing her again. Jian and his reluctant sidekick make a great pair as they race through this novel at breakneck speed to an explosive conclusion you won't want to miss. Somehow I got the impression from the story and especially the ending that this is the first of many Inspector Jian novels to come. I hope that's true.

Tense As All Get Out

One day a couple weeks ago my husband Ken started reading this book and it seemed like every fifteen minutes or so he'd say something like, "You won't believe how good this book is." Then he'd read me a few passages. Then he'd go back into the book, read a bit, then do it all over again. So, as you can see, he really liked the book. But sadly, he told me most of the story before I started it. So I put off reading it, hoping I'd forget what I knew. Of course it didn't work, but even knowing the plot, even knowing how it would end, none of that took away from my enjoyment of BAD TRAFFIC. Simon Lewis has written a terrific thriller about a Chinese detective trying to find his daughter in a country where he doesn't speak a word of the language and that really adds to the tension, plus it leaves room for a little humor. If you ask me, Simon Lewis is destined to be a major star in the thriller/mystery genre. His pacing is about as tight as you can get. His people are real and interesting as all get out. His plotting is superb and his description puts you right in place, whether it's a fish and chips shop or a blazing gunfight in the middle of the night. I can't recommend this book highly enough and I'll most certainly be on the lookout for the next Simon Lewis thriller. Reviewed by Vesta Irene

I Hope to See Much More of Inspector Ma Jian

Inspector Ma Jian is an influential Chinese policeman who is also a bit corrupt. One night when he's about to bed his current young mistress he gets a call from his daughter, who he believes is going to college in England. "Help me!" she says, then the line goes dead. Jian doesn't think twice, he gets on a plan and heads to England, even though he doesn't speak a word of English. Ding Ming is Chinese as well. He wanted to be an English teacher, but somebody who wasn't qualified but was much better connected got the job, So Ding and his wife sell themselves as indentured servants and suffer through a long, arduous journey to England. When Jian gets to London he's like a fish out of water, but he does manage to get up to Leeds where he finds his daughter had been lying to him, she hadn't been attending school, instead she was working as a waitress and hanging out with a Chinese gangster called Black Fort. Ding Ming and his wife arrive in England to find it's not the golden mountain they'd been led to believe. They are separated by a snakehead called Black Fort (yes the same Black Fort) and Ding isn't happy. He wants to please his captors, but he want to see his wife, too. Jian's investigation leads him to Ding and he forces the young man to help him, because he needs his English skills. Ding doesn't want to go along and often tries to thwart Jian, because he thinks if he gives him up to the gangsters, they'll look favorably on him and let him see his wife. Little does he know what's in store for his wife and without Jian he has no hope of ever seeing her again. Jian and his reluctant sidekick make a great pair as they race through this novel at breakneck speed to an explosive conclusion you won't want to miss. Somehow I got the impression from the story and especially the ending that this is the first of many Inspector Jian novels to come. I hope that's true.

A Real High Tension Thriller

Inspector Ma Jian is a Chinese policemen and a man of influence who is fond of quoting from Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. One could almost say that though he's tough and perhaps a tad dishonest, that he's a man who hasn't lost the faith. Jian knows how to get a confession and he knows how to deal with bad guys. Ding Ming is a young man who wanted be a school teacher, wanted to teach English, but the system gave the job to someone less qualified with better connections, so Ding and his wife Little Ye have virtually sold themselves into a live of servitude on the Golden Mountain. This is what they call England, but when they get there, the mountain isn't so golden. They are separated, but Ding is told by the gangsters who are basically his captors that he'll be allowed to talk to her soon. In China Jian gets a phone call from his daughter who is studying in England. "Help me," she says, then silence on the line. Jian flies straightaway to England, but speaks no English. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for Ding (at least he thinks so at first) Jian sort of kidnaps Jian, because he needs him to translate. They steal a car and have the cops on their trail as they search for Jian's daughter, who as it turns out has been taken by the same man who is holding Ding's wife and when Jian and Ding meet up with the gangsters we have a real wallapoluza of an ending. What was so good about this thriller, besides the terrific story was how Mr. Lewis tells the plight of illegal Chinese immigrants in England without ever slowing down the pace of the story. Not only does he people his pages with great characters who see England from a vastly different point of view than I ever would have managed, but he shows how the system allows the illegal trade in people to go on and it's not a pretty picture. However this is a very good book and one I highly recommend.

One Great Thriller!

This has to be the best book I have read in 2009! I picked it up today while I was eating breakfast and just could not put it down. I checked the author's picture a couple of time's to see if he wasn't Chinese but instead he is British. He seems so attuned to his Chinese characters, I thought must have been a Chinese writer. Ma Jian is a Chinese policeman, once a member of Mao's Red Guard, and now with a desk job. He is making out with his girlfriend when he gets a call from his daughter, who is supposed to be attending Leeds Universty, all he hears is " Dad, help I'm im trouble" then the phone drops. He immediately takes off to England. He speaks only Mandarin and no English. Most of English Chinese speak Cantonese and English,at least in this book. In spite of communication problems he has no trouble being a street policeman doing his work like the old days. He finds a way to get results by any way he has to. Crooks are crooks and policing is policing!He becomes involved with a young Chinese youth who is part of the human trafficking that is going on in many countries. In spite of the many obstacles, he slows down for nothing and the book is very witty with many very funny moments. He finds that most of what his daughter has been telling him while he thought she was at University is not true.When he finally beats and threatens the owner of a Chinese restaurant where Wei Wei had been working,until he gives him her cell phone which has a tape of her murder, he sets off to kill the murderer. An amusing moment, he meets someone who speaks mandarin and says " why is the Chinese food in England so awful". She replys " The English will eat anything so the food might as well be full of starch and sauces". I hope the writer with the Welsh name will write more books about this dynamic detective Chinese Detective.