Peter the Brazen: A Mystery Story of Modern China

About this book

Peter the Brazen is a detective‑mystery set against the bustling backdrop of early twentieth‑century China. The story opens with Peter Moore, a celebrated wireless operator whose uncanny hearing has earned him a coveted posting on the trans‑Pacific route. After a dramatic resignation from the Panama Line, Moore is dispatched to Hong Kong, where he slips through Shanghai’s labyrinthine alleys to deliver secret messages for the enigmatic silk trader Ching Gow Ong. The narrative quickly immerses the reader in a world of fog‑shrouded streets, opium‑laden rooms, and cryptic exchanges with a gaunt Chinese informant, hinting at a larger intrigue that will unfold across three parts titled “The City of Stolen Lives,” “The Bitter Fountain,” and “The Green Death.”

The prose reflects the brisk, adventure‑driven style of 1910s pulp fiction, with a narrator who blends technical detail about wireless telegraphy with vivid, almost cinematic descriptions of Chinatown’s sights and sounds. Its language is formal yet peppered with period slang and occasional pidgin, giving a flavor of the era’s exoticism. Readers who enjoy early detective tales, maritime adventure, and atmospheric settings that combine technology with Eastern intrigue will find this novel’s mix of skillful operator heroics and shadowy underworld dealings compelling.