Rating: 
Summary: Unique Thriller
Review: It took me FOREVER to get into Lisa See's book "Flower Net". It seems like the book just sat on my nightstand for 3 weeks with the bookmark protruding from the creases of Chapter One. And then when I actually made an effort to read the book, it was finished in a day.
Lisa See has succeeded in creating a unique and gripping thriller. When the son of a American Ambassador and the son of one of Beijing's political elite both turn up dead under mysterious circumstances, U.S. Attorney David Stark is reunited with an old flame, Liu Hulan, to solve the case. Following leads, the case unravels a trail of clues from China to the United States, leaving David and Hulan to find the connection.
Lisa See has developed a very intriguing read, especially to people interested in Chinese culture. I did struggle in a few parts, making me wish that I had more solid knowledge of Chinese History. It was a relief for me at the end of "Flower Net" when I discovered that most of my confusion (in reference to historical facts) had been resolved. I found See's inclusion of Chinese Herbal Medicine to be especially interesting. I do agree with some of the reviewers that some of the plot twists seemed very forced or convenient (and yet somehow you could still see them coming a mile away).
My least favorite part about this book are the characters. It seemes to me that the background characters in "Flower Net" were more interesting and appealing than David Stark and Liu Hulan were. In fact, I found both the main characters to be dreadfully dull and pretty one-dimensional.
I would recommend this book as a quick weekend read for fans of thrillers and especially to anyone interested in Chinese history and culture. Aside from that, I think it might make an interesting movie, and I enjoyed "Flower Net" enough to convince myself to check out the sequel.
Hope this helps! :)
Rating: 
Summary: 4 Star Mystery "Who done it" with good background
Review: Living in Beijing and reading this book, I would recommend it to anyone who likes the "who done it" stuff.The author writes a mystery that could be believed. Obviously she knows Beijing (except Silk Road should be Silk Alley [Xiu Shui Lu]). Her place names and descriptions are for the most part very accurate and the descriptions of the "old road" from Beijing Capital Airport is very accurate. The descriptions of the Airport itself are good, but one has to have been there to understand it. The smells tell it all!!!!-- Just go to the "W.C." at Beijing Airport... You will be a believer! A lot of history in the text makes it interesting. I am sure there will be a sequel... It is a good "quick" read. Interesting, accurate, enjoyable, and fun, with some twists and turns as a good murder mystery should be. I would recommend -- it's good "who done it stuff." Take this book for what it is. Not a "Hemingway," but recommended "airplane" read. As good as Clancy or Brown on "techo-stuff" and as good as Ludlum or Le Carre' on the "spy stuff". This is fun and gives a good background on China. No Human Rights abuses, etc. Just some "eye for an eye" justice. [Stuff is a "catch all phrase"]
Rating: 
Summary: A superbly crafted mystery
Review: On a January morning in Beijing, a child skating on a frozen lake finds the corpse of a white man under the ice. Liu Hulan, a female detective, is assigned to head what will be a delicate investigation, for the murder victim is the son of the American Ambassador. Thousands of miles away, David Stark, an assistant U.S. attorney, boards the China Peony, a barely seaworthy freighter carrying hundreds of illegal immigrants to America. On board he finds the badly decomposed body of a "Red Prince", the son of one of China's top officials. The murders appear to be unconnected until rare plant fibers are found coating the respiratory tracts of both victims and the Chinese and Americans agree to work together. The Flower Net is a superbly crafted mystery and in this full-length, thirteen hour, unabridged, audio cassette format with flawless production values and a wonderfully gifted narrator, offers the listener a true "theatre of the mind" experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Lightweight, but might make a good movie
Review: This is basically a police procedural which spans the globe between China and the U.S. There's a female Chinese investigator and an American district attorney and predictable international intrigue and romance. The book is lightweight and simple and would make a good movie that would have a familiar ring. I've seen this story before, over and over again. But yet had few relaxing hours with it.
Rating:
Summary: Lightweight, but might make a good movie
Review: This is basically a police procedural which spans the globe between China and the U.S. There's a female Chinese investigator and an American district attorney and predictable international intrigue and romance. The book is lightweight and simple and would make a good movie that would have a familiar ring. I've seen this story before, over and over again. But yet had few relaxing hours with it.
Rating:
Summary: EAST MEETS WEST & THE TWAIN DO MEET HERE!!!
Review: This was a complete literary roller coaster read! I loved the characters....loved the book...couldn't wait to be able to read it each night.....whatever book the previous reviewer was reading, i have no idea as "Flower Net" was incredible....her research was amazing...she totally captured the "flavor" of today's Beijing.. I'd love it if she would carry her characters over to another book...cannot wait for her next book....trying to compare her family's story with this novel is comparing apples to oranges...totally unfair comparison....if you see it at the airport...grab it, you'll truly be glad that you did!
