Midnight in Peking
How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China
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Narrated by:
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Erik Singer
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By:
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Paul French
About this listen
In the last days of old Peking, where anything goes, can a murderer escape justice?
Peking in 1937 is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, opulence and opium dens, rumors and superstition. The Japanese are encircling the city, and the discovery of Pamela Werner's body sends a shiver through already nervous Peking. Is it the work of a madman? One of the ruthless Japanese soldiers now surrounding the city? Or perhaps the dreaded fox spirits?
With the suspect list growing and clues sparse, two detectives - one British and one Chinese - race against the clock to solve the crime before the Japanese invade and Peking as they know it is gone forever. Can they find the killer in time, before the Japanese invade?
Historian and China expert Paul French at last uncovers the truth behind this notorious murder, and offers a rare glimpse of the last days of colonial Peking.
©2012 Paul French (P)2012 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
Death in the City of Light is the gripping, true story of a brutal serial killer who unleashed his own reign of terror in Nazi-Occupied Paris. As decapitated heads and dismembered body parts surfaced in the Seine, Commissaire Georges-Victor Massu, head of the Brigade Criminelle, was tasked with tracking down the elusive murderer in a twilight world of Gestapo, gangsters, resistance fighters, pimps, prostitutes, spies, and other shadowy figures of the Parisian underworld. The main suspect was Dr. Marcel Petiot, a handsome, charming physician with remarkable charisma.
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Too many facts too little story
- By Caitanya on 09-27-11
By: David King
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Naples '44
- By: Norman Lewis
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Naples '44 is an unflinching autobiographical account of a year in Naples after the armistice and Allied landings in Sorrento in 1943. Working as a British counterintelligence officer under the Allied occupation, Lewis documents the rich pageant of life in the city and its surrounding areas. There is suffering and squalor: Criminal gangs are on the rise, along with typhus and black market commerce, and the female population is forced into part-time prostitution. But there is farce and humor, too, witnessed in the Roman uncle paid handsomely simply to appear at funerals.
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The tragic, violent, shocking yet also life affirming story of Naples in WW2
- By Sally on 12-02-24
By: Norman Lewis
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Ripper
- The Secret Life of Walter Sickert
- By: Patricia Cornwell
- Narrated by: Mary Stuart Masterson
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Vain and charismatic Walter Sickert made a name for himself as a painter in Victorian London. But the ghoulish nature of his art - as well as extensive evidence - points to another name, one that's left its bloody mark on the pages of history: Jack the Ripper. Cornwell has collected never-before-seen archival material - including a rare mortuary photo, personal correspondence and a will with a mysterious autopsy clause - and applied cutting-edge forensic science to open an old crime to new scrutiny.
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I thought this was a new book.
- By Stephanie on 03-01-17
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Pietr the Latvian
- Inspector Maigret, Book 1
- By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man.
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Long live Maigret
- By Adeliese Baumann on 11-19-14
By: Georges Simenon, and others
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The First Family
- Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder, and the Birth of the American Mafia
- By: Mike Dash
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Before the Five Families who so notoriously dominated U.S. organized crime for a bloody half-century, there was the one-fingered, surpassingly cunning Giuseppe Morello and his murderous coterie of brothers. Born into a life of poverty in rural Sicily, Morello became an American nightmare, pioneering the bizarre initiation rituals, imaginative protection rackets, influential underworld reigns, and Mafia wars later popularized by countless books, television shows, and movies.
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The truth about the origins of the American mafia
- By J. Sovar on 01-09-13
By: Mike Dash
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Death in the Air
- The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City
- By: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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A real-life thriller in the vein of The Devil in the White City, Kate Winkler Dawson's debut, Death in the Air, is a gripping, historical narrative of a serial killer, an environmental disaster, and an iconic city struggling to regain its footing. In winter 1952, London automobiles and thousands of coal-burning hearths belched particulate matter into the air. But the smog that descended on December fifth of 1952 was different; it was a type that held the city hostage for five long days.
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Interesting
- By irene on 11-27-17
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England's Finest
- By: Christopher Fowler
- Narrated by: Tim Goodman
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
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The Peculiar Crimes Unit has solved many extraordinary cases over the years, but some were hushed up and hidden away. Until now. Arthur Bryant remembers these lost cases as if they were yesterday. Here, then, is the truth about the Covent Garden opera diva and the 17th reindeer, the body that falls from the Tate Gallery, the ordinary London street corner where strange accidents keep occurring, the consul’s son discovered buried in the unit’s basement, the corpse pulled from a swamp of Chinese dinners....
