Midnight in Peking : how the murder of a young Englishwoman haunted the last days of old China / Paul French

Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-259).

The approaching storm -- The body at the Fox Tower -- The police of Peking -- Wild dogs and diplomats -- The investigation -- Pamela -- An old China hand -- Armour factory alley -- Cocktail hour at the Wagons Lits -- Into the Badlands -- Of rats and men -- Under Peking earth -- A respectable man of influence -- Radical chic -- The element of fire -- The rising sun that chills -- Journey to the underworld -- Chuanpan Hutong -- The hunters -- Invitation to a party -- The wound that wouldn't heal -- The writing of midnight in Peking.

In January 1937, the mutilated body of Pamela Werner was found on the outskirts of old Peking (Beijing). After an unsuccessful investigation into the slaughter of this 19-year-old English expatriate, the case was eventually closed and forgotten as World War II escalated in China. Now Shanghai-based business analyst and historian French reopens the cold case and attempts to bring some justice to Pamela's memory in this skillfully told true-crime thriller. French writes a remarkably coherent narrative by stringing together details from official police reports, newspaper articles, interviews, and, perhaps most helpful, E.T.C. Werner's report from his personal investigation into his daughter's horrific murder. Treating his subjects with expertise and compassion, French creates a riveting portrait of the complicated tensions that existed during wartime in a city on the brink of destruction. As he slowly unravels the clues, he reveals a crime more shocking than anyone had ever imagined.