White Sugar (Mystery/Action/Pulp Thriller
By Thatcher Robinson
Seventh Street Books
ISBN #978-1616148171
293 Pages
Price $15.95
Rating 5-Stars
“Smooth Writing And Easy Reading.”
Bai Jiang (pronounced Bi Chang) is a souxun
(pronounced so-soon), a people finder – or tracer of missing persons. Wealthy
in her on right, Bai’s godfather is head of the San Francisco Chinatown triad,
and she is the ex wife of a high-ranking enforcer; she is closely connected,
though not a part of the criminal organization.
When a young Chinese girl comes to Bai, asking her to
find her friend, who has been sold into the flesh market, Bai and her partner,
Lee Li take the case. Almost on the heels of their initial investigation, she
gets a call from the school where her 12-year old daughter, Dan, has been
involved in an assault against two boys. It appears altogether separate from
the case she’s on, but then other things begin happening that also seems
unconnected as well. There is a contract out on her, and an assassin tries to
kill her at the airport en route to Vancouver, Canada on the trail of the
missing girl. Mysteries pile up on more mysteries, and the case continues to
take wild turns.
Her ex husband is ordered to safeguard her, and the
triad attempts to protect her, but Bai moves on her own, trying to find the
missing girl, and discover who has ordered her death, and why.
The novel never slows down, the writing is smooth and
the action is fast. Her partner and martial arts trainer, Lee remains by her
side, but she is feisty and quick to act on her own. Good with fist, feet, and
weapons – especially knives, she usually acts first, not thinking about the
consequences. Her ex husband Jason controls an army of triad soldiers, and
demands respect in his circles. He also kills without thought, something that
Bai doesn’t like, though there is nothing she can do about it. The police and
F.B.I. know who she is, and what her status is in Chinatown, and they keep an
eye on her. They are really after Jason and the leaders of the triad, but hope
to find them through her.
This is a nice complicated plot, but the characters
are the driving force of the story. Bai Jiang moves the action along with a
nice pace, and each chapter drops a Chinese proverb that’s straight to the
point. The dialogue is often witty, and the reader becomes attached to each
character, though we may not be sure which side they are on at any given
moment. The strong characters, fast action, good plot, and excellent writing
read like exciting new pulp, but this novel has to be a grade above mere pulp
fiction. Still, I found it a wonderful reminder of those thrill-a-minute pulp
magazines and paperback tales of a bygone day, and anxious to read more stories
about this new tracer of lost persons. Remember
Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons? Now meet Bai Jiang, people finder, and Chinese triad princess. Yeah! Highly
recommended.
Tom Johnson
Detective Mystery Stories
I believe I won this in a goodreads drawing, and it was so good, it's one of the very few I've kept. I'm going to get the second book when I can.
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