Midnight Strikes Again in Peking: Headless, Limbless Body Found in Zhushikou

Steven Schwankert | May 17, 2013 10:39 am | 9 comments | 3630 reads

Like a scene out of Paul French's Midnight in Peking, police discovered a headless, limbless body in Zhushikou (south of Qianmen) at 4 am on Thursday morning, according to Beijing Evening News.

The body was found dumped near a trash barrel, and by 10am was cordoned off by police. Police declined comment, saying the matter was still under investigation, but bystanders told the News that only about a meter-long section of torso was left when the body was discovered.

Sounds a lot like Paul French's 2012 New York Times-bestselling Midnight in Peking, where the mutilated body of teenager Pamela Werner was discovered near Dongbianmen. French's follow-up to The Badlands: More Stories from Midnight in Peking, is available at The Bookworm and other fine bookstores.

(Thanks to Bill Bishop and Sinocism.com for the tip.)

Photo: Wikimedia.org

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britomart's picture britomart Submitted by Guest on Fri, 05/24/2013 - 10:33

Admin,

THAT I understand. It was more the manner of the writing. Steven Schwankert concluded his news bit not with a recap of the event, not with an editorial remark about its mindless insanity, but rather with "Sounds a lot like Paul French's 2012 New York Times-bestselling Midnight in Peking, where the mutilated body of teenager Pamela Werner was discovered near Dongbianmen. French's follow-up to The Badlands: More Stories from Midnight in Peking, is available at The Bookworm and other fine bookstores."

When THAT is the final sentence concluding an article about a brutal murder, the article turns into a plug for a book rather than a news report.

That conclusion is the last thing left with the readers. It turns the article in a new direction, and therefore ends up sounding like that was the author's whole point to begin with.

I agree that it's hard not to mention the book, when the book's event resembles this recent one so closely. I didn't mind the author mentioning it. Just don't END with it, making the final sentence "available at... fine bookstores everywhere"--a code phrase used in advertising?! That was poor taste, really bad judgment on the author's part. Just look at readers' reactions.

Doubt wisely; in strange way / To stand inquiring right is not to stray; / To sleep, or run wrong, is. (Donne, Satire III)

admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Fri, 05/24/2013 - 09:19

I can relate to the above commentors' sensibilities, but people please, Midnight in Peking is not a fictional potboiler, it's a non-fiction account of a brutal murder in Beijing.

The murder above is similar in ways to that of the gruesome murder that "Midnight in Peking" details.

The author of this blog post could probably make reference to "Midnight in Peking" and not link to the book, but you'd probably google it anyhow, so that saves you a step.

Books by current and former Beijinger staffers

http://astore.amazon.com/truerunmedia-20

britomart's picture britomart Submitted by Guest on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 19:55

What in the world...?!

Using a brutal murder to plug a book?

Admin, time for a staff seminar on the difference between reporting and promotion? Something covering how very, very tactless it is to combine the two in a situation like this.

Doubt wisely; in strange way / To stand inquiring right is not to stray; / To sleep, or run wrong, is. (Donne, Satire III)

bluefish's picture bluefish Submitted by Guest on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 19:39

Absolutely agree. Relationship or not, it's not just tactless; it's shockingly callous. It's one thing to make light of traffic issues, accidents, social issues. It's quite another to treat a brutal murder as if it's of no importance, or as if you have no concern in such a thing occuring in your community because you are an expat.

alan_underwater's picture alan_underwater Submitted by Guest on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 18:01

Wow. Some poor chump got mutilated and the new Managing Editor for The Beijinger uses it to plug a novel and a bookstore. I hope this guy doesn't have a professional relationship with Paul French or The Bookworm because that would make his little article not just tacky, but unethical to boot. Suddenly I'm a bit concerned about the direction of my go-to Beijing mag.

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