"The body was found at 4:40 P.M., on May 11, 1990, in Baili Canal, an out-of-the-way canal, about twenty miles to the west of Shanghai" (Chapter 1, pg. 1.)

""It's the market economy," Liu said. "The country is changing in the right direction. And the people have a better life"" (Liu Gaoliang, Chapter 1, pg. 4.)

"The episode came to him like an echo of his colleagues' criticism: Chief Inspector Chen was too 'Poetic' to be a cop" (Chapter 4, pg. 39.)

"He had a vague feeling that there was something about the case, something complicated, waiting for him. Something like a parallel to his writing experience" (Chapter 5, pg. 46.)

""Her name is Guan Hongying. Guan, you know, for closing the door. Hong for the color red, and Ying for heroine"" (Detective Yu Guangming, Chapter 6, pg. 49.)

""It's an important political case, comrade. That's something we should all be aware of"" (Commissar Zhang, Chapter 10, pg. 111.)

"Today, China was...