A best seller in China, this first-class procedural offers an intriguing setting and exquisite portrait of a modern country grappling with its past. The smooth translation renders the narrative well. Both fans of Qiu Xiaolong's "Inspector Chen" mysteries and Sinophiles will want to add this social crime novel to their reading lists.
— Library Journal(USA)

Rooting contemporary crimes in government-sanctioned corruption is nothing new for American writers, but Ying's tale marks something new and welcome in Chinese fiction.
— Kirkus Reviews(USA)

★ The copyright has been licensed: English (US), Vietnamese and Traditional Chinese! The English version was previously published by the American St. Martin's Press, which published Keigo Higashino's "The Devotion of Suspect X"!
★ This book was selected for the "Best Mystery & Thriller of 2016" list by the US "Library Journal." The author,Song Ying is the only Chinese author to date to have been included on this prestigious list!
He is a leading figure in Chinese social mystery fiction, hailed as "China's Seicho Matsumoto." He pioneered the social mystery genre in China.
★ The original Chinese edition created a publishing sensation, with coverage by over a hundred Chinese media outlets and serialization in several major newspapers lasting for seven months!
★ In pursuit of authenticity, the author immersed himself in a police department for several months,bringing convincing realism to the details of criminal investigation and logical reasoning.
★ This is more than just a tale of revenge; it is a profound exploration of historical trauma, the crime of silence, and personal redemption. If you appreciate the works of Japanese social mystery master Seicho Matsumoto, you should not miss this "Chinese version of 'The Castle of Sand' "!

Apricot's Revenge is an absorbing detective novel and more. Song Ying uses an ingenious plot to investigate social problems in modern China, which makes the book a profound and captivating read, leaving readers thinking long after reaching the last page.
A business tycoon in China is found dead; he apparently suffered a heart attack while swimming. His body is washed onto a beach in a popular resort known as the Hawaii of the East. But soon it becomes clear that he was murdered. Three immediate beneficiaries of his death become the suspects: the vice president of the company, Zhou, who is in line to take over his position; his young widow, Zhu, who stands to inherit a huge amount of wealth; and his arch business rival, Hong, who is competing in a bid over a piece of hot property.
Nie Feng, a young investigative reporter for a magazine, interviewed the victim just a few days before he died. Through his own research, Nie Feng discovers a new suspect who is not on the police's radar.

Song Ying

A National Class-A Writer in China and a pivotal pioneer of Chinese social mystery fiction, he is respected for the rigorousness of his craft and his profound insight into society and history.
He is the author of six full-length novels, including "Apricot's Revenge" "The White Giant Tower" and "The White Fog" ,his works have won numerous national awards.
His representative work "Apricot's Revenge",is widely recognized as "China's first social mystery novel". Its international achievements are particularly notable: the English edition was published by the globally renowned St. Martin’s Press and was selected for the Library Journal's "Best Mystery & Thriller of 2016" list. Song Ying is the first and, to date, the only Chinese author to receive this international honor, which fully demonstrates the transcendent narrative power and literary value of his work across cultures and borders.

Prologue
Chapter 1: Mist over Xiaomeisha
Chapter 2: Dihao Mansion
Chapter 3: The Three Beneficiaries
Chapter 4: "Alibi"
Chapter 5: The New Leader
Chapter 6: Blurred Shadows of Flowers
Chapter 7: The Second Victim
Chapter 8: The Tip of the Iceberg
Chapter 9: Fire! Fire! Fire!
Chapter 10: Reconstructing the Scene
Chapter 11: The Melancholy Sound of a Zither
Chapter 12: Death on Blue Sparrow Ridge
Epilogue
Postscript