My very great thanks to http://www.lovereading.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/books.literarycontemporary?ref=ts&fref=ts @lovereadinguk for providing a reader panel copy of ‘Whispering Shadows’.

I absolutely adored ‘The Art of Hearing Heartbeats’ by Jan-Philipp Sendker and as I began reading ‘Whispering Shadows’ the emotion of the prologue as Paul contemplates the death of his son, Justin, made me think I would enjoy this book just as much. However, I was slightly disappointed. I don’t know if there was a different translator, but the writing didn’t seem to flow as fluidly and I didn’t get the same emotional pull.

However, the story is a strong and intriguing one and the book is well worth reading. The murky world of corrupt officialdom and business is very effectively described and I found the practices very distasteful as Paul Leibovich and Zhang try to discover who really murdered Michael Owen.

Descriptions of the food and the setting make this a very vivid read. There are themes of love and trust that resonate with us all so that Paul’s rehabilitation into the world becomes important to the reader. Having read ‘Whispering Shadows’ I want to know what will become of Paul and Christine in the future.

I think that readers of John Grisham would enjoy ‘Whispering Shadows’ very much indeed.