Customer Reviews

The Jasmine Trade (Eve Diamond Novels)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Los Angeles Times reporter, Eve Diamond, thought it was just another suburban carjacking gone wrong. Seventeen year old Marina Lu, on her way to order bridesmaid dresses for her upcoming wedding, was now lying dead in the shopping center parking lot, shot in the head. But as Eve looks first into the death, and then the life of this teenager, whose existence was filled with all the advantages that money, status and the upper class provided, she begins to discover that all was not as it seemed. The more she investigates, the deeper she plunges into the desperate lives of rich parachute kids, teenagers left alone in America to fend for themselves while their parents live and run lucrative businesses from Hong Kong, Asian gangs, and the "jasmine trade", smuggled immigrant Asians brought to America, and sold into prostitution. What started as just a sad, local crime story, has now turned into a deadly mission, and Eve vows to find the truth, no matter what the cost..... Turn off the phone and lock the door, Denise Hamilton's debut novel, The Jasime Trade, is about to keep you up reading, all night. This is an intricate thriller that grabs you from page one and never lets go. The plot is tight, tense and compelling, with vivid and riveting scenes that set you on the edge of your seat, and keeps you there. The writing is intelligent, crisp, and spare, and her well drawn characters, original, engaging and very believable. Complex and intriguing, Eve Diamond, is definitely one of the best new leading ladies, or men, to pop up on the mystery/thriller scene this year. It is obvious that Ms Hamilton did her homework, and her indepth knowledge of Los Angeles and the Asian community transports the reader to another world, and adds real credibility to the story. With a stunning climax and satisfying ending that ties up all the loose ends, The Jasmine Trade is hopefully the beginning of a marvelous new series starring a remarkable heroine, that shouldn't be missed. Be sure and put this novel at the top of your "must read" list!

"The Jasmine Trade" by Denise Hamilton is a wonderfully engaging and readable first novel that introduces you to the twilight world of the disenfranchised rich teenage Asian immigrants in Los Angeles. It's haunting and gripping, and is a read that should not be missed!

While covering the carjacking-gone-wrong murder of 17 year old Marina Lu, Los Angeles reporter Eve Diamond, fortuitously uncovers a subculture she had little knowledge of: the parachute kids. These are the young teenage children of recent well to do Asian immigrants, who are living in this country with little or no parental supervision. While the parents are jetting all over the world for business reasons, the kids are expected to go to school regularly, get good grades, and lead exemplary lives. Of course, left to their own resources, the kids usually drift, and frequently into gangs. Eve smells a really good story here, and an award winning one at that. Through her contacts with the school board, and the Rainbow Coalition Center, Eve manages to talk to one of these 'parachute kids' and unexpectedly stumbles onto the diary of Marina Lu. Reading bits of the diary, Eve discovers that Marina believed that her much older fiance was two-timing her, and had resolved to discover the truth. Now, Eve cannot help but wonder if Marina's death was actually a murder made to look like a carjacking gone wrong. However before she can read Marina's diary properly from beginning to end, her car is broken into, and all her notes and Marina's diary is stolen. Was this a 'real' robbery or was recovering Marina's diary the primary objective? Suddenly Eve's world seems a lot darker. Why would the diary of a 17 year old be of any importance to anyone, unless it contained something really damaging to someone? And how did this person know that Eve had Marina's diary? Conscious of the fact that she may be in danger, Eve nonetheless refuses to give up her investigation into Marina's death, even if it means putting herself directly into harms' way. What Eve's eventually uncovers will haunt her and change her forever.

"The Jasmine Trade" is a really great read. And although for the first half of the book, the plot looks as if it is teetering a little between the subplots that dealt with Marina's death and her obsessive need to know what her fiance was up to, and the parachute kids, everything does come together, so that sticking it out really does pay off! Eve Diamond is a truly plucky and engaging heroine; her character makeup, equal parts investigative zeal to discover what really happened and to deliver some much needed justice, and her own inner sense of self loathing for all the manipulation she exercises in order to get a story, makes Eve really accessible to the reader. I also liked the manner in which Denise Hamilton intersperses bits about Eve's past with the present, so that we get to better understand Eve's character, and what motivates her. The storyline was an intriguing and riverting one, and Denise Hamilton's prose style was fresh and breezy, thus making this novel easy reading. I really enjoyed "The Jasmine Trade" and have no problem recommending it as an excellent read.

It would be a pity if The Jasmine Trade ends up relegated to the mystery shelves of specialty bookstores. Author Hamilton gives us much more than a well-plotted mystery involving murder, Asian gangs and an intrepid heroine/investigator. The book is anchored in a vivid world of cops, organized criminals, reporters and rich "parachute kids," (teenagers left to fend for themselves by parents who have installed them in leafy neighborhoods while they pursue their own business interests in Hong Kong and elsewhere). Interwoven into the scenes of crime, sex and telltale clues, The Jasmine Trade offers the reader an accurate picture of modern life in LA, in all of its countless contradictions. It's a juicy well-informed peek into the corners of a sprawling metropolis that rarely gets represented so richly in contemporary fiction.

