Flower Net

A Red Princess Mystery

By: Lisa See

Narrated by: Elaina Davis

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In Flower Net, Lisa See gives us a China not often seen: An extraordinary nation that is at once admirable and frightening. Here the veil is ripped away from modern China - its venerable culture, its teeming economy, its institutionalized cruelty - and the inextricable link between China's fortunes and America's is underscored.

In the depths of a Beijing winter, during the waning days of Deng Xiaoping's reign, the US ambassador's son is found dead - his body entombed in a frozen lake. Almost simultaneously, American officials find a ship adrift in the storm-churned waters off Southern California.

No one is surprised to find the fetid hold crammed with hundreds of undocumented Chinese immigrants - the latest cargo in the Chinese mafia's burgeoning smuggling trade. What does surprise Assistant US Attorney David Stark is his discovery that among the hapless refugees lies the corpse of a Red Prince, a scion of China's political elite.

The Chinese and American governments suspect that the deaths are connected, and in an unprecedented move they join forces to solve this cross-cultural crime. Stark heads for Beijing to team up with police detective Liu Hulan, whose unorthodox methods are tolerated only because of her spectacular investigative abilities. Their investigation carries them into virtually every corner of today's China, and leads them to Los Angeles's thriving Asian community - where their search turns up a bloodthirsty murderer at the apex of China's power structure. Their work together also ignites their passion for each other - a passion forbidden by their respective governments, and one that plays right into the hands of a serial killer.

An accomplished stage actress, Elaina Davis performed in Hamlet, and in Richard II and Troilus & Cressida for the New York Shakespeare Festival. She was a principal character on television's As The World Turns, and has appeared in the film Contact.

Please note: This edition is abridged.

©1997 Lisa See (P)1997 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Don’t recommend the audible version

I was reading this book on my kindle and enjoying it. Lisa See is currently my favorite author. Because I’m back to work teaching, I don’t have as much free time to read. Since I have plenty of time in the car, I decided to get it as an audible book and listen to the rest of in the car. I didn’t care for it at all. The reader is very robotic and the occasional background music is annoying. If you want to read the book, great! It’d be way better than listening to the audible version.

there should not be music

I REALLY didnt like the that there was music that popped up randomly during the reading. I felt like I was listening to a soap opera.

My First Lisa See Book

I'm giving this book 4 stars. Although I have never read a Lisa See before so have nothing to compare with her other writings.
This is a romantic mystery who done it story. Takes place in China & California with a twist in Montana. Lisa includes the culture background of China which I found interesting. The Audible narrative was very good, especially with the pronunciation of the Chinese names was helpful. Enjoyed listening to this book. And plan on reading on of Lisa See's books. This book was picked by our Book Club.
Alana,
Colorado

Good story but poor narration

What made the experience of listening to Flower Net the most enjoyable?

I am fascinated by the Chinese history and culture as portrayed by Lisa See and always enjoy her stories.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot twists and the view into the Chinese culture.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The voice of the narrator did not work with the different characters and I found the addition of the music to be distracting at the start of each chapter.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

I would rate it somewhere in the middle of Lisa See's books.

Outstanding

I only wish Lisa See wrote more books. Every one of them holds my attention and is so beautifully narrated with the lovely Oriental music in the background.

Where's the unabridged version?

Would you consider the audio edition of Flower Net to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version of Flower Net, but I have read other books by Lisa See. I would imagine that the reading experience would be just as satisfying as the listening experience. Although, I wish that they would re-record this book in an unabridged version. I thought the music that signaled the end of a scene or chapter was interesting. I'm not sure that I would prefer that it be there, but the music was nice.

What other book might you compare Flower Net to and why?

I would probably compare this book to the others in the Red Princess series. They all are good, with a great story line and suspense that keeps me guessing.

Did Elaina Davis do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

At first I didn't like Davis' reading style, I've listened to other Lisa See books narrated by Janet Song, and I have to say that those are superior. I did like how Davis gave different accents and changed her voice depending on the character. Sometimes the changes and voices seemed almost comical, but once I got used to it, it was fine.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

During the last half of the book, I almost cried a few times, but that sort of goes with the the situation.

Any additional comments?

Overall, I liked this audiobook version. Once I got used to Elaina Davis' voice and her character differentiation I liked listening to it and I was sad that it was over. I am disappointed that there was only this abridged version available. The other two books in the Red Princess series have two parts and are much longer than this version. Hopefully, Audible does the unabridged version in the future.

Kudos

Lisa See’s story telling is superb. I experienced Elaina Davis as slow to bring her skill to the fore. Maybe five chapters until she synced with the story. Then and only then did she show her chops.

Regrettably the music accompanying the narration took longer to fit and support the book. Initially it was ill-fitting and the volume was too loud. Later is fitted better

Not much of a book for your money

The narrator is horrible and the music isn’t the greatest. I had to slow down the reading speed to make it sound less choppy.

Music ugg

A pleasant book overall. I thought the narrator did a good job, but the music at the end and beginning of every chapter sometimes made it difficult to even hear the narrator, and always took away from the book.

An average story

Could not get attached to or care much about the characters. Did enjoy the picture of modern China and the lingering legacy of the Cultural Revolution.
Please get rid of the music throughout the story!