Review of "The Last Mandarin: A Thriller" by Lousie Penny and Mellissa Fung

Twenty-six-year-old Alice Li and her friend Liam Palmer, who met at Columbia University School of Journalism, both write food blogs.



Since Liam's job with a food distribution service often takes him to China, and Alice lives in DC, the friends usually communicate about and through their blogs. Alice's blog, called Junk Food, often features Asian dishes; and Liam's blog highlights little places he finds on his travels.





Alice is reading her latest message from Liam on the way to a restaurant to meet her mother for brunch. Liam sent a photo of himself on Hong Kong's Star Ferry, holding a coconut bun.



The accompanying text, seemingly meant for Liam's blog, reads, "Proceeding along the edge of the stream, I forget the distance of the road I have walked. I suddenly come across a forest of blossoming peach trees that extend uninterrupted for several hundred paces on either bank. Fragrant grasses are delicate and petals fall in riotous profusion."

Afterwards, Alice joins her mother Vivien Li in a luxury hotel eatery. Vivien is a Chinese woman who fought the troops in Tiananmen Square and is now a wealthy famous dissident in America, fighting for reform in China.



During Alice and Vivien's meal, every phone in the restaurant starts blaring; the room gets dim; and a red emergency light begins flashing. It turns out ALL THE ALARMS ALL OVER THE WORLD - in every country, on ships, on submarines, on planes, and even on the international space station - are going off all at once. People panic, there's chaos, and then the alarms suddenly stop.





Later that day, Vivien Li - who's an advisor to U.S. President Fraser Pardington - is called to a meeting at the White House along with Alice. There the president's Director of National Intelligence Grant McAllister says the malware that set off the alarms was traced to China. Moreover, McAllister reveals Liam Palmer was an American intelligence agent, and says Liam was murdered on Hong Kong's Star Ferry soon after he sent Alice his photograph.



The president and his cabinet think Liam was conveying a secret message by way of his photo and 'blog entry' (above), which is now seen as describing Liam's movements through Hong Kong's streets, alleys, and harbor. McAllister wants Alice to help interpret Liam's clandestine communication.



As information accumulates, it appears adaptive predictive artificial intelligence (APAI), originating in China, was used to set off the alarms. President Pardington and his advisors try to contact their counterparts in China, but have little success.



We learn that President Chen Jiayang of China is as flummoxed as the Americans by the alarms going off, and is just as anxious to stop the perpetrators before ACTUAL catastrophic events occur....like the U.S. launching nuclear weapons into China.



When a second APAI incident occurs, it's even worse than the first. There are global infrastructure disruptions, and thousands of people are killed when elevators fall.



It appears the perpetrators are working up to a doomsday event, which makes it imperative to stop them as soon as possible.

It would be a spoiler to reveal too much about the plot, but in a nutshell: Vivien Li takes off for China to connect with a dissident group she helped initiate after Tiananmen Square. In the meanwhile, Alice visits Liam's sister Mae and collects a bauble Liam sent her from China.



Alice then follows her mother to China, and there's maximum danger, action, and adventure as Vivien, Alice, and their collaborators try to uncover the terrorists who developed the APAI and stop them.



Some of my favorite parts of the story take place in the necropolis built by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China (circa 220 BCE). This vast imperial burial complex, meant to house Qin in the afterlife, was designed to replicate his imperial court, army, and empire below ground. Among other things, Qin's complex houses a terra cotta army that includes soldiers, horses, chariots, and other figures.









As in many espionage novels, there are moles in the story - spies who collect and transmit secret information to foreign entities. In this book, there are traitors in President Pardington's administration AND in President Chen's standing committee. (One would think the most powerful leaders in the world would do better vetting 'their people', but then there wouldn't be a story. 😊)

This is an exciting thriller, highly recommended.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Eunice Wong, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung, and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of the book.

Rating: 4 stars