If one is looking for the done-to-death stereotype of LA as a Jackie Collins-type universe populated by Hollywood agents and cosmetically altered actresses who romp through pastel-colored mansions and in-spot restaurants, one will not find it here. Hamilton gives us something much better, fresher and more literary with this debut novel. An experienced reporter, she proves herself here to also be an artful fiction writer. From the first page, we are aware we're in the hands of a self-assured guide. We enter worlds we rarely get to see. The Jasmine Trade is arguably a mystery/thriller, yes, but one that has greater literary ambitions than a formulaic whodunit. What distinguishes this book is the author's passion and conversance with the city's quirkier neighborhoods, newsroom antics, pop cultural landmarks, immigrant customs, and the relentless culture clashes - large and small, humorous and dangerous -- that make LA so maddening, so interesting, absurd and so vastly misunderstood.

Like the author herself, Hamilton's protagonist, Eve Diamond, is a journalist. Diamond is an appealing and plucky character with a working class sensibility and a healthy dose of skepticism. Her brashness and vulnerability make her credible. Her observations about her hometown and its inhabitants are funny, intelligent and dead-on. Much of the pleasure in reading this book comes from the delight in accompanying Hamilton's main character as she navigates through a kaleidoscopic landscape rich in tension, vivid characters, suspense, atmosphere, and always, always, freeways.

Though still in high school, Marina Lu seems to have it all. She is engaged to Michael Ho with their wedding set for two weeks and has earned admission to Berkley. However, her idyllic life ends in a San Gabriel, California parking lot where she had just ordered ten designer dresses for her bridesmaids. The police think this homicide is a carjacking that turned ugly, but Los Angeles Times reporter Eve Diamond wonders why the Lexus and Marina's diamond ring were not stolen.

Eve begins her investigation by talking with the counselor to teenage Asian expatriates Mark Furakama and follows that discussion with asking questions of students at Marina's school. She soon learns about a subculture involving "parachute kids" whose wealthy parents remain in Asia while the children live in America. Marina was one of the displaced children who was also responsible for her younger brother while her parents worked the Pacific Rim. The more Eve learns, the nastier the information turns as she uncovers an apparent slave whore trade, which places her life in danger.

THE JASMINE TRADE is an exciting investigative tale that will shock the reader who will want to deny the truth of "parachute kids." The story line is exciting and the cast seems real, which adds to the terror of a subculture caught between two worlds and afloat on its own.

Harriet Klausner

This is the first of the Eve Diamond series, a noir-lite series set in LA with reporter Eve Diamond. I'll admit that I'm getting tired of Kinsey Millhone and this offers up some detective thrills in the same genre. I like how she uses LA as a main character and is wonderful at describing the neighborhoods. Sometimes conversations are stilted but this is worth the read for a 1st effort. I'm hooked on the series.

This is is the first installment in the Eve Diamond investigative reporter series. Eve lived in Los Feliz, an artsy community in Los Angeles. She follows a story which leads her into organized crime activity in the Asian community and in particular child prostitution. Eve becomes involved with some Asian juveniles who are unwittingly drawn into gang activity. She also discovers details about "parachute" kids--children of rich Asian families who live by themselves taken care of by servants, while their parents work in China--mostly Hong Kong.

In the course of her brush with the Asian community, Eve meets and falls for a counselor who works with asian gang members.

This is a well researched novel. The author works as a journalist and had written articles about the various communities described in the book before she became a writer of fiction. Hamilton creates a suspense thriller plot along with potential for a good detective series.

I read The Jasmine Trade in two sittings, and would have finished it in one if work hadn't required my attention elsewhere. The protagonist, Los Angeles journalist Eve Diamond, is a compelling, feisty, human heroine with a keen eye, a generous heart and a steel spine, and her dogged pursuit of her story never flags. But it's the subject of her story that ends up taking center stage: the "parachute kids" in the San Gabriel Valley, abandoned by their wealthy Asian parents who then return to Hong Kong and Singapore to run their thriving business interests. These kids, privileged in every category except parental warmth and street smarts, fall prey to a variety of ne'er-do-wells and that peril keeps the tension taut and crisp. Meanwhile, once I learned what the "jasmine trade" really is, my heart broke for the real world women ensnared in it.

I don't bother commenting on a book unless I love it. I leave the snarky diatribes and wishy-washy blather to others. I wrote the above review because I truly enjoyed this book and think you will, too. Its author, Denise Hamilton, knows what she's talking about and writes with the brisk, clear, no-nonsense prose honed in her own journalistic career. And she's just gotten better with her subsequent books. Check her out.

