Comment

agkersh
Apr 03, 2016agkersh rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
China Trade (Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #1) by S.J. Rozan is a great start to a new-to-me P.I. mystery series. I met Ms. Rozan for the first time at a day long mystery writers and readers conference and had to read these books. The book was very well written and as interesting as the author herself. P.I. Lydia Chin is hired to find two boxes of stolen porcelains. The case follows clues through New York’s Chinatown from Chinese gangs to specialty museums and collectors. With the help of P.I. Bill Smith, who assists Lydia and cares deeply about her personally, the two have to solve this case that has many twists and turns before there are more dead bodies. Both Lydia and Bill come to life as fully developed characters early in the book and I know I’ll be reading more in the series. Ms. Rozan brings the smells, sounds and sights of New York’s Chinatown vividly into my imagination. I also loved Lydia’s challenge of being a dutiful Chinese daughter to a traditional mother and Chinese community, while being a modern, independent American P.I. If you love following P.I. mystery series, this is definitely one for you to try.