A review  of ‘The Shanghai Circle’ by a member of the Online Book Club on the 21st of October 2023

4 stars out of 5

I have seen countless Chinese movies where triads are vital to the storyline. They are portrayed as a ruthless set of wealthy individuals who control the dark side of the Chinese economy. The narrative isn’t far from this reality in The Shanghai Circle.

Cheung Pak-ho is the leader of the Sung Triad Society. He has made all necessary arrangements to make Joseph, his son, succeed him as the leader. To do this, Joseph has to go through an initiation process. As part of Cheung handing down a family legacy to Joseph, the secret details of their rivalry with the Guests have to come to light.

Charles Guest, the “taipan” of a British trading house in Shanghai, has just received vital information regarding his wife’s death. However, he has to make plans to move his company and family away from Shanghai to Hong Kong, owing to the increased danger posed by the looming Japanese invasion of China. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes, and he is unable to follow up. His daughter, Davina, has so many questions. Is her mother’s death connected to the company’s rivalry with the Sung Triad Society? Is there an end in sight for this rivalry?

The first plaudit I will give Tony Henderson is the accuracy of the historical aspects of the book. For the record, this book is a fictional narrative. However, the author accurately blended this fictional narrative with actual historical events. This book shows the devastating effect of the typhoon that hit Hong Kong in 1937. Around that time, China suffered what was historically called a “Bloody Saturday,” where over two thousand people died in a bomb attack on Shanghai. All these historical events were seamlessly incorporated into this story to add life and spice to the narrative.

The author also excelled in what I’d call “picture-perfect description.” The descriptions were so vivid that the narrative played out like a movie before me. Some of the descriptions were exciting. However, there were also some gory ones. First was the scene where a defaulting triad member received the maximum punishment. There was also the scene where people were served monkey brains to eat. The sexual scenes were also vividly described. If these things trigger you negatively, you should read with caution.

I did have one major issue with the book. The characterization was not reflective of the setting of the book. You would expect to see many Chinese names used for a book set in Shanghai and Hong Kong. However, the author played safe and mainly used English names. While that worked for some characters, there were others that a Chinese name would have properly represented their characters. For instance, Joseph’s father and mother were Chinese. Therefore, a Chinese name would have fit his character best. Michael and Simone were other characters that should have had Chinese names because their father was Wong Shing-Lo.

The book was exceptionally edited. It would be a great treasure for anyone interested in stories involving the triads and rival families. However, because of the deficiency in characterization, I’d deduct a star from the rating. Therefore, I’d rate The Shanghai Circle 4 out of 5 stars.