Denise Hamilton's debut novel delves into the affluent immigrant life style of wealthy parents commuting from the Asian mainland while their teen age children reside in high-end neighborhoods with plenty of money and minimal supervision. The idea is to give the kids a good education without the cutthroat competitiveness of the Asian school system, and ready them for admission to top U.S. colleges. The pressure is intense on these youngsters as they are expected to not only maintain the highest of grade point averages, but also take on huge responsibilities of self-supervision and avoid the temptations that are not beyond their financial means, but are way beyond their judgment. These children are known as "parachute kids."

The story opens with the murder of 17-year old Marina Lu at the wheel of her Lexus, an apparent car jacking gone wrong in a mall parking lot. She has been shopping for her ten bridesmaids gowns. Enter Eve Diamond, an L.A. Times reporter, who catches the story. Eve is a fully realized character, a total professional on the job and very vulnerable in other areas. Her well-developed libido is somewhat alarming, for she is nothing if not impulsive. She follows the trail by fits and starts getting to know and appreciate Marina's friends, a dedicated youth counselor that may or may not be a love interest, and running into some high and hard rollers in the Asian community. Unfortunately, the story peaks prematurely and the last quarter of the book is spent tying up loose ends.

Ms. Hamilton gives us a crackerjack portrait of the life of a newspaper reporter. She clearly knows the ins and outs of the trade. She draws an excellent picture of an almost 30-something woman and how she lives and dreams. Eve has an excellent sense of humor and is too imaginative by half. She has the makings of a good series character, and it looks like this is what is intended. This good start could have used some tightening up and better pacing; perhaps more experience will give Eve a smoother ride.

"The Jasmine Trade" is a suspense mystery written with a lot of depth by Denise Hamilton. It's about parachute kids in the San Gabriel Valley. Eve is a reporter working on an article about prostitution, but at the same time cracking a case about who killed 17-year-old Marina Lu, who was found dead in her car. Eve falls in love at the same time and is sometimes in the wrong place.
With many stories being connected as you read the book, it all falls into one place: How are all these parachute kids connected? When you read the fictitious "Eve" narrate it, it's as if the author were there.
"The Jasmine Trade" is a lot more complex than "The Outsiders," which is also about gangs, that I just had to read for my 7th grade English class. Children who probably have not read much might like "The Outsiders," because they have nothing better to compare it to, like "The Jasmine Trade." -- Maia L., L.A.

Venture back to a time when cars still had tape decks, the Backstreet Boys were popular, and not everyone had multiple cell phones. Come along with reporter Eve Diamond as she travels among the parachute kids of the San Gabriel Valley.

These kids- Asian American immigrants from super wealthy families- are on their own. Their parents keep them in the States for the schools, and provide them with a housekeepers, a legal guardian (often on paper only), and all materials goods they could want. Many parachuters lead double lives- straight A students and gangsters. Is that what happened to Marina Lu, the seventeen year old fiancee of Michael Ho, a big shot banker with Golden Pacific? The cops think Marina's death is a random carjacking turned fatal, but Eve thinks there's something more to her murder. She sees a way to stay on the murder case- interviewing parachute kids.

Eve slowly becomes involved with very suspicious characters. From the boy she wants to save, and his kid sister who is hiding Marina's very revealing diary, to her new lover, a Japanese-American psychologist running a non-profit for Asian families of all backgrounds. Eve is exposed to the dark world of underground Asian crime, often controlled by the most successful businessmen and parachute kids. She, who grew up poor and worked her way through a state university, learns that money can't buy a healthy life.

As Eve works on Marina's murder and her new parachute friend, she soon becomes desperate to save a poor Chinese girl who has been smuggled into this country for prostitution. Can she be the hero? Can she save everyone? And why does she wants to save everyone? Does it have to do with the guilt she feels over her teenaged brother's death? And, is she just being paranoid about her new lover? Can she trust him?

All of these questions are answered as we travel with her through the good and bad of Los Angeles, through the sketchy Asian clubs, dirty brothels, and gorgeous homes run by teenagers. We're in bed with her as she questions her lover's motives after she sleeps with him. We get to know Eve, her LA, and learn to appreciate her for the woman she has become.

Jasmine Trade does not have a happy ending, which makes the book the more realistic. Eve gets her closure, we get our closure, but Hamilton does not let everything be packaged up with pretty paper and poofy bows.

(Side note: The stand-alone novel Damage Control was my first introduction to Denise Hamilton's work. I liked it so much that I got three of her other books, preparing to read them in chronological order. Sooo, I noticed similarities between Eve Diamond and Damage Control's heroine: Poor girls, educated in Catholic schools, dealt with tragedy in their teenage years, work their way through college, become moderately successful in their careers, cannot move up the socioeconomic ladder of their fellow urban professionals in LA. I so so so hope that Hamilton isn't doling out a formula, cause she seems to have much more talent than that!)