City on Fire

A white Hong Kong police detective is torn between family, faith, and duty as he tackles corruption at the highest levels of government in the satisfying latest from Elegant (A Floating Life). In 2019, disgraced police superintendent Killian Tong is called back from his rural post when a mutilated body is discovered in a Hong Kong landfill. Though Killian believes solving the murder might help get his career back on track, his superiors want the case resolved as quickly and quietly as possible, owing in part to escalating anti-government protests. As Killian investigates, he tries to mend his relationship with his younger sister, Jun, an anti-police activist whose activities have landed her on a government watch list. Eventually, Killian’s inquiry implicates major power players in Hong Kong’s government, and his superiors insist he bury the truth, forcing him to reckon with the episode that got him exiled in the first place. The David-and-Goliath struggle at the heart of the novel is thrilling to witness, and Elegant fortifies it with a complex portrait of Hong Kong’s racial politics and a sobering study of widespread political malfeasance. Striking just the right balance of tension and emotional depth, this bruising thriller delivers the goods. Agent: Peter Rubie, Fine Print. (May)