Hangman's Point

By Dean Barrett

Hong Kong and southern China in 1857. An exotic world of crinolines and top hats; opium dens and clipper ships; betrayal and sudden death. Rich in detail, Hangman's Point brings to life a shocking murder, a sensational trial, a mass poisoning, a cruel slave trade and the desperate schemes of Chinese trying to the hated "foreign devils." The novel's main character, Andrew Adams, a ne'er-do-well American seaman, gambler and part-time smuggler, manages the Bee Hive tavern in the raucous Chinese section of Hong Kong. To avoid a long prison term, he will enter southern China in search of pirates who have beheaded eleven foreigners. To escape a hanging, he will attempt a daring prison escape and disguise himself as a Chinese. To rescue the woman he loves, he will risk everything.

“Setting is more than a backdrop in this fast paced adventure story of mid nineteenth century British colonial Hong Kong....A riveting, action packed narrative....Chinese scholar, linguist, and author of previous books, Barrett draws on his vast knowledge of southern China during a time of enormous change and conflict, providing richly fascinating detail of the customs, fashions, ships, and weapons of the times.”
-- ALA Booklist

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dean Barrett
• Release date: Sep 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465807311

Dean Barrett

Dean Barrett first arrived in Asia as a Chinese linguist with the Army Security Agency during the Vietnam War. He returned to the United States and received his Masters Degree in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii. He has lived in Asia for over 30 years, 17 of those years in Hong Kong. His writing on Asian themes has won several awards including the PATA Grand Prize for Excellence and the BBC Overseas Playwright Award for South Asia.. Barrett is the author of several novels set in Asia, including Memoirs of a Bangkok Warrior; Hangman’s Point – A novel of Hong Kong; Thieves Hamlet, the sequel to Hangman's Point, Kingdom of Make-Believe: A novel of Thailand; Permanent Damage - three novellas with Chinese themes; Don Quixote in China: The Search for Peach Blossom Spring; and A Love Story: The China Memoirs of Thomas Rowley, an erotic manuscript set in 1862 China. His New York novel, Murder in China Red, is set in Manhattan starring a Chinese detective from Beijing. Other novels include detective novels set in Thailand: Skytrain to Murder and Permanent Damage. His latest is Pop Darrell's Last Case, a detective novel set in NYC but with a Chinese theme. He first became interested in China’s boat people in the 1970’s and wrote the text for a photo book on them entitled Aberdeen: Catching the Last Rays and also a children's book: The Boat Girl and the Magic Fish.. Several of his plays have been staged in New York City and elsewhere and his musical set in Hong Kong, Fragrant Harbour, was selected by the National Alliance for Musical Theater to be staged on 42nd Street. Before returning to live in Thailand Barrett was a member of: Mystery Writers of America; Dramatists Guild; Private Eye Writers of America, BMI - librettist/lyricist.

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