“If you read only thrillers, it would be easy to assume that Hong Kong is populated
solely by spies and incredibly rich people who made their fortunes off the backs of
peasants. What distinguishes this book is a compelling sense of place. This is a Hong
Kong readers don’t come across very often and the author brings the city alive. It’s
an unusual debut— lyrical and suspenseful.”
Chris Petrakos, Chicago Tribune, January 18, 1998

“Dinah Küng finds a key plot element in the hidden lives of the thousands of
Filipinas who come to Hong Kong work as as servants for affluent families and live
almost like slaves...” Washington Post, March 1, 1998
“This unusual Far East mystery is as notable for its portrayal of Hong Kong while
being returned to Communist China as it is for its intimate study of maternal love.
Dinah Küng proves an expert storyteller, adroitly probing Claire’s psyche,
imparting the Far East wisdom she gets from her close friend, a Scottish priest and
above all, the maturation under stress of Claire’s lover and father of her son. The
reader will discover the summoning of a poignant, almost visceral, response to the
plight of Küng’s besieged principals— which clearly owes as much to the author’s
gender as to her literary invention.”
Ed Kelly, Buffalo Evening News, October, 1997

"It's Christmas Week 1996 in Hong Kong, but Claire Raymond's biggest worries
have nothing to do with the impending reversion to Chinese rule... There's much to
admire in Küng's debut: vivid Hong Kong backgrounds, a sharp eye for conflicts of
class and nationality, and the looming threat to the heroine's family."
Kirkus Reviews, October 1997

“An intimate view of the lives of Hong Kong’s ordinary (opposed to rich and
powerful) foreigners caught up in the recent changeover gives a sharp edge to this
first mystery. Küng delivers a touching story enriched by its strong Hong Kong
atmosphere.”
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review, October 1997

“This unusual Far East mystery is as notable for its portrayal of Hong Kong while being returned to Communist China as it is for its intimate study of maternal love. Küng proves an expert storyteller, adroitly probing Claire’s psyche, imparting the Far East wisdom she gets from her close friend, a Scottish priest and above all, the maturation under stress of Claire’s lover and father of her son. The reader will discover the summoning of a poignant, almost visceral, response to the plight of Küng’s besieged principals.”