Henry Chang - Chinatown Beat (2006)
Reviewed by David J. Montgomery
Henry Chang's Chinatown Beat (Soho Crime, 204 pages, $22) is an Asian-themed crime novel, a worthy debut that introduces Chinese-American Detective Jack Yu. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of him in the future.
Yu works Chinatown for the NYPD, protecting and policing the people he's known all his life. Although he was born and raised in Chinatown, he's an outsider now; isolated to the fringes of the community by the gun and badge he carries.
Chang writes with stark power and authority, covering the territory as only an insider can. He evokes the spirit, sights, smells and language of his setting in compelling and original fashion. Although there is little action or suspense in Chinatown Beat, there is still much that thrills.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Book Reviews | Permalink
