Paul French

midnight-in-peking

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Kate-Atkinson

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

Decadent Playground of Old Peking

The Badlands

Midnight in Peking

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

An instant true crime classic. Grips from the first page to the last

David Peace, author of Red Riding and The Damned United

Fascinating and irresistible. I couldn't put it down

John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Written in the style of a gripping murder mystery, but all the facts are true

Engrossing true crime whodunnit... A terrific read

Not only does Mr French succeed in solving the crime, he resurrects a period that was filled with glitter as well as evil

French has an easygoing prose style... well chosen quotes bring a new vigour and crispness... [He] succeeds in giving voice to a tragic quest for justice

It is the storytelling flair that marks Midnight in Peking so highly above the run-of-the-mill true crime stories: with its false leads and twists, it sucks the reader in like the best fiction

The shocking true tale, combined with prose you can't drag yourself away from, makes Midnight in Peking a work of non fiction as compulsive as any bestselling crime novel. It also brings justice at last for a young woman whose murder nearly went unsolved

Terrific, engrossing ... a gruesome tale of a hitherto forgotten case, and of the sheer tenacity of a grieving father

The Murder That Haunted the Last Days of Old China

Peking, 1937. The teenage daughter of a British consul is brutally slaughtered. The police investigation is botched as war looms; British and Chinese authorities close ranks. A grieving father vows to uncover the truth - alone. 
 
Seventy-five years later, historian Paul French uncovers a stash of forgotten documents revealing the killer's identity . . .

Midnight in Peking is a gripping true murder mystery by Paul French 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 
 
'A first-rate murder story, a thrilling narrative. Hurtles along from one cliffhanger to the next' Spectator 
 
Peking, 1937: 
 
The teenage daughter of a British consul is brutally slaughtered. The police investigation is botched; as war looms British and Chinese authorities close ranks. A grieving father vows to uncover the truth - alone. 
 
Seventy-five years later, historian Paul French uncovers a stash of forgotten documents revealing the killer's identity . . . 
 
For those who loved The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil this is a riveting and evocative true crime classic. 
 
'Gripping, spellbinding . . . drawing the reader from the very first pages into an unwholesome, macabre world' Guardian 
 
'Part historical docudrama, part tragic opera . . . it is French's enormous achievement that he pieces together the puzzle. He tells this tale with the skill of an Agatha Christie' Financial Times 
 
'Fascinating and irresistible. I couldn't put it down' 
John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil 
 
'Vivid, pulsating, riveting. It is the storytelling flair that marks Midnight in Peking so highly: with its false leads and twists . . . it sucks the reader in like the best fiction' Scotsman 
 
Born in London, Paul French has lived in China for more than 10 years. He is a widely published analyst and commentator on China; his books include a history of North Korea, a biography of Shanghai adman and adventurer Carl Crow, and a history of foreign correspondents in China.

Born in London, Paul French has lived in China for more than 10 years. He is a widely published analyst and commentator on China; his books include a history of North Korea, a biography of Shanghai adman and adventurer Carl Crow, and a history of foreign correspondents in China.

Midnight in Peking

The Murder That Haunted the Last Days of Old China

Format:

Buy the book from:

About Paul French

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter