What do you think?
Rate this book
Lydia Chin & Bill Smith #9
The Shanghai Moon
With The Shanghai Moon, S. J. Rozan returns to her award-winning, critically acclaimed, and much-loved characters Lydia Chin and Bill Smith in the first new novel in the series in seven years.
Estranged for months from fellow P.I. Bill Smith, Chinese-American private investigator Lydia Chin is brought in by colleague and former mentor Joel Pilarsky to help with a case that crosses continents, cultures, and decades.
In Shanghai, excavation has unearthed a cache of European jewelry dating back to World War II, when Shanghai was an open city providing safe haven for thousands of Jewish refugees. The jewelry, identifed as having belonged to one such refugee - Rosalie Gilder - was immediately stolen by a Chinese official who fled to New York City. Hired by a lawyer specializing in the recovery of Holocaust assets, Chin and Pilarsky are to find any and all leads to the missing jewels.
However, Lydia soon learns that there is much more to the story than they've been told: The Shanghai Moon, one of the world's most sought after missing jewels, reputed to be worth millions, is believed to have been part of the same stash. Before Lydia can act on this new information, Joel Pilarsky is murdered, Lydia is fired from the case, and Bill Smith finally reappears on the scene. Now Lydia and Bill must unravel the truth about the Shanghai Moon and the events that surrounded its disappearance sixty years ago during the chaos of war and revolution, if they are to stop more killings and uncover the truth of what is going on today.
384 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2009
17 people are currently reading
758 people want to read
About the author
S.J. Rozan
127 books384 followersSJ Rozan, a native New Yorker, is the author of the Bill Smith and Lydia Chin detective series as well as several stand-alone novels. She has won the the Edgar, Nero, Macavity, Shamus and Anthony awards for Best Novel and the Edgar award for Best Short Story. She is a former Mystery Writers of America National Board member, a current Sisters in Crime National Board member, and President of the Private Eye Writers of America. In January 2003 she was an invited speaker at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In February 2005 she will be Guest of Honor at the Left Coast Crime convention in El Paso, Texas. A former architect in a practice that focussed on police stations, firehouses, and zoos, SJ Rozan was born and raised in the Bronx. She currently lives in Greenwich Village, New York. (from the author's website)"
S.J. Rozan has a B.A. from Oberlin College and M.Arch from SUNY/Buffalo
S.J. Rozan has a B.A. from Oberlin College and M.Arch from SUNY/Buffalo
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews
May 28, 2009
It's a PI novel, it's an historical novel. It's New York now and Shanghai then. It's Bill and Lydia, and that's all you need to know. Read it.
March 24, 2009
The Shanghai Moon .... told from Lydia's POV.
I think I would enjoy reading about Bill and Lydia investigating just about anything. It was a fine treat then to have the mystery they worked to unravel, as usual, to be first rate. The story takes us into the past, to Shanghai and to the Nazi and Chinese persecutions of many different people; and into family relationships, full of love and betrayal and hurt; and into a topical modern police / private investigation with interesting cultural insights. As Ms. O'Cat mentioned in an earlier post. It is very hard to choose my favorite series POV as Bill (my usual choice) with this sort of look into Lydia's Chinese world.
I think I would enjoy reading about Bill and Lydia investigating just about anything. It was a fine treat then to have the mystery they worked to unravel, as usual, to be first rate. The story takes us into the past, to Shanghai and to the Nazi and Chinese persecutions of many different people; and into family relationships, full of love and betrayal and hurt; and into a topical modern police / private investigation with interesting cultural insights. As Ms. O'Cat mentioned in an earlier post. It is very hard to choose my favorite series POV as Bill (my usual choice) with this sort of look into Lydia's Chinese world.
February 28, 2017
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
Oh, man . . . things got away from me and I haven't been able to reconnect with Lydia or Bill for too long now (14 months between books I think) -- I missed them. Thankfully, it took no time at all to get back in the groove.
Speaking of breaks, following the shattering events of Winter and Night, Bill Smith pretty much took a break from everything -- including Lydia. She understood that but didn't like it one bit. So when he does come back into he life early on in this book, she doesn't exactly welcome him with open arms, and makes him jump through a few hoops to get back into her good graces (but not nearly as many hoops as she intended).
But before we get to that, a one-time mentor and occasional colleague, Joel Pilarsky asks Lydia to help with an investigation. Some jewels have recently been uncovered in China, stolen and theoretically brought to New York to be sold. The client wants Pilarsky to track them down -- he suggests that he'll cover the Jewish jewelry shops that might buy them, and hires Lydia to do the same with Chinese jewelers. What makes these jewels special is that they belonged to Jewish refugees in the 1930's who fled to Shanghai, and were probably owned by the same person who owned a legendary piece of jewelry from that time -- The Shanghai Moon. Not that the client, a lawyer focused the recovery of Holocaust items, bothers to mention The Shanghai Moon (she has a lame excuse for that oversight when Lydia brings it up later).
