China White [Large Print] [Paperback]

Peter Maas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1995

Weaving a tangled web of conspiracy and deceit, the sinister Deng, a Hong Kong crime lord posing as a wealthy businessman, plans to transfer the Chinese crime syndicate to the United States with a huge shipment of ""China White"" heroin. By the author of Serpico. 60,000 first printing.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Known primarily for his nonfiction, Maas (Serpico) delivers in his third novel (after Father and Son) a fact-based and fast-moving thriller about Chinese drug smuggling. Hong Kong businessman Y.K. Deng approaches the New York law firm of Needham & Lewis to help him relocate to the U.S. in anticipation of China's takeover of Hong Kong in 1997. Assigned to Deng's case is young former prosecutor Tom MacLean, who, along with his current romantic interest, FBI agent Shannon O'Shea, slowly learns that Deng is actually the head of a powerful and criminal Hong Kong triad and intends to flood America with a particularly potent type of heroin called China white, using the Mafia to distribute it. Maas writes briskly, filling his story with sharply drawn characters, neat and believable twists (though the climax just skirts hokiness) and a wealth of factual information that's never obtrusive. Darkening the narrative is the author's bleak view of the almost uninterrupted flow of drugs into the U.S. That Deng's plan is undone by a careless mistake might seem like bad writing, but, in Maas's hands, it's a veiled comment on just how difficult it is for government agencies to discover and stop drug runners-making this an effective cautionary tale as well as a swift and engaging read. Movie rights to Disney; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

An influential Chinese business tycoon plots to transfer the assets of the Hong Kong crime syndicate to the United States in a single huge shipment of high-grade heroin. With the guidance of a law firm populated by former CIA operatives, he sets about relocating his businesses in New York's Chinatown. His counsel, Tom MacLean, is a new recruit from the U.S. attorney's office, hired by the firm specifically for his father's CIA connections. From the outset, young MacLean is caught in the crossfire between Chinese Mafia warlords, the New York crime syndicate, and the Chinatown gangs, all of whom have keen interests in the profitability of heroin. Maas (Manhunt, LJ 7/86) has woven a taut, compelling thriller of the Chinese underworld. Recommended for fiction collections.
--Susan Clifford, Hughes Aircraft Co. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 371 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568950969
• ISBN-13: 978-1568950969
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,650,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting thriller, August 30, 1997

By 

Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: China White (Paperback)

have read non fiction stuff by maas, so decided to give this novel a try . . . interesting, though not great . . . (i prefer his non fiction stuff) . . . but got to listen to cassette tapes of book, so i would recommend it on that basis (though don't know if i would have enjoyed it as much had i actually read it).

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining for a Reader - Frightening for a Citizen, January 16, 2005

By 

John C. Schuler "John C Schuler" (Tualatin, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: China White (Paperback)

To take such a true and scary real-life situation and write it as an entertaining story - without being either overly draconion or frivolous - is quite a feat.

Anyone who has studied Singapore's success in controlling drugs sorely wishes for a bit of intelligent discipline in our own country. Of course the Drug Companies and the top 5% would not like that at all. Today, over 10 years since NAFTA and Peter's book were both launched, illegal immigrants and drugs pore into our Country while jobs pore out. In 2004, there were over 500,000 20' (TEU) sea-going cargo containers brought in from Asia (mostly China)- and those were just the ones brought into America through the port of Long Beach, CA - very few if any were inspected by US authorities. Today, there are tens of millions of containers flowing into our ports as high-profit exports continue to dwindle.

A novel built around the loading and distribution of the contents of just one of those containers would make a great sequel to China White.

Just as in espionage novels and real life, truth is often stranger (and scarier) than fiction. I think Peter Maas has done a fine job - both as an author and as someone trying to give us a wake-up call about what we are allowing to happen to our Country and our Citizens.
John Schuler
Portland, Oregon

4.0 out of 5 stars A great, quick read; plenty of detail in a small package., September 23, 1998

By 

Jim ([e-mail]) (Tampa, Fl) - See all my reviews

This review is from: China White (Paperback)

The authors past books lend him a lot of credibility with this topic. I found the information about Chinese organized crime to be fascinating, but some of the "love interest" storylines weren't that important to the gist of the story. I would definatley recommend the book.