Rating:
Summary: Unusual setting and interesting heroine
Review: Those who read mysteries by the dozen can get pretty bored with the same old settings, stereotypical investigators and cookie-cutter crooks. The main virtue of "The Flower Net" is a nice change of pace on all three counts. Despite the opening of China, it's still a pretty rare setting for fiction, mystery fiction in particular. Likewise, the featuring of a female Chinese investigator was refreshing in concept. Even better is that she's a nicely complicated yet empathetic protagonist. Her American counterpart, David, isn't nearly as interesting. While the villians aren't surprising in the long haul, they aren't just the usual Triad types either. If the book has a weakness, it's the revived romance between Liu and David. It seemed irrelevant to be crime solving and not very interesting. This review is based on the six-hour abridged tape version. I found that the plot followed pretty well. The narrator, an American-Chinese woman was a mixed blessing. Certainly there were aspects of the story where her underlying speach patterns were perfect but sometimes her tone was a bit awkward. Bottom-line: A nice change of pace from mysteries set in the US or England. Not great literature but I learned some new things and like Liu enough to want to read a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Unusual setting and interesting heroine
Review: Those who read mysteries by the dozen can get pretty bored with the same old settings, stereotypical investigators and cookie-cutter crooks. The main virtue of "The Flower Net" is a nice change of pace on all three counts. Despite the opening of China, it's still a pretty rare setting for fiction, mystery fiction in particular. Likewise, the featuring of a female Chinese investigator was refreshing in concept. Even better is that she's a nicely complicated yet empathetic protagonist. Her American counterpart, David, isn't nearly as interesting. While the villians aren't surprising in the long haul, they aren't just the usual Triad types either. If the book has a weakness, it's the revived romance between Liu and David. It seemed irrelevant to be crime solving and not very interesting. This review is based on the six-hour abridged tape version. I found that the plot followed pretty well. The narrator, an American-Chinese woman was a mixed blessing. Certainly there were aspects of the story where her underlying speach patterns were perfect but sometimes her tone was a bit awkward. Bottom-line: A nice change of pace from mysteries set in the US or England. Not great literature but I learned some new things and like Liu enough to want to read a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Unusual setting and interesting heroine
Review: Those who read mysteries by the dozen can get pretty bored with the same old settings, stereotypical investigators and cookie-cutter crooks. The main virtue of "The Flower Net" is a nice change of pace on all three counts. Despite the opening of China, it's still a pretty rare setting for fiction, mystery fiction in particular. Likewise, the featuring of a female Chinese investigator was refreshing in concept. Even better is that she's a nicely complicated yet empathetic protagonist. Her American counterpart, David, isn't nearly as interesting. While the villians aren't surprising in the long haul, they aren't just the usual Triad types either. If the book has a weakness, it's the revived romance between Liu and David. It seemed irrelevant to be crime solving and not very interesting. This review is based on the six-hour abridged tape version. I found that the plot followed pretty well. The narrator, an American-Chinese woman was a mixed blessing. Certainly there were aspects of the story where her underlying speach patterns were perfect but sometimes her tone was a bit awkward. Bottom-line: A nice change of pace from mysteries set in the US or England. Not great literature but I learned some new things and like Liu enough to want to read a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Nice story but needs better homework.
Review: When I first purchased Flower Net, the idea intrigued me because it reminded me of a book concept that I once had: a hard-bitten Public Security detective, chain-smoking, mid-fifties, looking toward retirement, investigates a murder that leads to a government-rocking scandal. Instead of a Truman-Capote-Goes-To-China main character, though, Lisa See (On Gold Mountain) creates Liu Hulan, the daughter of a high-ranking government official named for a revolutionary hero. In February, 1997, Liu is called to the scene of a grisly discovering: the body of a young foreign male is found frozen beneath the surface of Beihai Park's man-made lake. The situation becomes more serious when the body is identified as the son of the American ambassador. At the same time, officials from the U.S. Justice Department seize a ship loaded with illegal Chinese immigrants when it drifts into American territorial waters off Los Angeles. During a search of the ship, investigator David Stark finds the decomposed corpse of an apparently wealthy Chinese man--later identified as the son of one of China's top capitalists. As the Chinese and American sides learn of their mutual discoveries, Stark is invited to Beijing to assist. There, he meets Liu--his former lover from a Los Angeles law firm. As the pair struggle with long-buried feelings, they unravel a web of smuggling and murder that leads them higher and higher in both governments, until their discoveries make them the next targets for disposal. Despite many of its contrived circumstances, the story is intriguing. Stark is the consummate American, emotional at all times, a do-gooder out to break the back of triads in Los Angeles. Liu Hulan alternates between dutiful investigator and vulnerable lover. The relationship between the two is heart-wrenching as they waver between serving their countries and pining for each other. And if my interpretation of the ending is correct, I have no choice but to hate the author forever. Flower Net could be more easily forgiven its contrivances if it weren't for the amateurish way Ms. See handles many of the story's details. Anyone who has spent a reasonable time in Beijing knows that the hotel is referred to locally as the Great Wall Sheraton, not the Sheraton Great Wall, and that the outdoor market near the American Embassy is known as either Silk Alley or the Silk Market, but not Silk Road. These are simple things that show that the author just didn't do her homework. Flower Net requires some significant suspension of disbelief. It is sufficiently thought-provoking to merit a casual read during a trans-Pacific flight or an afternoon by the Friendship Hotel pool. It also provokes the thought (and hope) that a more adept author will write a China crime novel that does a better job of folding the facts into the fiction.
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