Yes, I did say Jewish refugees in Shanghai. I felt bad about not knowing anything about that until Lydia confessed it was news to her, too. She's intrigued by this notion -- and the story of the owner of these jewels, much of which is preserved in letters she wrote to her mother after fleeing from Europe and are now part of a collection of Holocaust documents. We get these letters to, and read them with Lydia and slowly we're drawn in to the saga of this poor woman and the Chinese man she marries while Lydia and Joel search for her heirlooms.
The investigation soon focuses on The Shanghai Moon -- and the murders that appear to be connected to this crime. Bill returns to Lydia's life in time to help with this investigation. Before you know what's happening, we're immersed in a mystery that stretches over decades and involves Nazis, Communists, Japanese military, NYC Chinese gangs and much, much more. The threads that connect all these to the jewels and the family tied to them are so many in number and complex in nature, that I wouldn't try to explain it even if it wouldn't spoil the book.
I didn't get as invested in the historical material as Lydia did -- but i came close, and I think most readers will, too. If for no other reason than Bill and Lydia do. There's a history professor that the pair interview for some more context that I'd love to meet again (I can't imagine how that'd happen) -- he's a fun character that's much better developed than most characters filling his role would be in detective novels.
I don't know if I've liked Lydia's mom as much as I did in this book before (or enjoyed her as much) -- it took Lydia far too long to understand what her mother was doing throughout the novel, and the growth/change it represented, but I thought it was great. I'm actually looking forward to reading about her in the next novel (I've never disliked the character, just have never been that interested in her).
Best of all, as normal, was the banter and other types of conversation between Lydia and Bill. I've said it before, I'll probably say it again, but I'd read a couple hundred pages of them just talking over tea and snacks. There was a lot unsaid between them about the months between the novels, but Rozan had them not say it in a great way -- and what they said was as good as usual.
Throw in a juicy mystery, good characters and a missing treasure? You've got yourself a winner. No surprise that I liked the ninth novel in a series I've enjoyed the previous eight in -- but that doesn't make it any less good, it just means that Rozan's consistently on target. I strongly recommended The Shanghai Moon along with its predecessors.
---
Oh, man . . . things got away from me and I haven't been able to reconnect with Lydia or Bill for too long now (14 months between books I think) -- I missed them. Thankfully, it took no time at all to get back in the groove.
Speaking of breaks, following the shattering events of Winter and Night, Bill Smith pretty much took a break from everything -- including Lydia. She understood that but didn't like it one bit. So when he does come back into he life early on in this book, she doesn't exactly welcome him with open arms, and makes him jump through a few hoops to get back into her good graces (but not nearly as many hoops as she intended).
But before we get to that, a one-time mentor and occasional colleague, Joel Pilarsky asks Lydia to help with an investigation. Some jewels have recently been uncovered in China, stolen and theoretically brought to New York to be sold. The client wants Pilarsky to track them down -- he suggests that he'll cover the Jewish jewelry shops that might buy them, and hires Lydia to do the same with Chinese jewelers. What makes these jewels special is that they belonged to Jewish refugees in the 1930's who fled to Shanghai, and were probably owned by the same person who owned a legendary piece of jewelry from that time -- The Shanghai Moon. Not that the client, a lawyer focused the recovery of Holocaust items, bothers to mention The Shanghai Moon (she has a lame excuse for that oversight when Lydia brings it up later).
Yes, I did say Jewish refugees in Shanghai. I felt bad about not knowing anything about that until Lydia confessed it was news to her, too. She's intrigued by this notion -- and the story of the owner of these jewels, much of which is preserved in letters she wrote to her mother after fleeing from Europe and are now part of a collection of Holocaust documents. We get these letters to, and read them with Lydia and slowly we're drawn in to the saga of this poor woman and the Chinese man she marries while Lydia and Joel search for her heirlooms.
The investigation soon focuses on The Shanghai Moon -- and the murders that appear to be connected to this crime. Bill returns to Lydia's life in time to help with this investigation. Before you know what's happening, we're immersed in a mystery that stretches over decades and involves Nazis, Communists, Japanese military, NYC Chinese gangs and much, much more. The threads that connect all these to the jewels and the family tied to them are so many in number and complex in nature, that I wouldn't try to explain it even if it wouldn't spoil the book.
