The Shanghai Moon: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Novel [Hardcover]

S. J. Rozan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Novel | Publication Date: February 3, 2009

With The Shanghai Moon, S. J. Rozan returns to her award-winning, critically acclaimed, and much-loved characters Lydia Chin and Bill Smith in the first new novel in the series in seven years.

 

Estranged for months from fellow P.I. Bill Smith, Chinese-American private investigator Lydia Chin is brought in by colleague and former mentor Joel Pilarsky to help with a case that crosses continents, cultures, and decades.  

 

In Shanghai, excavation has unearthed a cache of European jewelry dating back to World War II, when Shanghai was an open city providing safe haven for thousands of Jewish refugees. The jewelry, identifed as having belonged to one such refugee - Rosalie Gilder - was immediately stolen by a Chinese official who fled to New York City. Hired by a lawyer specializing in the recovery of Holocaust assets, Chin and Pilarsky are to find any and all leads to the missing jewels.

However, Lydia soon learns that there is much more to the story than they've been told: The Shanghai Moon, one of the world's most sought after missing jewels, reputed to be worth millions, is believed to have been part of the same stash. Before Lydia can act on this new information, Joel Pilarsky is murdered, Lydia is fired from the case, and Bill Smith finally reappears on the scene. Now Lydia and Bill must unravel the truth about the Shanghai Moon and the events that surrounded its disappearance sixty years ago during the chaos of war and revolution, if they are to stop more killings and uncover the truth of what is going on today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The hunt for a valuable brooch propels Edgar-winner Rozan's ninth Lydia Chin and Bill Smith nail-biter (after 2002's Winter and Night). In 1938, Rosalie Gilder, an 18-year-old Jewish refugee, left Nazi-annexed Austria for Japanese-occupied Shanghai, where she married the aristocratic Chen Kai-Rong. Chen had a jeweler create the Shanghai Moon, a brooch combining Rosalie's mother's diamonds with his ancestors' rare jade. Its disappearance during WWII interests treasure hunters in the present day. When Wong Pan, a corrupt Chinese official, steals Rosalie's jewelry box, recently unearthed in Shanghai, a Swiss asset-recovery specialist hires Joel Pilarsky, Lydia's friend and associate, to recover it in New York City, where Wong has fled in hopes of selling Rosalie's jewels on the black market. After Joel's murdered, Lydia and Bill follow a trail to Manhattan's Chinatown, where they encounter Rosalie's son and other relatives eager to recover the brooch. More surprises abound before Lydia and Bill can put the curse of the luminous Shanghai Moon to rest in Rozan's rich blend of historical mystery and contemporary suspense. Author tour. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

When sleuthing gets stressful, private investigator Lydia Chin downs savory plates of noodles and pungent cups of tea. In this new entry in Rozan’s critically acclaimed series (after Winter and Night, 2002), Chin has plenty of cause to consume carbs. Not long after a fellow investigator enlists her assistance, he is shot dead in his office. The two were just starting to make headway on a case, which involved recovery of stolen jewels once belonging to Holocaust survivors. Lydia stays on the case, enlisting her former partner, Bill Smith, even though the two have been on the outs for some time. Lydia soon delves into the diaries of Rosalie Gilder, an Austrian Jew who was sent to Shanghai at a young age to avoid Hitler’s death camps. Gilder later married a Chinese man, and a stunning necklace became the symbol of their union. Pursuit of that long-lost bejeweled creation nearly gets Lydia and Bill killed. Rozan’s engaging plots and compelling characters have earned her every major mystery award, but this lukewarm offering isn’t up to the author’s usual level of suspense. --Allison Block

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (February 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312245564
• ISBN-13: 978-0312245566
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 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

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "I saw gas lamps in the Chinese shops in Shanghai, ...I saw their elimination by electric lights." Hu Shih, November 7, 2009

By 

michael a. draper (Guilford, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Shanghai Moon: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Novel (Hardcover)

Lydia Chin is asked by her mentor, Joel Pilarsky, to help locate missing jewelry dating back to WWII. A cache of jewelry had been found in Shanghai and identified as belonging to European Jews attempting to escape Hitler's influence. A Chinese official is suspected of stealing the jewels. The jewels might be circulating in Chinatown and Lydia knows that area.

