I was very surprised to see The Firemaker by Peter May available as an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) on Netgalley. I thought this was an older book. But I have been a fan of Peter May since reading his Lewis trilogy so I was interested.

The Firemaker is the first book in his set of China thrillers set in the 1990 and early 2000s. I checked and this series was published between 1999 and 2004. The reason for an ARC is this is a re-release in early 2018. The best explanation for why he decided on a re-release is the Introduction by the author.

I was not particularly interested in Chinese culture but being familiar with Peter May’s writing, I thought I would give this a try. I am glad I did.

As I expected, the writing is wonderful and the mystery is complex and very good. I did not expect to find Chinese culture so fascinating. Perhaps the author’s methods made it so.

I found the opening few pages a bit slow with the introduction of an American visiting pathologist in China but the story quickens with a grisly murder and the mystery keep deepening until the end.

The new edition contains the author’s introduction which I enjoyed. But you can probably find an older edition at lower cost – maybe even free if you use your public library.