I didn't get as invested in the historical material as Lydia did -- but i came close, and I think most readers will, too. If for no other reason than Bill and Lydia do. There's a history professor that the pair interview for some more context that I'd love to meet again (I can't imagine how that'd happen) -- he's a fun character that's much better developed than most characters filling his role would be in detective novels.
I don't know if I've liked Lydia's mom as much as I did in this book before (or enjoyed her as much) -- it took Lydia far too long to understand what her mother was doing throughout the novel, and the growth/change it represented, but I thought it was great. I'm actually looking forward to reading about her in the next novel (I've never disliked the character, just have never been that interested in her).
Best of all, as normal, was the banter and other types of conversation between Lydia and Bill. I've said it before, I'll probably say it again, but I'd read a couple hundred pages of them just talking over tea and snacks. There was a lot unsaid between them about the months between the novels, but Rozan had them not say it in a great way -- and what they said was as good as usual.
Throw in a juicy mystery, good characters and a missing treasure? You've got yourself a winner. No surprise that I liked the ninth novel in a series I've enjoyed the previous eight in -- but that doesn't make it any less good, it just means that Rozan's consistently on target. I strongly recommended The Shanghai Moon along with its predecessors.
March 12, 2016
I actually finished this book before On the Line and forgot to save it. This is a 3 1/2. It is a powerful book, and I really enjoyed the history lesson. According to Rozan, over 22,000 refugees (many of them jews) went to Shanghai when so many other countries closed their doors. This was fascinating. I enjoyed the visit with the past and different cultures. However, my trouble with this book was that there were too many things happening, too many intricacies. I began to feel overwhelmed. I liked the characters a lot, and the kind hand Rozan used when dealing with Mao and the Red Chinese.
June 22, 2009
I loved this book for much more than the mystery plot. I totally enjoyed the atmospherics of wartime Shanghai and the descriptions of the lives of those who were there at the time. Like Lydia, I kept wanting more of Rosalie's letters. By the end, the fate of The Shanghai Moon itself was almost irrelevant to me as I was just completely involved in the lives of the many characters.
April 12, 2021
Try and tried again, but just could not finish this book.
October 28, 2018
Oddly, the book this made me think of most was Out of Left Field--because both feature a protagonist who finds herself needing to do extensive historical research to make her point, diving into archives and libraries and interviews with the remnants of the never-as-vanished-as-we-think-it-is past. Turns out I eat that stuff up like ice cream; put the word "primary source" in a novel and I am there.
The actual mystery resolution ended up being a bit too convoluted to me, one level too deep into false identities and double-crosses and lies. I didn't really care about who stole the jewelry and why, and the final gun battle was anti-climactic. But 1930s and 40s Shanghai, Asian and Jewish history entwined? Yes, please. That is Relevant To My Interests.
I will probably not read other books in the series, because my interest was in the specific case rather than the detectives. But I'm glad I read this one.
The actual mystery resolution ended up being a bit too convoluted to me, one level too deep into false identities and double-crosses and lies. I didn't really care about who stole the jewelry and why, and the final gun battle was anti-climactic. But 1930s and 40s Shanghai, Asian and Jewish history entwined? Yes, please. That is Relevant To My Interests.
I will probably not read other books in the series, because my interest was in the specific case rather than the detectives. But I'm glad I read this one.
September 23, 2017
"Through the years that day has come back at times, unbidden, as terrible moments will. I've always thought every detail engraved on my memory so deeply that I'd never forget a single sight, a single sound. But when I look closely, to try to explain it to you, events appear jumbled and confused. Sounds evade my hearing, sights are inexplicable."
Coincidentally, I have read S. J. Rozan's Shanghai Moon (2009) immediately after Patrick Modiano's After the Circus . The beautifully written passage quoted in the epigraph that comes from Ms. Rozan's mystery/crime novel could equally well belong in the "serious" work of the 2014 literary Nobel Prize winner. Ms. Rozan's book is written extremely well and transcends the usual literary limitations of the crime fiction genre. For a long time into the novel I was sure the five-star rating is inevitable. But then what I attribute to some kind of Ms. Rozan's mental hang-up took over and for the ninth time in her nine books that I have read there is a shootout scene near the end of the story. I used to be angry about the atrocious endings but now I am furious at the author for defacing her own work. Guns should have no place in this wonderful novel: they cheapen it, make it look like a run-of-the-mill crime drama, instead of something very special, a gem that it could have very well been.
