The Last Mandarin

A gripping thriller about family and power co-written by Louise Penny, #1 bestselling author of the Gamache novels, and Mellissa Fung, an award-winning journalist.

A mother and a daughter race against time in this all-too-real thriller that reaches from Tiananmen Square all the way to the White House.

Alice Li, a first-generation Chinese American and former food blogger, has long lived in the shadow of her mother, Vivien Li-- a Tiananmen Square dissident turned world-renowned human rights activist and passionate advocate for a free and democratic China.

When security and fire alarms go off simultaneously all around the world, setting off a panic, the signal is traced back to China. As world leaders scramble to respond, Vivien and Alice are called to the White House in hopes Madame Li can interpret the Chinese intentions. But why involve Alice?

If China isn't behind the attack, Vivien warns, someone even more dangerous is pulling the strings. Mother and daughter must join together to overcome their estrangement if they have any hope of preventing global catastrophe. From DC to Ohio to Hong Kong, they work to prevent the next attack, along the way decoding an ancient legend and uncovering a secret language invented by women, for women.

The Last Mandarin is an electrifying study of absolute power and voracious greed, political terror and personal conviction. But it is also an intimate examination of choice, of sacrifice, of memory and myths, both cultural and personal. It is the story of a mother and daughter, as well as a compelling international thriller about the precarious balance of power across the world, and within a family. And what happens when both break down.

In a world ruled by power, even family can be a weapon.

Author: Louise Penny,Mellissa Fung
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 05/12/2026
Pages: 400
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.50w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9781250412522


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 03/02/2026
Booklist 03/01/2026
Library Journal 04/01/2026 pg. 46

About the Author

Louise Penny is the multi-award winning author of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels, set in her home province of Québec, Canada. Her books, including State of Terror written with Hillary Rodham Clinton, have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide, topped international bestseller lists, including the New York Times, and been translated into 32 languages. The recipient of both the Order of Canada and l'Ordre national du Québec, her country's highest civilian honours, her Three Pines Foundation reaches out to those in crisis and offers financial and emotional support, with a special focus on literacy as well as dementia care. Her husband, Michael, died of dementia in 2016. She lives with her golden retrievers Muggins and Charlie in a village south of Montreal.

Mellissa Fung is a veteran journalist, author, and award-winning filmmaker. She has produced original award-winning documentaries for Al-Jazeera International, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and TV Ontario, among others. She covered the war in Afghanistan, leading to her best-selling first book, Under an Afghan Sky, which chronicled her experience as a hostage after she was kidnapped while on assignment in Kabul in 2008. Since then, Fung has focused on human rights reporting, with a focus on women and children in conflict. She is a frequent contributor to The Globe and Mail, and her work has also appeared in The Huffington Post, The Toronto Star, and on PBS. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York. She was appointed as an officer to the Order of Canada in 2024 for her work with women in conflict. She lives in Toronto with her husband Paul and her scruffy rescue dog, Sammy.