Rented Grave: An Inspector Lok Novel
Horace Yang, a downtrodden office worker haunted by failure, betrayal, and brutal imprisonment during Mao's Cultural Revolution, has finally found a way to settle the score. Obsessed with revenge, he presses on to a confrontation that can only end in death.
In Hong Kong's teeming Yau Ma Tei district, a body is found in a gangster's limousine. The murder case takes Inspector Lok and his team deep into the heart of the city's criminal life. Eventually, Lok's investigation uncovers an evil spawned in the turmoil of 1960s China, where a vicious regime exploited fear and terrorized the masses.
Rented Grave is a crime story about Hong Kong, a modern city entangled in China's past. Some can't forget that past, for their wounds still bleed, and their voices still cry out for revenge.
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"An atmospheric crime story savvily blending the sleek modernity of Hong Kong with China's tumultuous past."-Kirkus Reviews
"Charles Philipp Martin places you in the psychological heart of Hong Kong and China with this lean and masterfully written account of how past crimes and filial piety shape the lives of his characters. I was transported to a ruthless world where truth is manipulated and you can't trust anyone, a place where revealing secrets is dangerous. This book pulls you in and won't let go."-Carl Vonderau, award-winning author of Murderabilia and Saving Myles
"Rented Grave is a beautifully-crafted, relentlessly-paced crime story studded with edge-of-your-seat thrills. Never for a moment does it stop bubbling with tension and danger."- Ron McMillan, author of Yin Yang Tattoo and Bangkok Cowboy
"An as-authentic-as-you're-likely-to-get insider's view of Hong Kong police work...Martin pulls the reader through a twisty international thriller that ultimately satisfies while leaving us ready for the next installment. Exactly what you want in a thriller."- Bobby Mathews, Anthony-nominated author of Magic City Blues, Living the Gimmick, and Negative Tilt
"The criminal back alleys of Charles Philipp Martin's Hong Kong simmer with sumptuous corruption."- Gerald Elias, author of the Daniel Jacobus mysteries
"In noir, nothing goes according to plan. Charles Philip Martin's Rented Grave, we have a crime, done in a different culture, against an alien political backdrop. Everything is different to western eyes, from corruption to police procedure, women, and justice. It is told in a crisp, vivid and relentless style that keeps the story moving forward and the mindset and values of a foreign city and its people at the fingertips, yet out of reach. Martin delivers noir in the darkest of shades."-Gabriel Valjan, Agatha, Anthony, and Shamus-nominated author of the Shane Cleary series
