A review of ‘The Shanghai Circle’ by a member of the Online Book Club on the 28th of December 2023

4 out of 5 stars

The year was 1936. World War II was on the horizon and the Japanese army had entered China. Shanghai, a major city in China, hosted two worlds side by side – wealthy businesses on one side, whereas crime, poverty, drugs, and prostitution on the other. Tony Henderson’s novel ‘The Shanghai Circle’ is a lesson in the history of that unique city which saw its share of devastation caused by the Japanese attack and Chinese retaliation.

In the gripping novel, western businessman Charles Guest and his strong-willed daughter Davina must save their company from the Japanese invasion of Shanghai. On the other end of the spectrum, there is the infamous Sung triad and its head, Cheung Pak-ho. He must prepare his son Joseph Cheung to be his successor by introducing him to the criminal activities of the triad and also his personal vendetta against the Guest family. In the midst of all this, Irina Donsky, a beautiful Russian refugee, must survive the grief of losing her parents and her family’s wealth.

The bravery of Thomas Mathers, an employee of the Guest company, in rescuing his colleague’s family from the Japanese, was worth reading.
The story is meticulously interwoven with conflicting emotions like hope, heroism, loyalty, age-old honour, vendetta, and violence. Chinese traditions of those times, patriarchy and family values, both decadence of human nature and the determination to rise above it, are portrayed by the author vividly.

The novel, the first in the ‘Chinese Circles’ series, is well-edited with no errors. It is a captivating story that could have been better without the graphic descriptions of rape, murder, profanity, and other depravities of the criminal world.
I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars because of too much violence which makes it hard to enjoy the story. The novel is best recommended for adults who love historical thrillers.