Book review: The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung
Genre: Political thriller
Release date: May 12, 2026
Goodreads rating: 3.87
My rating: 3.5
This post contains affiliate links that earn us a commission at no cost to you.
This helps to support the work of The Bookish Bulletin.
Louise Penny is one of those authors that I always keep an eye on, so I was excited to jump into her latest book, The Last Mandarin. Because international political thrillers aren’t my usual go-to genre (I’m more familiar with her Inspector Gamache series), I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going in, but I liked how readable and cinematic the story felt right from the start.
The story follows Alice, a young food blogger who gets caught up in an international hunt to uncover who is behind a series of international coordinated attacks. Before the first attack, she received a mysterious photo from a friend… once he is found dead, she follows the hints in the photo and discovers that, because of family relations, she is in a unique position to chase these hints.
For me, the first half was the strongest part of the book. The cyberattacks were suspenseful and mysterious feel that really grabbed my attention. The second half shifts gears and becomes more of a chase thriller, with higher action and faster movement between locations. While I preferred the earlier atmosphere, I still found the overall story entertaining and easy to keep reading.
One thing that really helped the book stand out was the historical angle involving the Terracotta soldiers and Chinese history. Those details added depth and made the story feel a little different from a more typical political thriller.
Since this is a co-written novel, I was curious how smooth the writing would feel, but overall I found that it worked well. The entire story felt very cinematic to me, and honestly, I could absolutely see this becoming a streaming series or movie adaptation someday.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for granting me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Or search for similar books here
More thrillers you may enjoy:
