The Eye of Jade

By: Diane Wei Liang

Narrated by: Cindy Cheung

Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Modern, independent Mei Wang runs her own PI business in Beijing; she even has that most modern of commodities, a male secretary. When a family friend asks her to locate a Han dynasty jade of great value that was taken from its museum during the years of the Cultural Revolution when Red Guards seized many relics, her investigation reveals a story that has more to do with the past and her own family history than she ever expected.

To solve the case, Mei must delve into that dark, brutal part of China's history, Mao's labor camps, and the countless deaths for which no one was ever held responsible. It exposes the agonizing choices made during the Revolution, to kill or be killed, to love or to live.

©2008 The Eye of Jade Limited (P)2009 BBC Audio

Critic reviews

"Readers familiar with Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs will find many parallels between that independent and unconventional PI and Mei. Mei's challenging family life nicely complements the puzzle of the missing jade and the shifting Chinese political climate." (Publishers Weekly)
"This may start out as a straightforward mystery but it expands to encompass a meditation on the nature of love and justice in extraordinary circumstances." (Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia)

Disappointed

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

More mystery. A great concept, a female Chinese PI. Book started off great and just went down hill.

Has The Eye of Jade turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I like the idea of a female Chinese PI

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Narrator was good. I enjoyed her.

What character would you cut from The Eye of Jade?

I don't know it's just a mish mash of characters. Her sister is not likeable.

Any additional comments?

It's as if the author had a ton of ideas and not enough Adderall. To me, she was all over the place.

Great Romance, iffy Mystery

A friend sent me this book but I found it difficult to read as the print was too light and the paper it was printed on cheap and added to the books unreadability. It's a measure of how much I enjoyed it though that I came here and purchased it in audio format.

I found it intriguing because I don't think I have ever read a mystery set in China that did not have a western character in it anywhere. And It's a good book. But I had to adjust my expectations in order to enjoy it. I was expecting a mystery, and it is that, but only sort of. The whole mystery thing is not developed very well. What interested me about the book was place and people. I enjoy arm chair traveling and this book did a pretty good job with time-and-place. It says this book is the first book in a series that the author is planning and I think she was laying a lot of background introductions to the characters and Mei's family situation. If there is a book two I plan to give it a try. There was just enough in this book to like that I will give this author another chance. But when a book is advertised as a mystery I expect the mystery to be the focus so I didn't give this book top marks.