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The Chinaman

By: Stephen Leather
Narrated by: Russell Boulter
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Summary

The "Chinaman" understood death.

Jungle-skilled, silent, and lethal, he had killed for the Viet Cong and then for the Americans. He had watched helpless as his two eldest daughters were raped and killed by Thai pirates. Now, all that was behind him. Quiet, hard-working, and unassuming, he was building up his South London take-away business - until the day his wife and youngest daughter were murdered by an IRA bomb. Then he began to ask the authorities who were the men responsible, what was being done - and was turned away, fobbed off, treated as a nuisance. That was when the Chinaman, denied justice, decided on revenge...and went back to war.

©1992 Stephen Leather (P)2007 Isis Publishing Ltd.
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Critic reviews

" The Chinaman is a gem of a thriller, perfectly constructed and full of the unexpected." ( Library Journal)

What listeners say about The Chinaman

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b

well read, can't wait to find another of his books. Very believable. exciting stuff. great.

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Thrilled!

A great thriller that leaves you wanting to empathise with most of the characters and question the nature of morality. Well read characters - I quite forgot I was listening to the voice of a single reader.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another Stephen Leather Masterpiece.

Stephen Leather has you once again clinging to your headphones in this, slow to get going, brilliant piece of writing. Once past the 1st couple of chapters there is a roller coaster ride if emotions. He hooks you like a trout, plays with your emotions then swaps to a more sedate section as if playing the trout. I found myself, inadvertently, holding my breath at points. At one point I'd thought I would listen for an hour before sleep but 4 hours later I was still hanging on to his every sentence like a school boy getting his first love letter. A brilliant Audio book, highly recommended listening.

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Revisited

I read this book many many years ago, in fact the first Stephen Leather I ever read, and have thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. The narration by Russell Boulter is definitely one of, if not THE best narrations I have heard. I might even buy a book just because he us narrating. All round excellent.

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Good original story

Well narrated by an ex "The Bill" actor. Good voices and good story. Extremely recommended.

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Gripping

Really good story and narrated quite well, takes the narrator a little while to get in to his stride but turns out very well.

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One of his best yet!

Stephen Leather has excelled himself with this story. Unusual characters, poignant thread running through the narrative. Detail of military procedures, and depth of knowledge that demonstrates patient research of unusual subject matter.
The character of the Chinaman is beautifully woven into the story, and he grows in stature and prominence that demands respect and admiration.
Engrossing twists and turns that evolve with pace to the logical, if unexpected, conclusion.

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enjoyable listen

really enjoyed the story after watching the movie version. in fact I'm surprised how close the movie stayed with the story. It was very well read and the reader kept you involved. I will be looking at other books by the author. My only disappointment was the ending with regards to the title character

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Simply brilliant

Having seen the film, which was captivating, unusually for me, I decided to listen to the audio book. while some aspects of the story are a bit different, the book is equally enthralling. I particularly warm to Stephen's ability to build several stories which then intertwine. since watching the film I have enjoyed reading several of his Spider Shepherd novels.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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enjoyable listen

Where does The Chinaman rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's not up there with the best I've listened to but it's good none the less

Who was your favorite character and why?

The chinaman

What about Russell Boulter’s performance did you like?

Good easy to listen to

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

While not edge of the seat stuff it's a good story that will quite easily kill a few hours on a long drive

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