This is a Lydia Chin novel (Chin and Bill Smith alternate as protagonists). After their last case together (the great Winter and Night ) Bill has been estranged from Lydia. But now he is back thus allowing the incomparable "chemistry" between the two characters to return. The story is told in two separate time frames: the current (early 2000s) and the past, 1938 - 1946, in Shanghai, China. In the current time frame Lydia is hired by a PI friend of hers who is working for a Swiss attorney specializing in recovery of assets for families of Holocaust victims. The grandchildren of a Jewish woman, Rosalie, who in 1938 escaped the intensifying German persecution in Austria and fled to Shanghai are trying to recover a valuable piece of jewelry. Rosalie is believed to have carried the famed brooch called Shanghai Moon while fleeing Austria. Other jewelry items that once belonged to Rosalie have been found in Shanghai and it is suspected that the brooch might have been brought back to the States. Lydia is hired to conduct discreet investigations in the Chinese community in New York.
Events in the 1930s - 1940s time frame are portrayed mainly via Rosalie's letters to her mother that Lydia has found on the Jewish Museum website. We accompany 18-year-old Rosalie and her younger brother as they travel on an ocean liner to Shanghai and then the story follows their first months as refugees on Chinese soil while their host country has just been invaded by Japan. Later, the civil war in China erupts and the story gets even more dramatic.
Let's make things clear: the Lydia-Bill chemistry, and the current-time criminal intrigue are completely unimportant when compared to the truly masterful portrayal of war times in Shanghai. This is first-class literature and the wonderful prose conveys the sense of the time and place. To use Lydia's words from the novel: "I felt like I'd been in Shanghai, walking beside Rosalie, for weeks." I really did.
While I can fully understand why the book won two major literary awards I am still seething about the author using a gratuitous, stupid shootout scene. She spoils her own ambitious and otherwise very successful work. Yet regardless of how much I hate the author for her moronic act, this badly damaged work still deserves very high rating.
Four stars.
Coincidentally, I have read S. J. Rozan's Shanghai Moon (2009) immediately after Patrick Modiano's After the Circus . The beautifully written passage quoted in the epigraph that comes from Ms. Rozan's mystery/crime novel could equally well belong in the "serious" work of the 2014 literary Nobel Prize winner. Ms. Rozan's book is written extremely well and transcends the usual literary limitations of the crime fiction genre. For a long time into the novel I was sure the five-star rating is inevitable. But then what I attribute to some kind of Ms. Rozan's mental hang-up took over and for the ninth time in her nine books that I have read there is a shootout scene near the end of the story. I used to be angry about the atrocious endings but now I am furious at the author for defacing her own work. Guns should have no place in this wonderful novel: they cheapen it, make it look like a run-of-the-mill crime drama, instead of something very special, a gem that it could have very well been.
This is a Lydia Chin novel (Chin and Bill Smith alternate as protagonists). After their last case together (the great Winter and Night ) Bill has been estranged from Lydia. But now he is back thus allowing the incomparable "chemistry" between the two characters to return. The story is told in two separate time frames: the current (early 2000s) and the past, 1938 - 1946, in Shanghai, China. In the current time frame Lydia is hired by a PI friend of hers who is working for a Swiss attorney specializing in recovery of assets for families of Holocaust victims. The grandchildren of a Jewish woman, Rosalie, who in 1938 escaped the intensifying German persecution in Austria and fled to Shanghai are trying to recover a valuable piece of jewelry. Rosalie is believed to have carried the famed brooch called Shanghai Moon while fleeing Austria. Other jewelry items that once belonged to Rosalie have been found in Shanghai and it is suspected that the brooch might have been brought back to the States. Lydia is hired to conduct discreet investigations in the Chinese community in New York.
Events in the 1930s - 1940s time frame are portrayed mainly via Rosalie's letters to her mother that Lydia has found on the Jewish Museum website. We accompany 18-year-old Rosalie and her younger brother as they travel on an ocean liner to Shanghai and then the story follows their first months as refugees on Chinese soil while their host country has just been invaded by Japan. Later, the civil war in China erupts and the story gets even more dramatic.
Let's make things clear: the Lydia-Bill chemistry, and the current-time criminal intrigue are completely unimportant when compared to the truly masterful portrayal of war times in Shanghai. This is first-class literature and the wonderful prose conveys the sense of the time and place. To use Lydia's words from the novel: "I felt like I'd been in Shanghai, walking beside Rosalie, for weeks." I really did.
While I can fully understand why the book won two major literary awards I am still seething about the author using a gratuitous, stupid shootout scene. She spoils her own ambitious and otherwise very successful work. Yet regardless of how much I hate the author for her moronic act, this badly damaged work still deserves very high rating.
Four stars.
