The Silk Road Affair: A Novel by Larry Witham

Larry Witham

Author

The Silk Road Affair: A Novel

More than thirty years after a famed Boston art collection is stolen, Washington learns that it has turned up in the People’s Republic of China—just as Sino-American relations are at a tipping point. To retrieve the artifacts, a covert mission is handed to retired military sleuths Julian Peale and Chinese-American Grace Ho, both art specialists. From Washington to China’s great western desert, and from Boston’s lofty art museums to modernist Shanghai, the search is on. \tBeijing has meanwhile launched an audacious plan to recover lost Chinese art stolen by the West a century earlier. Not only do Peale and Ho have to iron out their own cultural differences and approaches to espionage, the highest circle of the Beijing government is caught in a web of intrigue between the top leader and two powerful women vying for control of China’s cultural policy. \tFrom the annals of art history to China’s world ambitions through “soft power,” The Silk Road Affair travels a historic legacy up to the present, from the Han Dynasty to the Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square—and on to China Inc. Recovery of the stolen art, its return to the United States, and the political direction of the world’s largest country hang in the balance as Peale and Ho wind their way through the puzzle that is modern China.

Reviews

Witham’s international thriller (after Gallery Pieces) pits Chinese and American teams against each other as they vie for dominance in the art world. When a piece from a missing American art collection is discovered en route to China, Washington assigns U.S. agents Grace Ho and Julian Peale the task of recovery. Meanwhile, in China, Quang Daiyu, an entrepreneur and niece of the general secretary, Ren Jinuah, schemes for power; she has her own art ambitions, alongside her deadly rival, Soong Wei, an equally politically connected adversary. The parties—and their high stakes missions—maneuver from Shanghai to sparsely populated regions near the old Silk Road in their efforts to secure valuable artifacts.

Witham does a masterful job covering the dirty dealing in artwork through the eyes of Quang and Soong, and even better is his deft portrayal of modern China. He navigates readers through a China still reflecting on its imperial era, even after communism and recent forays into capitalism, where soldiers can sing Bee Gees songs, but to Quang, the last imperial ruler, Empress Cixi, is "still present." Even the Cultural Revolution seemingly didn't erase all vestiges of the royal family, at least in spirit, and Witham’s lovingly penned descriptions of the country hold attention, even when the plot meanders.

Though the focus is mostly on China itself, Witham capably develops agents Ho and Peale as well; they’re an engaging pair, and their sleuthing in China is buoyed by their comfortable rapport. For action fans, there's plenty of martial arts fighting and a particularly well-staged army helicopter extraction scene, and Witham deserves full marks for the offbeat but exciting wind-up. The novel delves into the concept of cultural property, a background against which Witham weaves a plausible and gripping denouement centered on artwork, museum building contractors, and a mysterious drink called Gold Tea. This lands well for fans of impassioned political thrillers.

Takeaway: America and China engage in complex—and deadly—espionage over art.

Comparable Titles: Dan Brown, Sam Christer.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-

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