The David-and-Goliath struggle at the heart of the novel is thrilling to witness, and Elegant fortifies it with a complex portrait of Hong Kongs racial politics and a sobering study of widespread political malfeasance. Striking just the right balance of tension and emotional depth, this bruising thriller delivers the goods. * Publishers Weekly * "City on Fire is a clever, subtly crafted police thriller set in the last days of a free Hong Kong. I rooted for the the hero, Superintendent Killian Tong, as he battled corrupt cops, cynical Catholic priests and his burn-it-down radical sister to solve a crimeas Beijing's agents were smothering protest on the streets. Simon Elegant has the smell of corruption in a rotting Hong Kong in his nostrils." -- David Ignatius, New York Times bestselling author of Body of Lies The authors experience as a journalist richly informs his depiction of recent protest movement in Hong Kong. The result is reminiscent of vintage Chandler, with its complicated plot, jaded and righteous hero, and terse noir dialogue. A brisk noir with roots in contemporary politics. * Kirkus Reviews * City on Fire is a gripping, terrific novel. -- Adrian McKinty, bestselling writer of the award-winning thriller The Chain and the Sean Duffy novels "Is the home you love worth fighting for? This is the central question posed by Simon Elegants riveting new Hong Kong novel City on Fire. Set against the 2019 protests, this crime drama highlights emotions in a city burning with conflict, desperately trying to shape its future. Elegants crisp writing and dark comedy offer an insiders tale of a fraught city yearning for a better tomorrow. Page turner, highly recommended." -- Xu Xi, Hong Kong novelist, author of That Man In Our Lives and Habit of a Foreign Sky I tore through this book. Elegant evokes changing Hong Kong wonderfully. As one key character says, This was going to be a new Hong Kong. Chinese Hong Kong. No. Beijings Hong Kong. The partys Hong Kong. This is the perfect book to take on a trans-Pacific flight. -- Thomas E. Ricks, author of We Can't Save You and Big Money, Small Town "Simon Elegants new novel, City on Fire, is a breakthrough work of fiction anchored in Mr. Elegants experience as a foreign correspondent for the Washington Post and other publications. The mystery around the discovery of a body in a Hong Kong landfill, and the work of Superintendent Killian Tong to get to the bottom of it, grabs hold of the reader from the first page and does not let up. Mr. Elegant has written a taut, very timely novel set in Hong Kong as it undergoes monumental political change. With City on Fire, Mr. Elegant enters the top ranks of crime novelists." -- Steve Wick, author of The Ruins
