A Loyal Character Dancer is a 2002 detective novel by Qiu Xiaolong. The book is set in Shanghai and is the second to feature Chief Inspector Chen Cao. Qiu Xiaolong went on to publish several more novels featuring Chief Inspector Chen.
Plot summary
One morning in the park by the Bund, Chief Inspector Chen finds a dead body with precisely 18 axe wounds. He decides to take up the case - however, he is also ordered to escort a U.S. Marshal (Catherine Rohn) and assist her with her investigation. In this case, it means going to look for the wife of a witness in a human-smuggling investigation who will not talk unless his wife is with him. Things are complicated by the fact that the woman has gone missing.
Reception
Commentators enjoyed both the main character and the book's portrait of an evolving China. Kirkus Reviews said "Likable, admirable Chen makes a sturdy protagonist, but it’s China in transition—always interesting, often bewildering—that gets the star turn here."