Inspector Lu Fei returns in Brian Klingborg’s second mystery, Wild Prey. Barbara Peters welcomed Klingborg back for a virtual return to The Poisoned Pen. There are signed copies of his latest books in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3anyk69
Here’s the description of Wild Prey.
“[A] taut thriller on a topical theme perfect for readers longing for an au courant successor to Eliot Pattison’s Inspector Shan Tao Yun mysteries” —Los Angeles Times
The search for a missing girl sends Inspector Lu Fei undercover into the wild corners of Myanmar, and the compound of the deadly and mysterious woman warlord responsible for the illegal trafficking of exotic animals and possibly more, in the next book from Brian Klingborg, Wild Prey.
Police Inspector Lu Fei has an unfortunate talent for getting himself into hot water with powerful and well-connected people. Which is why he’s been assigned to a backwater town in a rural area of Northern China and quietly warned to keep his head down. But while running a sting operation on the sale and consumption of rare and endangered animals, Lu comes across the curious case of a waitress who has gone missing. Her last known whereabouts: a restaurant frequented by local elites, owned by smooth-talking gangster, and known for its exotic — and highly illegal — delicacies.
As usual, Lu’s investigation ruffles some feathers, resulting in his suspension from the police force. Lu figures he’s reached a dead-end. Then he’s contacted by a mysterious government official in Beijing who wants him to go undercover to track down the mastermind behind an illegal animal trafficking network — and hopefully, the answer to the fate of the missing waitress. The mission will require Lu to travel deep into the lawless wilds of Myanmar, where he will risk his life to infiltrate the hidden compound of a mysterious and ruthless female warlord in a bloody and nearly hopeless quest for justice.
BRIAN KLINGBORG has both a B.A. (University of California, Davis) and an M.A. (Harvard) in East Asian Studies and spent years living and working in Asia. He currently works in early childhood educational publishing and lives in New York City. Klingborg is also the author of Kill Devil Falls.
Enjoy the conversation between Brian Klingborg and Barbara Peters.
Writer Freddie Kincaid studies the people sharing her table at the Boston Public Library, naming them “Freud Girl,” “Heroic Chin,” and “Handsome Man.” They hear a scream and learn that a woman has been murdered—that’s when Freddie says one of them is a killer. The subsequent story is Freddie’s account of her growing friendship with those three, attacks on two of them, and the growing awareness that one is attacking the others. But Hannah Tignone, a best-selling Australian author, is actually writing the story of Freddie and her new friends. The story within a story alternates Hannah’s writing with letters written to her by a wannabe author, Leo, who suggests changes to Hannah’s plot and characters. Freddie’s account of trying to discover which of her new friends is a killer is an engrossing mystery. At the same time, Hannah’s communication from the FBI allows the reader a glimpse into the life of a writer with a fanatical correspondent.