August 25, 2020
I’ve been on a giant historical fiction kick lately, and getting to read a book where my favorite character delves into a case about Jewish folks in Shanghai during World War II.... right up my alley. As usual, Lydia is lovely and bright and the mystery is tightly wound but it concludes satisfyingly.
This was almost a five star book for me, but I think the modern day plot got a little bit convoluted.
This was almost a five star book for me, but I think the modern day plot got a little bit convoluted.
May 6, 2009
THE SHANGHAI MOON (PI-Lydia Chin/Bill Smith-NYC-Cont) – VG+
Rozan, S.J. – 9th in series
Minotaur Books, 2009, US Hardcover, ISBN: 9780312245566
First Sentence: “I’m back.”
PI Lydia Chin is back from a case that took her to China, but she is estranged from her friend and partner, Bill Smith. Her former mentor, Joel Pilarsky, contacts her to work on a case with him as he needs a connection to the Chinese community.
During WWII, China accepted refugees fleeing Europe. Rosalie Gilder and her brother were sent to Shanghai ahead of their parents, along with the family jewelry. Rosalie meets and marries a Chinese gentleman and in celebration a piece of jewelry is created using hundreds-of-years-old jade and diamonds from Rosalie’s mother’s necklace. That piece, known as the Shanghai Moon, disappeared after the way and is much sought by collectors.
Now jewelry, identified as belonging to Rosalie, has been found during an excavation in Shanghai, but the Moon is not among them. A lawyer specializing in Holocaust assets recovery asks for Pilarsky and Lydia’s help. After a murder, Bill rejoins with Lydia to find the necklace and the truth.
I have so missed this series. Those who have followed it know that the protagonist alternates with each book, and this was Lydia’s turn. But part of what makes the books work is the uncertainty of the relationship between the two characters and where it might, or might never, lead.
Rozen does create great characters, brings them to life. She is masterful in blending the two cultures and educating us about both.
I love Rozan’s use of dialogue and humor, particularly Lydia’s mental conversations. They add just the right touch of lightness to the story.
And this story was particularly good. There was fascinating information about the recent history of China and their taking in refugees during the war. I learned things I had never known.
I loved Rozan’s use of Rosalie’s letters and found them fascinating. The plot was so well done. It twisted direction with nearly every chapter.
All I can say is that I hope we don’t have to wait as long for the next Lydia Chin/Bill Smith book.
Rozan, S.J. – 9th in series
Minotaur Books, 2009, US Hardcover, ISBN: 9780312245566
First Sentence: “I’m back.”
PI Lydia Chin is back from a case that took her to China, but she is estranged from her friend and partner, Bill Smith. Her former mentor, Joel Pilarsky, contacts her to work on a case with him as he needs a connection to the Chinese community.
During WWII, China accepted refugees fleeing Europe. Rosalie Gilder and her brother were sent to Shanghai ahead of their parents, along with the family jewelry. Rosalie meets and marries a Chinese gentleman and in celebration a piece of jewelry is created using hundreds-of-years-old jade and diamonds from Rosalie’s mother’s necklace. That piece, known as the Shanghai Moon, disappeared after the way and is much sought by collectors.
Now jewelry, identified as belonging to Rosalie, has been found during an excavation in Shanghai, but the Moon is not among them. A lawyer specializing in Holocaust assets recovery asks for Pilarsky and Lydia’s help. After a murder, Bill rejoins with Lydia to find the necklace and the truth.
I have so missed this series. Those who have followed it know that the protagonist alternates with each book, and this was Lydia’s turn. But part of what makes the books work is the uncertainty of the relationship between the two characters and where it might, or might never, lead.
Rozen does create great characters, brings them to life. She is masterful in blending the two cultures and educating us about both.
I love Rozan’s use of dialogue and humor, particularly Lydia’s mental conversations. They add just the right touch of lightness to the story.
And this story was particularly good. There was fascinating information about the recent history of China and their taking in refugees during the war. I learned things I had never known.
I loved Rozan’s use of Rosalie’s letters and found them fascinating. The plot was so well done. It twisted direction with nearly every chapter.
All I can say is that I hope we don’t have to wait as long for the next Lydia Chin/Bill Smith book.
August 29, 2015
This is a cracking modern detective story, based in modern day Chinatown in NY, with a sparky Chinese-American heroine private investigator at its core.
What's really clever about Trail of Blood is that you effectively get two stories woven into one novel, because the trail leads back to WW2 and Shanghai. So as well as a fascinating insight into the current cultural background of the heroine, SJ Rozan has also brilliantly described the turmoil of China in the 1940s, when the Japanese invaded, Shanghai was home to refugee Jews who were escaping German oppression, and when the battle between Communists and nationalist Chinese factions was far from over.
