China Trade [Mass Market Paperback]

S. J. Rozan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1995

It's a city within a city, of smells, sounds, dark shops, and close-knit families; it's a world all its own. And in all of New York's Chinatown, there is no one like P.I. Lydia Chin, who has a nose for trouble, a disapproving Chinese mother, and a partner named Bill Smith who's been living above a bar for sixteen years.

Hired to find some precious stolen porcelain, Lydia follows a trail of clues from highbrow art dealers into a world of Chinese gangs. Suddenly, this case has become as complex as her community itself--and as deadly as a killer on the loose...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rozan's debut novel, focusing both on china, the porcelain, and on the homeland of many inhabitants of New York City's Chinatown, introduces likable Asian-American PI, Lydia Chin. Lydia, hired by the Chinatown Pride museum to recover stolen antique porcelains, confronts the leaders of rival Chinatown gangs in hopes of flushing out the robbers. With information gleaned from a meek scholar who habitually steals tiny porcelains from prominent collections, Lydia discovers an antiquities-laundering business that crosses all socioeconomic strata. Her sidekick, full-time sleuth Bill Smith, provides an element of sexual tension; the resolution hinges on a silly scheme in which Lydia sets herself up to be attacked by a hit man and rescued by her cooperative NYPD pals. Rozan shows a knack for characterizing Chinatown's denizens, apothecaries, shops and food, but her story has more flavor than substance.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

It's always exciting to read the first novel of a newcomer with a distinctive voice and the talent to put a new spin on an established genre. Such is the case with this page-turning mystery introducing Lydia Chin, a Chinese American private investigator living in New York City's Chinatown. When the Chinatown Museum is robbed of a set of rare porcelains, the chair of the board of directors calls in her friend Lydia, despite the opposition of Lydia's brother, Tim, a board member embarrassed by his sister's occupation (not suitable for a respectable Chinese woman) and afraid that her failure to solve the crime will make him lose face. Working with her sometime partner Bill Smith, Lydia finds a connection between the shadowy underworld of the tongs (Chinese gangs) and the black market in stolen art, which leads in turn to violence and danger--definitely unsuitable surroundings in the eyes of Lydia's family. Rozan's Chinatown setting has the ring of authenticity, and Lydia is a true original. A very promising start to what shapes up as a top-flight series. Stuart Miller --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; paperback / softback edition (September 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312955901
• ISBN-13: 978-0312955908
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Asian American

More About the Author

SJ Rozan was born and raised in the Bronx and is proud of it. She spent over twenty years as an architect in New York City and is kind of proud of that, too. Now she writes and teaches. She's done 10 books in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series (the newest, ON THE LINE, comes out Sept. 28, 2010) and two standalones. She's also published three dozen short stories. A collection of her stories, A TALE ABOUT A TIGER, is available, and a second volume is coming.

SJ's work has won the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, Nero and Macavity Awards, and she's a recipient of the Japanese Maltese Falcon. She's served on the National Boards of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She's a past President of the Private Eye Writers of America. She's been Guest of Honor at Left Coast Crime (El Paso, 2003), Toastmaster at Bouchercon (Indianapolis, 2009), an invited speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (2003) and as if that weren't enough, she has the key to the city of Fort Worth, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, educational debut in Chinese American series, April 24, 2001

By 

Carol Peterson Hennekens (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: China Trade (Mass Market Paperback)

In a genre that is finally reasonalby well populated by woman and African Americans, an Asian slueth (of either gender) is still a rarity. Enter Lydia Chin, an ABC (American Born Chinese)who still lives with her mother in Manhattan's growing Chinatown. For me, a native of Oakland (which has a strong Asian community), the highlight of this book is the entire sensory experience. Rozan, an Anglo, does a wonderful job of writing a book that stimulates the senses of smell and taste. It doesn't hurt that Lydia loves to eat and shares her wonderful meals with the reader.

The mystery revolves around a couple of crates of missing Chinese porcelains (hence a wonderful pun in the title). Lydia and her sort of partner, Bill, explore a mix of Manhattan museums and gangs as they seek the china. The resolution is nicely complicated and shouldn't be obivous - at least to the Anglo reader.

What keeps the book from pure hard boiled status is Lydia's meddling family (they don't approve of her work); a convenient best friend who's a cop; and Lydia's ambiguous relationship with Bill (good ABC girls aren't supposed to be attracted to white dectectives).

Bottom line: A solid debut in a series I'm already looking forward to reading again.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!, August 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: China Trade (Mass Market Paperback)

Rozan, who's also an architect, writes a terrific mystery. This book, the first in the series, introduces Lydia Chin, a twenty-something Chinese-American PI whose mom hates what she does for a living and whose White partner pines for her. Chin has a similar attitude to Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone, but is greener and more vulnerable. She's believable, likeable, and interesting. S.J. Rozan is definitely an up-and-comer in this genre.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding series, July 22, 2002

By 

Alicia K. Ahlvers "alibrarian" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: China Trade (Mass Market Paperback)

New York P.I. Lydia Chin is investigating the theft of Chinese export porcelains from the Chinatown Pride museum. With the help of her sometimes partner, Bill Smith, her investigation leads her through Chinatown into the world of Chinese gangs and what she finds there is heartbreaking and tragic. As a good Chinese daughter Lydia still lives with her mother, rare in a hard-boiled detective series. Of course, Lydia's very traditional family is horrified by her career choice which is in turn humorous and frustrating. This is fine start to an intriguing series with each book alternating between Lydia and Bill's point-of-view.