Synopsis
In 1912, John Wade and his brother, William—children of the American consul—were kidnapped off the street in Chungking, China, and raised in the house of Eunuch Chang, the city’s master criminal. Twenty-five years later, John is the eunuch’s most valuable ward, a trained assassin and swindler, and William has become a talented forger. On the brink of World War II, China is in chaos. When William betrays Eunuch Chang and escapes to central China, a place of ferocious warlords and bandits, John begins a desperate search to save his brother, while Eunuch Chang hunts them both.
About James Thayer
See more books from this AuthorThe overly lengthy and convoluted plot, however, makes following John’s journey tedious. Readers will wish that Thayer (Ringer) had cut down on the story’s many often-superfluous twists and turns.
Read Full Review of House of Eight Orchids | See more reviews from Publishers WeeklyJames Thayer’s novel is more than the story of one man’s struggle against a greater power. It’s a retelling of a part of world history not many people now living may be aware: the conflict in China during the Japanese invasion and the US’s part in that war.
Read Full Review of House of Eight Orchids | See more reviews from NY Journal of BooksAn aggregated and normalized score based on 120 user ratings from iDreamBooks & iTunes