During 1989, at the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Jack Ford had an affair with Xia, a leader in the student youth movement. Some thirty years later, she sends him a message requesting his help and revealing they have a daughter together.

Jack returns to China the first time since that summer, coincidentally just before a new Secretary General, a reformer, is set to take office. Warring factions both within China and the United States disagree about the new leadership and clandestine machinations, blackmail, and military maneuvers threaten the Secretary General’s ascension. Neither side trusts Jack—and Jack trusts no one—but he is in a unique position to influence events.

THE BEIJING CONSPIRACY is fun and fast-paced, and I particularly got a kick out of the buffoonish President clearly modeled after Trump. The behind-the-scenes power plays seemed both over-the-top but also possible, so they terrified me! Jack’s trajectory was less realistic to me, so even though it was entertaining, it wasn’t completely believable, nor was Jack’s naïveté about certain aspects of the situation.

This novel is an enjoyable political thriller and a good choice if you are looking for a fast-paced read but not necessarily if you are looking for a realistic book with a long-lasting impact.

The storyline is not really new but the author executed with no irrelevant embellishments or unnecessary repetitions. The pace is fast, there are enough interesting characters, the scene changes quickly to keep the reader focused. Good effort. I would continue if there is a series spin off.

When an author begins a fictional novel putting characters into the pages that are easily recognizable to the general public then the reader wonders if this is meant as a joke or a lack of imagination on the part of the author.

I'm going to assume its the latter rather than the former. This lack of imagination takes away from an thrilling hard to put down novel.

I don't know why I am drawn to political conspiracy thrillers but I was not disappointed by this one. Jack Ford an ex marine follows up on a letter about an unknown daughter and gets drawn into a conspiracy that could change the world order. A very good story which uses historical events to add to the depth of the storyline. The story takes off when Jack is passed a document under extreme circumstances in Singapore. Excellent thriller recommend giving it a try.

Wow! Definitely, a book out of my normal element. However, I was astounded by the depth of the characters and how they carried the storyline like a thundering waterfall! Jack Ford was unflappable in his mission to locate his daughter.
China holds no pleasant memories and now he has to face more demons because he lands in a nest of vipers during his journey.

This book contains action, drama,, spying, politics, murder, and even enough intrigue to make you want to keep turning the pages.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great action,political, intrigue thriller!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

I like this genre a lot just not this example of it.

It totally failed to raise either my heart-rate or my blood pressure.

A good plot but with no fizz and therefore a rating to match.

Thanks to Canongate and Netgalley for an ARC.

Jack Ford is ex-CIA, ex-Delta Force, has put the life behind him. However he is drawn back to Beijing by a letter that claims he has a daughter. He asks his old pal Peter to do some background digging on the young woman and her mother Xia so he is prepared. When he meets Peter in Singapore, he gets more than he bargained for and is entrusted with a secret memo that could blow East-West relationships out of the water.
This is well plotted, and the glimpses into the bureaucracy of the People's Republic are interesting. It relies on some broad brushstrokes instead of characterisation, but what drives this novel is the idea that everyone is motivated by self-interest and peace is fragile.

After living through the pandemic and the did or didn't the virus leak from a Chinese laboratory I have been super interested in learning more about the PRC. This novel was an excellent offering to satisfy my curiosity. Jack Ford is a former Delta Force soldier who has spent a few years of his late teens/early twenties in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square protests. There decades later he receives a letter from the girl he saw while he was there informing him he is a father and has a daughter. Curious, Jack books himself on a flight and stops in Singapore to meet up with his friend Peter who was also in Beijing with him. His friend gives him an envelope. Hours later his friend is assassinated in front of him. Both the Chinese and American government desperately need to get hold of the document. When Jack's daughter is abducted he has to choose between saving her or the lives of many should war break out at the result of the document getting into the wrong hands. At times i found it difficult to keep up with the differing characters but this didn't detract from my enjoyment. A hugely satisfying and thought provoking read.

For Flint who is well known for her Inspector Singh and children's books, this one is for me a disappointment. It's not that that the satire isn't well founded, it's that the writing is more for a middle school level than an adult read. The characters are almost cartoonish and some are only one dimensional. Therefore I assume that she will turn her creativity to something better.

As and aside, Flint has lived in Malaysia and Singapore where one is the most corrupt of governments and survives on graft on all levels and the other is a technocracy. Maybe she should write something closer to home, or is she afraid of the consequences.

Jack Ford was with the US Embassy in Beijing in 1989 during the Tiananmen Square student uprising and fell in love with Xia, one of the students. He then was in the Marines. Now, he receives a letter from Xia saying that his daughter (who he didn't know about) was in danger. He contacts his old friend at the embassy, Peter, to find out about Xia and her daughter. Meanwhile, a US agent known as the Emperor, has sent a letter to the embassy saying that there is a conspiracy between General Zhang in China with the National Security Advisor, Griffin.

Peter is on his way to the states with the letter from the Emperor and meets Jack in a Park in Hong Kong. Peter is killed by Chinese trying to get the letter back just as Jack arrives. Jack manages to kill the Chinese and get the letter before continuing to Beijing. Jack has his work cut out for him. He is impressed by his daughter, Fei Yen. While trying to protect her, he must try to stop the conspiracy. While the US President Potus is clueless, the vice president Elizabeth Harris is far more competent in trying to prevent WWIII.

This book is funny, but scary, and quite different from the Inspector Singh books.

A very good read. A plot at the highest political level between American and China. Assassination, love & betrayal, this book has it all. The storyline kept my interest throughout. I would thoroughly recommend.

A fast paced thriller. This story felt real as it talked about real events in history. I feel I would have liked the story more if it had been a bit longer.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this preview copy of The Beijing Conspiracy, and thank you for providing it in return for an honest review.

I warmed to the quirks and foibles, and back history of Jack Ford! I also liked the combination of the plotline now and thirty years’ previously. It resonated too because I recall watching the Tiananmen Square episode on the television and linking that as a central theme anchored the story.

As fast-paced espionage and political thrillers go, this one kept me riveted, as did the double-dealing and political intrigue, both in Chine and the USA.

Shamini adopts an effortless narrative style of writing, and the book flows quickly.

I highly recommend it!

A bit of a "Boys own adventure" book. a lot of the action is high improbable but the action is fast paced and the basic premise is all too believable. I was amused by the POTUS in the book. Jack is a great all action hero. i can imagine this book as a film. I remember the Tiananmen Square massacre well
A good debut and with a bit of tightening up I think this author's next book will be even better. Good characters who you find yourself rooting for coupled with the somewhat enigmatic oriental. A good read overall

I found it quite difficult to get into this book, but once I did I couldn’t stop reading it. This is a fast paced thriller involving a clandestine plot between government members of the USA and China, and an ex-CIA spy. Jack Ford, our hero, is called to China by an ex-lover – he hasn’t been back since witnessing the atrocities of the Tiananmen Square massacre. His 'mission' is to find and save a daughter he never knew he had, and prevent a new world war. This was a compelling but somewhat complicated read. I enjoyed the story even though it was completely unbelievable in parts, and would like to read more of this author’s books.

A bit of a slow burner this one, that I found harder to get into and come back to. However the use of historic events to anchor the story added realism, as did the references to the soon to be former President of the United States, which also added some comedic value. Overall however the characters felt underdeveloped and the story didn’t grip me. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy.