"This book has all the makings of a superb mystery. Scott Seligman has written a well-researched account of a kidnapping and murder that engrossed the Jewish community of Harbin, Manchuria in the 1930s."—Jill S. Beerman, Jewish Book Council
“A fascinating true-crime journey into a lost corner of history. Murder in Manchuria plunges us into Harbin, China, in the first half of the twentieth century, where Semyon Kaspé, the musician son of a wealthy and prominent Jewish family, is kidnapped and murdered. Scott D. Seligman deftly peels away the layers of the case, revealing the forces that ultimately consumed the Kaspé family and Harbin’s Jews.”—Jonathan Kaufman, Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter and author of The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China
“Scott D. Seligman recovers an incredible cast of characters involved in this true crime—Jewish entrepreneurs, émigré Russian fascists, besieged Chinese detectives, Bolsheviks, spies of a half-dozen nationalities, adventurers, and a lone doomed musician. Ultimately, however, it is the once gloriously international city of Harbin itself that is most masterfully recreated.”—Paul French, author of the bestselling Midnight in Peking
“An absorbing and meticulously researched study of one of the saddest events of the history of the Jewish diaspora in modern China. . . . Readable and important.”—Xu Xin, professor at Nanjing University and president of the Chinese National Institute of Jewish Studies
“Scott D. Seligman tells the story of an ill-fated kidnap victim and brings to life the astonishing melting pot that was northeastern China in the early twentieth century. Like Guns of August it outlines the geopolitical intrigue that preceded a world war; and like an Agatha Christie detective story it follows all the twists and turns of a captivating whodunnit. A masterful blend of painstaking research and intricate storytelling.”—Ted Plafker, China correspondent and author of Doing Business in China
“Seligman is a masterful storyteller. . . . You won’t be able to put this down.”—Scott Kronick, former Beijing-based CEO of Ogilvy Public Relations Asia Pacific
“The dreadful murder of Semyon Kaspé by White Russian fascists working for the Japanese occupation army in Manchuria had all the marks of a political, economic, social, and antisemitic conspiracy. The truth has been driven out from under [Kaspé’s] tombstone in Harbin, and wandered on and on, until Scott D. Seligman has brought it to rest again.”—Dan Ben-Canaan, professor emeritus and chair of Sino-Israel Research and Study Center in Harbin, China
"This book is not just for those interested in the history of Asia in the years before World War II, since it also serves as a case study of the way the Jewish population has been treated in country after country over the centuries."—Rabbi Rachel Esserman, Reporter Group
"Seligman's book is chilling for what happened to Semyon, but it's also a lesson in history about a lesser known part of northeast Asia."—Susan Blumberg-Kason, Asian Review of Books
"Readers wishing to escape our present political strife and immerse themselves in a long-forgotten time should try this book. It will make them realize that the social unrest and institutional distrust in today's America pales in comparison to the worldwide experience of Jewish citizens throughout history."—J. Kemper Campbell, Lincoln Journal Star