Soon after Lydia begins her search, Pilarsky is murdered. Then Lydia learns that one of the pieces she's looking for is the Shanghai Moon, a rare, valuable gem.

When Pilarsky is killed, Bill Smith, Lydia's former partner, and more, contacts her and they agree to work the case together. A usual part of the stories with these two characters is the interesting bi-play between them about their relationship but, sadly, there is little of that in this novel.

S. J. Rozan has provided her readers with a good mystery and a history lesson. Rosalie Gilder's letters to her mother, during the time of termoil around WWII brings out the fears and longing for a better world that the Jews must have felt at that time. I felt as if I was reading an updated "The Diary of Ann Frank" from the point of view of a young Jewish woman exposed to the terrible aspects of Hitler's hatred and persecution.

The setting of Chinatown in New York is well described. With Lydia's mother preparing special meals and giving her views on things, it's as if the reader is looking into the window of life in that part of the city. The plot is complex but the story is interesting and enlightening, worth the effort.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lydia and Bill are back!, February 3, 2009

By 

B. G. Ritts "Old Beeg" (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shanghai Moon: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Novel (Hardcover)

THE SHANGHAI MOON is the ninth installment in S.J. Rozan's award winning Lydia Chin / Bill Smith series. It's been seven years since we last had a look at our favorite New York City P.I.s.

This 'who done it/where is it' gives us a group of today's greedy types unfolding against the Shanghai of World War II. The 'Shanghai Moon' is a rumored heirloom of antique jade -- which may not exist -- and people are dying because of it. Chin and Smith once again do a professional job of unraveling what's afoot.

The author's two intervening standalone books, in which she experimented with and stretched her writing, resonate here with a lovely new patina surrounding Lydia and Bill. The prose is beautifully Rozan, and she has crafted a poignant history lesson in the letters chronicling the uncommon love story that backdrops the book. I can not overstate how much I enjoyed this book. Highly recommended!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I'm back." and I'm so glad!, May 6, 2009

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shanghai Moon: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Novel (Hardcover)

First Sentence: "I'm back."

PI Lydia Chin is back from a case that took her to China, but she is estranged from her friend and partner, Bill Smith. Her former mentor, Joel Pilarsky, contacts her to work on a case with him as he needs a connection to the Chinese community.

During WWII, China accepted refugees fleeing Europe. Rosalie Gilder and her brother were sent to Shanghai ahead of their parents, along with the family jewelry. Rosalie meets and marries a Chinese gentleman and in celebration a piece of jewelry is created using hundreds-of-years-old jade and diamonds from Rosalie's mother's necklace. That piece, known as the Shanghai Moon, disappeared after the way and is much sought by collectors.

Now jewelry, identified as belonging to Rosalie, has been found during an excavation in Shanghai, but the Moon is not among them. A lawyer specializing in Holocaust assets recovery asks for Pilarsky and Lydia's help. After a murder, Bill rejoins with Lydia to find the necklace and the truth.

I have so missed this series. Those who have followed it know that the protagonist alternates with each book, and this was Lydia's turn. But part of what makes the books work is the uncertainty of the relationship between the two characters and where it might, or might never, lead.

Rozen does create great characters, brings them to life. She is masterful in blending the two cultures and educating us about both.

I love Rozan's use of dialogue and humor, particularly Lydia's mental conversations. They add just the right touch of lightness to the story.

And this story was particularly good. There was fascinating information about the recent history of China and their taking in refugees during the war. I learned things I had never known.

I loved Rozan's use of Rosalie's letters and found them fascinating. The plot was so well done. It twisted direction with nearly every chapter.

All I can say is that I hope we don't have to wait as long for the next Lydia Chin/Bill Smith book.