On top of all that there's a convincing police procedural and an international hunt for missing jewellery worth millions. It might seem strange to mix and convoluted multi-generational Chinese family history with a hard-nosed, gun-toting PI, whose hopeless cousin is a wannabe triad member, but... it works. Very well.
My only complaint is that there may be one too many subplots, which means that now and then the PI, her police chum and detective partner have to pause and discuss at length what-the-heck is going on. This feels as if it's been inserted at the demand of an editor, rightly concerned that the audience might have muddled some of the Zhang, Zhang and Chen plots. It would have been neater and sharper to have streamlined the plot a little, rather than distrupt the flow of the action with chapters of exposition.
However, that's the only thing which stopped this being a 5-start review. I'm delighted to have found SJ Rozan and her characters, and will definitely look out for others in the series. (By the way, this certainly doesn't read as if it's the first book in a series, but it doesn't matter if you start here. The main characters are very well defined and it's easy to pick up what's been goign on with their back story).
Recommended. 8/10
What's really clever about Trail of Blood is that you effectively get two stories woven into one novel, because the trail leads back to WW2 and Shanghai. So as well as a fascinating insight into the current cultural background of the heroine, SJ Rozan has also brilliantly described the turmoil of China in the 1940s, when the Japanese invaded, Shanghai was home to refugee Jews who were escaping German oppression, and when the battle between Communists and nationalist Chinese factions was far from over.
On top of all that there's a convincing police procedural and an international hunt for missing jewellery worth millions. It might seem strange to mix and convoluted multi-generational Chinese family history with a hard-nosed, gun-toting PI, whose hopeless cousin is a wannabe triad member, but... it works. Very well.
My only complaint is that there may be one too many subplots, which means that now and then the PI, her police chum and detective partner have to pause and discuss at length what-the-heck is going on. This feels as if it's been inserted at the demand of an editor, rightly concerned that the audience might have muddled some of the Zhang, Zhang and Chen plots. It would have been neater and sharper to have streamlined the plot a little, rather than distrupt the flow of the action with chapters of exposition.
However, that's the only thing which stopped this being a 5-start review. I'm delighted to have found SJ Rozan and her characters, and will definitely look out for others in the series. (By the way, this certainly doesn't read as if it's the first book in a series, but it doesn't matter if you start here. The main characters are very well defined and it's easy to pick up what's been goign on with their back story).
Recommended. 8/10
January 5, 2017
You will find yourself swept away to war torn China by way of New York's own Chinatown and a beautiful mystery spanning generations. The setting is one I've never read about - Shanghai and the Japanese internment camps in China. The plot totally drew you in. I found it interesting to learn about the 20K European Jews who emigrated to Shanghai before or during WWII. The reading of the found "letters" brought the times and people to life. It has enough twist, turns, and surprises to keep you hanging on till the last word is spoken. The writing is amazing, and beautiful, and the story telling is engaging. It will leave you with a lump in your throat.
This is the best read/listen I have had in some time.
This is the best read/listen I have had in some time.
October 14, 2016
Most of the way through I liked this book. It's Lydia-and-almost-partner Bill, the NY PI team on the hunt for a piece of jewelry missing from the extended family of an Austrian Jewish refugee and her Chinese husband, his sister/husband/stepson/biological sun, her brother and son, maybe a German soldier as it plays out from the 1940s to present day.
Quite a dose of history, regarding Jews who flee to Shanghai, and the family tale and origin of this piece of jewelry being played out over the course of letters and a diary.
By the end, I felt let down by the explanations, perhaps because by that time I couldn't keep character names straight as well as their familial positions....It just seemed anti-climatic....
Quite a dose of history, regarding Jews who flee to Shanghai, and the family tale and origin of this piece of jewelry being played out over the course of letters and a diary.
By the end, I felt let down by the explanations, perhaps because by that time I couldn't keep character names straight as well as their familial positions....It just seemed anti-climatic....
December 23, 2015
I have been trying to save these last few books from this series, as it's one I really enjoy...but now I've finished this one (which I enjoyed very much!) I'm down to the last two left. (At least, one assumes so...the last one was published in 2011.) Loved the historical aspect of this one, going back to Shanghai before and during WWII; not only did I enjoy the story behind a mysterious brooch dubbed The Shanghai Moon, I learned plenty about Shanghai's history during that time. Throw in the wonderful main characters (Lydia Chin and Bill Smith, private detectives in New York City) and you've got an excellent book.