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Over to soon!
- By Nancy on 11-17-19
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The Eternal Nazi
- From Mauthausen to Cairo, the Relentless Pursuit of SS Doctor Aribert Heim
- By: Nicholas Kulish, Souad Mekhennet
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Aribert Heim worked at the Mauthausen concentration camp for only a few months in 1941 but left a devastating mark. According to the testimony of survivors, Heim euthanized patients with injections of gasoline into their hearts. He performed surgeries on otherwise healthy people. Some recalled prisoners' skulls set out on his desk to display perfect sets of teeth. Yet in the chaos of the postwar period, Heim was able to slip away from his dark past and establish himself as a reputable doctor and family man in the resort town of Baden-Baden.
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Not certain about this one...
- By Nancy on 11-24-22
By: Nicholas Kulish, and others
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The Shadow District
- By: Arnaldur Indridason
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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A 90-year-old man is found dead in his bed, smothered with his own pillow. On his desk, the police find newspaper cuttings about a murder case dating from the Second World War, when a young woman was found strangled behind Reykjavik's National Theatre. Konrad, a former detective, is bored with retirement and remembers the crime. He grew up in "the shadow district", a rough neighborhood bordered by the National Theatre. Why would someone be interested in that crime now?
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A slow burn!
- By Rosemary Wells on 12-12-17
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The Battered Body Beneath the Flagstones, and Other Victorian Scandals
- By: Michelle Morgan
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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A grisly book dedicated to the crimes, perversions and outrages of Victorian England, covering high-profile offences - such as the murder of actor William Terriss, whose stabbing at the stage door of the Adelphi Theatre in 1897 filled the front pages for many weeks - as well as lesser-known transgressions that scandalised the Victorian era. The tales include murders and violent crimes but also feature scandals that merely amused the Victorians.
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Doesn’t question it’s sources enough
- By Emily Stoneking on 11-27-18
By: Michelle Morgan
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Serpentine
- By: Thomas Thompson
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 24 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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There was no pattern to the murders, no common thread other than the fact that the victims were all vacationers, robbed of their possessions, and slain in seemingly random crimes. Authorities across three continents and a dozen nations had no idea they were all looking for the same man: Charles Sobhraj, aka "The Serpent". A handsome Frenchman of Vietnamese and Indian origin, Sobhraj targeted backpackers on the "hippie trail" between Europe and South Asia. A master of deception, he used his powerful intellect and considerable sex appeal to lure naive travelers into a life of crime.
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Good Story / Weak Narration
- By Chandelle on 10-09-18
By: Thomas Thompson
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Tinseltown
- Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood
- By: William J. Mann
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 15 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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By 1920, the movies had suddenly become America's new favorite pastime and one of the nation's largest industries. Never before had a medium possessed such power to influence; yet Hollywood's glittering ascendancy was threatened by a string of headline-grabbing tragedies - including the murder of William Desmond Taylor, the popular president of the Motion Picture Directors Association, a legendary crime that has remained unsolved until now.
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Everybody's a dreamer...
- By Steven on 01-08-15
By: William J. Mann
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The World's 20 Worst Crimes
- True Stories of 20 Killers and Their 1000 Victims
- By: Kate Kray
- Narrated by: Geoff Barham
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In this, the first book of its kind, Kate Kray, who married gangster Ronnie Kray, peers into the minds of the top 20 worst killers in criminal history and, sparing no detail, reveals the awful truth of their abominable acts. The extreme nature of their violence and their shocking lack of remorse makes for uncomfortable yet fascinating listening.
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Ugh!
- By Tim on 03-09-16
By: Kate Kray
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The Murderer in Ruins
- CI Frank Stave, Book 1
- By: Cay Rademacher
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Hamburg, 1947. A ruined city occupied by the British who bombed it, experiencing the coldest winter in living memory. Food is scarce; refugees and the homeless crowd into shantytowns and sheds. There is a killer on the loose, and all attempts to find him or her have failed. Plagued with worry about his missing son, Frank Stave is a career policeman with a tragedy in his past that is driving his determination to find the killer.
