All the tears in China

In the ninth book in the Rowland Sinclair series by Sulari Gentill, Rowland is ordered to go to Shanghai by his brother to take part in discussions about selling surplus wool. His brother warns him not to make a final decision on the matter. Rowland suggests that he is not the best person to undertake such a project but his brother insists as he has family matters at home to attend to.

Shanghai in the the mid 1930s is not the safest place to visit as Rowland and his friends, Edwina, Clyde and Milton discover. It is soon obvious that they do not know who to trust especially when Rowland is accused of murder.

Shanghai is a cosmopolitan city with British expats, French, Germans and Japanese mingling with the Chinese. It is a city of politics - communists and non communists (both Chinese and Russian), fascists from Nazi Germany, the Japanese invasion of part of Manchuria - making it often a dangerous place to be, especially when you do not know your way around.

One of the features of the books in this series is that at the beginning of each chapter the author includes part of an actual newspaper article relating to what is happening in the chapter. These articles help explain and add atmosphere to the historical setting of each book.

There is plenty of action and suspense as Rowland's friends attempt to extricate him from the dangerous politcal situation  in which he has become involved.