March 28, 2016
People's need "to believe something glorious could exist outside the despair and horrors of wartime Shanghai" threads its way through this fascinating and distressing story, a story of refugees, of families and of grasping at hope in wartime. Rosalie's letters were the most page-turning part for me, as I got a little confused among the characters as the mystery and the search and the detecting swirled in eddies of a deep past. But the whole is memorable and I shelve it in good company, with Isiguro's When We Were Orphans and Ballard's Empire of the Sun and Bodard's Monsieur le Consul.
October 3, 2016
This was, I think, the second of this series I have read. Thought it was excellent with a story in the present and a more complex one from the past gradually being revealed as the novel went on.
The historical information was interesting. I had no idea that thousands of Jewish refugees ended up in Shanghai before the war nor that the political situation in China was so complex at the time.
The technique of revealing much by letters written by the young refugee Rosalie to her mother, who she never saw again, was very well done and moving. Can definitely recommend this one.
The historical information was interesting. I had no idea that thousands of Jewish refugees ended up in Shanghai before the war nor that the political situation in China was so complex at the time.
The technique of revealing much by letters written by the young refugee Rosalie to her mother, who she never saw again, was very well done and moving. Can definitely recommend this one.
April 18, 2009
Rozan does a terrific job of returning to a good series after a 7-year hiatus. I often have trouble with a lapse of more than a year between installments, but this book could read as a stand-alone for those who'd find the premise interesting, but had not heard of Lydia Chin until now.
I hesitated giving four stars as the ending dragged for me.
I hesitated giving four stars as the ending dragged for me.
August 15, 2019
This and Reflecting the Sky are my 2 favorites in the series.
I loved the historical background of the Jewish diaspora & war ravaged Shanghai. Rosalie's story brought me to tears.
Good to see Bill mending his relationship with Lydia.
I loved the historical background of the Jewish diaspora & war ravaged Shanghai. Rosalie's story brought me to tears.
Good to see Bill mending his relationship with Lydia.
March 20, 2022
I love a mystery that delves into the past in order to be solved in the present! This one stems back to when Jewish immigrants from WWII Germany took refuge in Shanghai. I found both the stories from the past & the action in the present riveting. So good!
November 3, 2019
#9 in the P.I. Bill Smith and Chinese-American private investigator Lydia Chin mystery series set in NYC’s Chinatown area.
Chinese private investigator Lydia Chin is brought into a case by her former mentor who was hired by a lawyer specializing in the recovery of Holocaust assets regarding a cache of European jewelry dating back to World War II recently found in Shanghai and stolen by an official who flees to NYC’s Chinatown. It is not long before her mentor is murdered with Chen and Smith first seeking the murderer and then becoming involved with the descendants of the jewelry’s original owner, learning the history of the family and the time in Shanghai in the period 1938 to the end of WWII. Chin is drawn deeply into the family history and discovery the mystical “Shanghai Moon” which beloved to the family’s mother. Along the way, she helped to both contribute significantly to the NYCPD’s investigative efforts as well as frequently disrupting them.
Chinese private investigator Lydia Chin is brought into a case by her former mentor who was hired by a lawyer specializing in the recovery of Holocaust assets regarding a cache of European jewelry dating back to World War II recently found in Shanghai and stolen by an official who flees to NYC’s Chinatown. It is not long before her mentor is murdered with Chen and Smith first seeking the murderer and then becoming involved with the descendants of the jewelry’s original owner, learning the history of the family and the time in Shanghai in the period 1938 to the end of WWII. Chin is drawn deeply into the family history and discovery the mystical “Shanghai Moon” which beloved to the family’s mother. Along the way, she helped to both contribute significantly to the NYCPD’s investigative efforts as well as frequently disrupting them.
July 31, 2017
I was worried about reading a Lydia Chin mystery out of order, having only read the first of the series many years before. I needn't have been, this book stands alone quite well. It was fascinating to learn about European refugees from Nazi territories immigrating to Shanghai (one for the very few countries open to them) The story was engrossing and the ending satisfying. I listened to the audio book version and was surprised that the narrator wasn't given phonetic pronunciations of Yiddish and Hebrew words. At one point a character kept referring to someone as Zade (one syllable) and it finally dawned on me that she was referring to Zayde (two syllables with a hard 'e' at the end), Yiddish for grandfather. A few other words were also incorrectly spoken. That detracted a bit and the audio book editors should have caught it. I recommend this book but maybe only in written form.
April 3, 2024
2.5~
This was a fun story and although it was the 9th book, since it's a mystery series you don't really need to read the previous ones. I liked the characters I thought they were fun and a fun duo. It was the writing style that I didn't really enjoy, the long winded writing that tells you in depth about every little detail and I don't mind it when the story is REALLY good, it just isn't my favorite. I also don't think the mystery itself was super interesting either.
