Description:
A standalone thriller co-written by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gamache series and an award-winning journalist.
Brief description: Louise Penny is the multi-award winning author of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels, set in her home province of Québec, Canada. Her books, including State of Terror written with Hillary Rodham Clinton, have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide, topped international bestseller lists, including the New York Times, and been translated into 32 languages. The recipient of both the Order of Canada and l'Ordre national du Québec, her country's highest civilian honours, her Three Pines Foundation reaches out to those in crisis and offers financial and emotional support, with a special focus on literacy as well as dementia care. Her husband, Michael, died of dementia in 2016. She lives with her Golden Retrievers Muggins and Charlie in a village south of Montréal.
Review Quotes:
"[An] intelligent espionage thriller... Penny's trademark humor mingles well with Fung's political expertise. The result is an eerily plausible nail-biter."--Publishers Weekly
"While the strained relationship between Vivien and her daughter Alice forms the emotional core of the book, readers will be captivated by the race-against-time structure of the story... A treat for Penny's fans, and a solid political thriller in its own right."--Booklist "Most ambitious..." --Kirkus Reviews "This book is character-driven and nuanced, with as much attention paid to mother-daughter dynamics and the details of everyday life as is paid to action and intrigue... at once a fast-paced tale of power, greed, terror, and conviction and an introspective examination of the personal and cultural narratives that make people who they are... psychologically nuanced as [is] page-turning."--Library Journal "A gripping political thriller... It's a big story about forgiveness, trust, and the poison pill of revenge." -Christian Science Monitor "THE LAST MANDARIN is a gripping, high-octane rollercoaster ride as Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung keep the danger on the front burner with tension that doesn't abate until almost the last page."--Bookreporter "A cinematic standalone featuring Chinese culture, a powerful mother-daughter bond, and political intrigue, The Last Mandarin is a gripping thriller from start to finish."--Nerd Daily "A rare stand-alone novel and with no Inspector Gamache! The cowritten thriller centers on an estranged Chinese American mother (a Tiananmen Square activist) and daughter who are called upon by the U.S. government to assist during an international crisis apparently sparked by China."-AARP.com "The tight plotting, recognizable world and complex character relationships make this thriller chillingly relevant and wholly engrossing."-BookPage "Make no mistake about it, The Last Mandarin is a proper political thriller with all the tension, machinations, and intrigue genre devotees demand, but it's also--at its core--an intimate story of a mother and daughter navigating the challenging dynamics such a relationship develops over time."-BOLO Books