Black Karma

Black Karma (Action/Mystery)

By Thatcher Robinson

Seventh Street Books www.seventhstreetbooks.com

ISBN #978-1616140038

275 Pages

Price $12.63

Rating 5-Stars

“A Complicated Plot, Filled With Action, Danger, And Mystery.”

Bai Jiang (pronounced Bi Chang) is a souxun – a finder of missing people. She and her partner Lee Li (also her martial arts instructor) work out of her office on Grant Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Bai was the daughter of a Shan Chu – the head of the Sun Yee On triad, but when her parents were killed her uncle Tommy Hu took over the leadership and raised her; this makes her a triad princess, which she tries to put behind her by helping others. Her ex-husband, is a Hung Kwan, the second in line to the leadership, and commands a small army of triad soldiers. He still protects his ex-wife and their 13-year old daughter, Dan, so when things get dangerous she has plenty of back up, whether she wants – or needs – it or not.

Inspector Kelly of the SFPD approaches her to find Daniel Chin, who the police suspects of killing policemen in a botched drug sting. Bai thinks something is phony with the task, but wants to find Chin anyway, to see what is going on.

This is the second book in the series, and is a complicated plot, filled with lots of action, danger, and mystery. Before it concludes, people will die, and Bai will find another stray to take under her protective wing. The author has created characters from the shady realm of international organized crime, but some you quickly learn to love and respect, as they live by a code the bad guys don’t want to cross. When you meet Bai Jiang and Lee Li, you will want more of them. Highly recommended for action and mystery lovers of all ages.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

White Ginger

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

Grottos of Chinatown

Grottos of Chinatown

By Arthur J. Burks

ISBN #978-1935031086

Off Trail Publications

189 Pages

Price: $16.00

Rating 5-Star

After returning from the Far East, Dorus Noel becomes an undercover agent for the police department in New York City. He had spent years in the Far East, and had the torture scars to prove it. But once touched by China, he was unable to give that world up. Manhattan's Chinatown contains the most insidious crimes and criminals imaginable, and is a society of strange alliances, a place of dark menace and mystery. It is an urban nightmare of secret passageways riddling the district like rabbit warrens, a new world under the shadow of China's past.

This volume collects the eleven Dorus Noel stories from the pulp, All Detective Magazine (1933-34). Also included is extensive new information on All Detective and the fascinating career of pulp-writer Arthur J. Burks by John Locke.

Burks’ stories are short, with little time to truly examine the characters, but they are presented with clear images of evil. Fu Manchu like masterminds, with insidious murder inventions, including mysterious poisons and venoms, along with unimaginable death traps. All Detective aimed at the short story, with strong villains and heroes, and endings with a twist. The author was a retired Army Lt/Col from WWI who had traveled extensively in the Far East, and brought his knowledge of the East to the stories with him.

Dorus Noel works for a mysterious “Chief”, whom he has never seen. He does know the police commissioner, but none of the police know he is an undercover agent. However, all of Chinatown knows who Dorus Noel is, and though most respect him, the oriental villains fear and hate him. In each story someone is out to kill him before they start their insidious crime wave.

A great read, and thoroughly enjoyable.