The Interior

The Interior (1999) Lisa See

Liu Hulan is still in China working for the Ministry of Public Security–and pregnant with an unsanctioned child, when she receives a letter from a woman she hadn’t heard from in years, asking her to come look into the death of her daughter.

David Stark is back in the US and at loose ends after tying up the Rising Phoenix case and trying to figure out how he and Hulan are going to work things out. When an friend is killed in what looks to be an attempt at David’s life, he considers going back into private practice–especially when that practice may take him back to China.

The story as a bit slow to take off, and spent a lot of time with Suchee, Liu Hulan’s friend from the time she spend in the country side. The view of the countryside was both fascinating and depressing: the harsh living conditions, the effects of the one child policy, the conditions in American factories and how the workers are treated.

Yet I still found Liu Hulan and Beijing and the Ministry of Public Security to more fascinating than events in the countryside.
Rating: 7/10

Published by Random House

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