Hong Kong Whodunnits - One City, Twelve Murders
edited by Diana McPartlin
Hong Kong Writers' Circle, HK$99
Surprise and satisfaction should be the goal of the writer of whodunnits, a game governed by standards of fair play in which the reader is presented with a set of obscure or misleading clues that lead logically to the identity of a murderer.
In the strictest sense, notwithstanding claims made in the introduction to have adhered to the rules of misdirection and false leads so the reader can try to solve the crime before the end, 'murder mysteries' might have been more honest advertising for this mixed bag of 12 relatively short stories that take Hong Kong at various times in the past and future as their setting.
All the stories are by capable writers who offer distinctive views of the city, sleuthing through its alleys and residential blocks, poking through its secret worlds, turning over its traditions and ambitions.
Peter Gregoire makes a strong opening with SmogTown, which telescopes readers into a future Hong Kong lethally polluted both environmentally and spiritually, where death is just a breath away. But at a scant 15 pages, there's not enough buildup to make the ending pay off, nor do readers have much of a chance to work it out for themselves, which makes this a camp-fire story with potential.
