This interview was originally broadcast in November of 2014.
In a brutal labor camp in a remote part of western China, a man imprisoned for 20 years plots his escape. In Beijing, an ambitious foreign correspondent stumbles into a web of secrets that are more valuable than he ever dreams. And in London, British intelligence agents who bear little resemblance to James Bond scramble to pursue a surprising and intriguing lead.
This is just a sampling of the twists and turns found on the pages of Adam Brookes’ riveting debut novel, Night Heron. The book is fiction, but the issues it explores and the settings it evokes couldn’t be more real – or relevant.
In Night Heron, Brookes transports us to the bustling streets of Beijing, where surveillance cameras hang from buildings, and to the back corridors of the city, where crime and espionage thrive.
The book is a definitely page-turner, but it also offers an insightful look at China today and raises timely questions about what happens when governments and industry are complicit in gathering and sharing secret information.
Brookes has been a foreign correspondent for many years, reporting for the BBC from China, Indonesia and the United States. His work has taken him to some of the world’s most dangerous countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea and Mongolia.
Copyright 2015 Boise State Public Radio
