Escaping a web of corruption, espionage and deceit in China

The Games is my one and only attempt at a novel. It is a political thriller, inspired by actual events in the 1990s, that charts the sudden downfall of a prominent Shanghai family amid accusations of corruption and industrial espionage. When Li Heng, the boss of major Sino-US automotive joint venture, dies in suspicious circumstances, it sets alarm bells ringing in Beijing and Washington D.C. and triggers investigations by security forces on both sides of the Pacific that will engulf Li’s surviving family.

The story follows Li’s widow, Chen Lan, as she tries to uncover the truth about her husband’s death, and later free her son when he is detained by state security officers in Shanghai. Eventually, Chen and her daughter become targets of the investigation themselves and they are forced to make a desperate bid to flee the country.

The novel is set against the background of China’s re-emergence on to the world stage and in particular its campaign to host the Millennial Olympic Games in 2000. It explores the murky world of international business and politics and shows how even those in positions of power can be brought down and destroyed by the very system they sought to serve.

The Games takes place three decades ago but the machinations it describes are still very evident today. In fact, the stakes for China and America in their attempts to outmanoeuvre each other and consolidate greater global power are now considerably higher.

You can read the full manuscript of The Games here as a downloadable PDF.