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Wasn't sure at first, but...
- By John S. on 01-14-21
By: Cay Rademacher
What listeners say about Midnight in Peking
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Fred
- 09-11-23
Nonfiction that reads like a novel
Amazing reconstruction of an actual murder investigation in the last days of Old China. Great research. Narration at times monotonous.
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- Sparkly
- 10-09-12
Informative, but not awesome.
I tried to enjoy this book, but I just couldn't. I am interested in history in the broad sense, China in general, and Beijing in particular, and the book does tell a creepy, detailed story of the murder of a young English woman in 1930's Beijing, among the expatriate community. However, the author so doggedly sticks to the crime in question, and repeats the facts in an almost mercilessly literal way that there is little in the manner of context, or bigger picture. I wanted to stop the author and ask, "why are you telling this story?" That perspective was missing for me.
On the plus side - the book incidentally sheds some light on the Japanese invasion of China, which prompted me to look for books on that subject.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Karin
- 06-11-12
Juicy murder-mystery and it's all true
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This was a really good listen. It had all the elements of a good murder-mystery - a young socialite victim, sex, violence, corruption - set in the exotic background of the foreign quarters of pre-World War 11 Peking. Hard to believe it's a true story except In addition to the story line there is the bonus of the social life of the ex-pats and the Japanese build-up to the war.
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- Kay
- 07-03-12
A crime becomes a magnifying glass for history.
If you could sum up Midnight in Peking in three words, what would they be?
Captivating, sad and true
What did you like best about this story?
The suspense involved though the outcome was known
Which scene was your favorite?
The wealthy expats watching the war from the balcony
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No
Any additional comments?
A poignant slice of history
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- Teresa Brent
- 10-06-18
Great investigative story!
Thoroughly enjoyed the research and recreation of events that was accomplished in this book. Great insight into the life of a foreigner living in China from 1917 thorough 1947 and the struggle to bring justice and resolution to the ultimate loss of a child.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ruth
- 07-15-15
Best true crime novel!!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Set in last days of the pre-WW2, pre-Japanese invasion, it was indeed a very interesting time. Peking is on the verge of falling to the Japanese invaders, when the body of a young girl is found murdered and grossly mutilated.
I found this a very engaging book...far more interesting than fictional mysteries.
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- Jeremy
- 01-04-13
When history can be stranger than fiction
This book is the bizarre child of a history textbook and a police thriller. It starts as a detailed historical description of Peking just before WWII and then begins focusing on the more specific event of the ferocious murder of a young white woman, of the likes history has never seen before. In an unusual way of narration, the book meticulously progresses from the facts of the investigation, through the various players that participate to it and the facts that they uncover. The facts themselves seemed to have been drawn from the imagination of a fiction novelist but they are all true, but, at the same time, the book reads like a history book without any of the experiential narration that comes with novels.
To be honest, I would have preferred that the dramatization be more novel-like and the style can get dry and boring at times. The problem with the historical narration is that the author is extremely distant to what is happening and most of the psychological angle is entirely lost. But the research, and the facts themselves are, on their own, enough to capture the imagination.
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15 people found this helpful
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- Carolina
- 02-21-18
4 1/2 Stars: Stick with it
I don’t like cold case true crime books:
A) the world around me is a constant reminder that justice is almost never served and their bummer
B) what’s the point? Like genuinely what do I have to gain? Certainly not more information
Midnight in Peking starts off like a usual cold case book; a gruesome crime scene, disjointed investigation, uncooperative witnesses, and little useable evidence.
But halfway through something magical happens and every revelation is jaw dropping and a testament to ETC Werner’s love for his daughter. The man never let it go and his conclusions are satisfactory enough.
Hooray for stubborn weirdos!
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7 people found this helpful
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- Marcela
- 08-06-12
The second half just did not do it for me
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The second half was written in a very different style from the beginning, as if read out of a police report, very little action. I totally lost interest in the intriguing story.
What does Erik Singer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Excellent performance. Couldn't have read it better.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lynne
- 08-17-12
Worth a listen
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
This book has all the elements of a good mystery. It's shocking in places. Would have liked to have learned a little more history of what was going on in the country at that time.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
Probably.
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