It was an enjoyable fast paced thriller with some scary real life elements of current China and what they could do.

China Hand is a fast-paced page-turner, and I enjoyed the evocation of 1990s China. But too much of it felt implausible to me, including the central plot.

I've lived in Asia for nearly forty years and seldom read a novel by a western author that demonstrates any real feel for the life of a white man in contemporary Asian culture. Scott Spacek, however, gets it. That's the best part of this novel.

The worst part is the narrative itself. After the first 40% or so, it begins to dissolve into a welter of coincidences and accidents so unbelievable that it loses all credibility. And then you come to the ending... and it gets worse. The ending is so silly that I laughed out loud, and the cheesy segway right at the end into the next book in the series was the cherry on top. Just downright embarrassing.

There is some good writing here, and characters that pull you in. That coupled with the author's grasp of the tenuousness of the life of any white man who chooses to live in Asia makes for a book worth reading,. What a shame that the overall narrative is so childish and ridiculous.

CHINA HAND is an addictive international thriller with equal parts love, espionage, travel commentary, and action. For me it drew comparisons to Charles McCarry’s SHANGHAI FACTOR, but it most definitely stands on its own two feet and—in my opinion—more expertly weaves in authentic language, culture, and a sense of place into the mix which only a true ‘China Hand’ could pull off.

The beginning—a travel-infused love story—seductively draws you in and makes you care about the characters before a chain of events sets the ball rolling into an action-packed second half that incorporates authentic espionage tradecraft and an all-encompassing paranoia that will keep you turning the page. A unique spy thriller that stands out from the rest and will keep you guessing right til the end.

China Hand by Scott Spacek As I was reading this book some part of me was a bit uncomfortable as it is about getting the wife and daughter of a very important Chinese general out of China. The general has already defected to the US and is expecting his family to be quickly removed. The principal person to help get them out is a young American teaching English language and cultural at a university. So far, ok. But the university is run more like a prison with brutal rules for the students as well as these foreign teachers. The novel takes place in May 1999. I was going frequently to China at this time and never experienced this type of experience. The story otherwise until the end was fine. The ending in my opinion was rushed, with good guys (even Americans) turning out to be under the control of the Chinese and some bad guys (again Americans) turning out to be long under-cover agents of the CIA. This seemed forced and worse as the young American teacher and the general’s daughter and wife are on a ferry from China to Korea are stopped by a Chinese destroyer which is then stopped by the American Airforce coming to the rescue with helicopters and fighter jets doing a bit more than shooting warning shots. Really? So, what gives? The publisher is Post Hill Press. Although it is distributed by Simon & Schuster and focuses on “conservative politics” and Christian titles. The publisher was formerly at NewsMax and some of their authors are Peter Navarro, Herman Cain and Oliver North. I realize this book it meant to be fiction but this bent and how it was written ruins a potentially reasonable book. I cannot recommend to any of my friends buying this book and putting money into these people’s hands.

In the first half of China Hand, a spy thriller by Scott Spacek, I found myself really enjoying the tale as Andrew Callahan went to Beijing to teach and soon found himself helping the family of a general flee the country. One of those persons was his new love. The feeling of paranoia on the Chinese campus was chilling, the diverse responses to the teacher's lesson plans intriguing, and the coldness of his boss intimidating. As the story progresses to the point where the exfiltration is in process, I had a harder time finding it exciting. Why? So many things seem contrived and did not add up. I questioned how likely various incidents were. In the end, my appreciation for the novel fell.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

This is not my usual sort of novel but the description drew me in.
This is set in Beijing and resolves around Andrew, a Havard graduate, who is working for a year before taking his dream job back in the USA. From the very beginning he is faced with difficulties and events he does not understand. As the tale evolves Andrew is drawn into a situation which puts him at risk of imprisonment or even death.
Although this is a work of fiction the author has insights which means that there are incidents which could occur. All in all a very interesting read

China Hand by Scott Spacek is a highly-recommended suspense/thriller told by Andrew Callahan, a fresh young Harvard graduate on a one year teaching stint in a Chinese university before joining a prestigious global consulting firm.

Almost immediately Andrew is attracted to and begins a relationship with Lily, the Dean’s assistant, who also happens to be an Army General’s daughter. Shortly afterwards, Andrew is approached to help the CIA extract a Lily and so is effectively recruited into the CIA with all the risks associated with detection and capture that that entails.

While the plot is initially set in and near the university in Beijing, we are given fleeting glimpses of the colourful local culture as Andrew explores occasional nightclub, restaurant and a boxing club. The setting though is primarily the politically- and culturally-charged university in which USA and by extension ‘all Americans’ are vilified. As anti-USA protests due to USA’s bombing the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade build, Lily’s escape becomes a matter of urgency.

I read the latterhalf of this book in one sitting because the pace picked up significantly and the story quickly turned into an action-suspense-thriller as Andrew helped Lily escape from the university. They soon met with Lily’s mother, whose escape had been helped by another US university teacher/CIA agent and friend of Andrew. Their escape plan was discovered almost immediately forcing them off-script. This involved a long van ride, a plane trip, a train trip, a street chase followed by a shoot-out in a shopping mall, separation from Lily and her mother, and ultimately a high-tension boarding of a ferry to Korea. That’s certainly not where the story ended, but because this is a suspense, I’ll stop there.

The 1980s were a grim time in China, especially if you were an American living and working there and the story reflects that. Nonetheless, I felt the author didn’t give me enough of the exotic culture and setting. There were brief references to eating in restaurants and navigating the city and the air pollution but these were too brief, in my opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading a fast-paced novel written in the first-person because it ‘sounded’ like I was being told the story by the one person who could tell it the best, the protagonist. This adds to the story’s authenticity and credibility. The relationship between Andrew and Lily felt genuine and the danger associated with their capture while running from the Chinese authorities felt more urgent for the story being told in the first person. (I wish there were more thrillers written in the first person.)

I wholly recommend China Hand to those who enjoy a fast and thrilling read with a snappy finish.

I enjoyed this fast paced thriller and while it wasn't a favorite book. I would pick up more books by this author in the future.

This was a good read and gripping, the author gets straight into the action by saying his main character is wanted, and on posters everywhere. I liked that. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.