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jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I’d put off reading this book for years. I owned it once and it’s been loaned to me by my local library 3-4 times. Finally sat down to it and once I pushed past the first 15 pages…it’s really good! I love tales of municipal corruption and this one is layered well. Bonus points for setting it in the Bronx. Could’ve done without the white knight-ism but beyond that, it’s good.
lian_tanner's review
4.0
This is such a terrific series. I can't quite decide whether I like the ones from Bill's pov or Lydia's pov better - I suspect they are equally as good. Rozan doesn't put a step wrong with her writing - the plot is tight, the characters are sometimes too real for comfort (I'm talking about the gang members here) and the relationship between Bill and Lydia is fascinating. One of the very best crime series around.
ncrabb's review against another edition
This is the second book in the Bill Smith and Lydia Chin series. I read this series partially because these two fascinate me. She’s a Chinese-American woman probably in her late 20s. He’s something close to twice her age, and he’s a bit of a loner. He loves his piano, but he plays only for himself. Oh, and he loves Lydia Chin, but she doesn’t reciprocate that; the day she does, her Chinese family will disown her pretty much. But he needs her in his life. She is his dayspring. She is the first muffled sleepy chirp of the pre-sunrise bird, the unused air surrounded by the mystery that always enrobes that portion of the day when no one else is out—when you are the earliest hint of dawn’s only greeter. She is that for him and more. She is his time machine to a less scarred more invigorated more youthful self. And what is he to her? She’s so enigmatic it’s hard to determine that. Clearly, she admires his practical no-nonsense approach to things. His skills as a keen observer impress her. But so far, she’s not in love with him. He needs her because of her depth of network. Lydia or her family either already have knowledge or know where they can get it—knowledge that helps Smith immeasurably.
As the book opens, Smith goes undercover at a nursing home in an otherwise seedy neighborhood in the Bronx. He’s working for a mentor of his—a guy who showed him how to be a private detective. His mentor operated a security company, and that company had the contract to keep an eye on the home and its residents. When someone murders the nephew of the security company owner who worked security at the home, Bill goes to work trying to figure out what happened and who killed the young man.
Lydia is there, to, but she’s the behind-the-scenes under-the-hood member of the team. It is she who does the computer research; it is she who goes places Bill can’t even get close to because of her unique heritage and talent set. Before the book ends, Smith will confront gang members, lawyer swindlers and corruption at the nursing home among its staff; all the time, the bodies mount up.
This promises to be an interesting series indeed. There’s no way that Smith and Chin remain separate and celibate throughout the entire series; I’ll be interested to see how that bridge comes together.
As the book opens, Smith goes undercover at a nursing home in an otherwise seedy neighborhood in the Bronx. He’s working for a mentor of his—a guy who showed him how to be a private detective. His mentor operated a security company, and that company had the contract to keep an eye on the home and its residents. When someone murders the nephew of the security company owner who worked security at the home, Bill goes to work trying to figure out what happened and who killed the young man.
Lydia is there, to, but she’s the behind-the-scenes under-the-hood member of the team. It is she who does the computer research; it is she who goes places Bill can’t even get close to because of her unique heritage and talent set. Before the book ends, Smith will confront gang members, lawyer swindlers and corruption at the nursing home among its staff; all the time, the bodies mount up.
This promises to be an interesting series indeed. There’s no way that Smith and Chin remain separate and celibate throughout the entire series; I’ll be interested to see how that bridge comes together.
notevenastar's review
3.0
Not enough Lydia. And also I wasn’t crazy about the way Rozan wrote the dialect of the black characters, it felt... outdated.
But other than those critiques, I was super fond of this book. The mystery was tight and kept my attention. Bill is super sad and profound as a narrator. He’s great, as a character.
But other than those critiques, I was super fond of this book. The mystery was tight and kept my attention. Bill is super sad and profound as a narrator. He’s great, as a character.
lauraellis's review
3.0
This is the second in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith detective series and a book I have long been waiting for. The author has done the unique thing [in my experience in 1996] of telling the entire first mystery in Lydia’s voice and this, the second, in Bill’s, which are two very different voices. And it’s my favorite kind of mystery, where the personal lives of the characters are as important as the mystery itself.
2020 note: Critics and prize-givers love the “Bill” books. I on the other hand think that the “Lydia” books are superior, more unusual and interesting, though I love the series generally. But the “Bill” books I generally rate at 3 stars and “Lydia” at 4 or 4.5 stars.
2020 note: Critics and prize-givers love the “Bill” books. I on the other hand think that the “Lydia” books are superior, more unusual and interesting, though I love the series generally. But the “Bill” books I generally rate at 3 stars and “Lydia” at 4 or 4.5 stars.
mohogan2063's review
3.0
S. J. Rozan writes a series featuring Bill Smith, a hard boiled private investigator who lives above a bar in New York city, and Lydia Chin, a Chinese-American private investigator. Rozan has won the Anthony Award and Shamus Awards for best novel; she's the only woman besides Sue Grafton to win the Shamus. Everyone in my book group liked this book. It's told from Bill Smith's perspective. Another Rozan book: China Trade, is told from Lydia's perspective.
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