THE LAST MANDARIN by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung is a stand-alone political thriller. In this novel, modern day terrorist attacks are occurring simultaneously all over the globe and a Chinese dissident, Vivien Li and her food-blogger daughter, Alice, are drawn into a mystery which even leading intelligence agencies are struggling to decipher. As readers would expect from Penny (Inspector Gamache series), there are numerous plot twists and surprises. She and Fung (an award-winning Canadian journalist) also convey the political intrigue (e.g., betrayal by supposedly loyal staff) and behind the scenes maneuvering (including a unique back channel for communications), in a manner reminiscent of writers like Allen Drury or Gore Vidal. Library Journal says, “this book is character-driven and nuanced,” and Publishers Weekly calls THE LAST MANDARIN “an eerily plausible nail-biter.” Louise Penny herself writes, “This is the story of political intrigue but it is, at its heart, about that relationship. About the wounds the struggles the need to connect with the parent.” Enjoy the rapprochement and the adventure!!
The audiobook is narrated by Eunice Wong who does an absolutely excellent job. A favorite scene is the online gathering of the experts from several countries and Wong’s ability to use her voice and convey their biases and country of origin. Barnes & Noble and Abe Books each recommend more authors/titles in this genre. Looking for a political thriller in movie form? Try these suggested by IMDb.
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