The BIG point for a lot of my dis-enjoyment was I listened on audio (I don't think I would have read this any other way) and the narrator was just not it😭 they would do voices for every different character which I tend to enjoy but it was just a different attitude in the same high pitched voice that by the end of the story I didn't care and needed it all to end lmao
This was a fun story and although it was the 9th book, since it's a mystery series you don't really need to read the previous ones. I liked the characters I thought they were fun and a fun duo. It was the writing style that I didn't really enjoy, the long winded writing that tells you in depth about every little detail and I don't mind it when the story is REALLY good, it just isn't my favorite. I also don't think the mystery itself was super interesting either.
The BIG point for a lot of my dis-enjoyment was I listened on audio (I don't think I would have read this any other way) and the narrator was just not it😭 they would do voices for every different character which I tend to enjoy but it was just a different attitude in the same high pitched voice that by the end of the story I didn't care and needed it all to end lmao
August 28, 2024
I have enjoyed these stories about 2 Private Eyes in NYC. One is a big white typical Hard boiled middle aged Gumshoe named Bill Smith (in private a closet classical pianist living on Laight St, NYC in the Tribeka neighborhood) and his sometime partner Lydia Chin (a petite American-Chinese black belt in Tae Kwon Do who lives with her mother in Chinatown).
Ms Rozan alternates her novels between first person Lydia and first person Bill Smith. This story features Lydia as the narrator and concerns the search for a valued gem worth $1 M named the "Shanhai Moon" which was created in Shanghai, China during the WWii Japanese occupation. Rosalie Gilda, a German Jewess emigrated to Shanghai in 1937. During this year 20,000 Jews from Germany emigrated to Shanghai to escape the Nazis. She meets and marries a well to do Chinese gentleman who between them put their family gems together to create the famous "Shanghai Moon" Brouche.
Lydia and Bill become involved and find themselves on a hunt for the gem as well as the murderers of one of Lydia's mentors as well as other murders concerning this thrilling mystery.
Ms Rozan alternates her novels between first person Lydia and first person Bill Smith. This story features Lydia as the narrator and concerns the search for a valued gem worth $1 M named the "Shanhai Moon" which was created in Shanghai, China during the WWii Japanese occupation. Rosalie Gilda, a German Jewess emigrated to Shanghai in 1937. During this year 20,000 Jews from Germany emigrated to Shanghai to escape the Nazis. She meets and marries a well to do Chinese gentleman who between them put their family gems together to create the famous "Shanghai Moon" Brouche.
Lydia and Bill become involved and find themselves on a hunt for the gem as well as the murderers of one of Lydia's mentors as well as other murders concerning this thrilling mystery.
August 20, 2019
I was mildly interested in the plot, but there was too much sloppy writing for me to want to finish this book. A good detective novel needs at least a layer of plausibility, and this book didn't provide enough of that for me to suspend my disbelief. The lead detective keeps stumbling upon shocking revelations that she could have easily discovered herself if she had bothered to search public records. And there's no way for me to imagine that the "letters" Rozan includes were actually written as letters rather than chapters in a novel. I've read 19th-century letters. They don't contain nearly that much dialogue.
December 27, 2017
Pretty much everything I want in a detective story - historical information, complex female characters, banter, a plot that sucks you in. From time to time, the coincidences are a little forced (she and her partner magically speak the two languages they need to translate from?) but I enjoyed it. Not being Chinese, I don't know if I would find some of the descriptions a little trite or forced - it felt a bit dodgy for her friend to call her Chinksy.
March 25, 2018
A hard-boiled noir detective series acts as a portal to another world and the search for a fabled lost jewel in this tale of love and loss is the perfect metaphor. Cultural upheaval, intergenerational tensions and international policing provide a few contemporary twists to the tale. Strong women, PI Chin, her childhood friend turned police detective and Chin's mother, are the counterweight to cast of stock genre characters.
November 29, 2019
Imagine my delight when I realized that S.J. Rozan had a Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Novel out there that I hadn't read! I have no idea how I missed it, but it's been a real treat to read. If you've read any of this series, there isn't anything I can tell you. There is a real mystery here. The characters are wonderful, especially Lydia's mother and her cousin, Armpit.
If you haven't read this one, enjoy!
If you haven't read this one, enjoy!
February 4, 2020
Lydia is hired to find the Shanghai Moon, a broach that rumor says is worth millions. She is joined by Bill, who is finally back from a long break. The man that hired Lydia is killed, and she is devastated. He was her friend and mentor. I learn a lot from these books, a lot of Chinese customs and beliefs. I did not know that Shanghi took in Jewish refugees when every other place was refusing them.
March 26, 2024
Such a great book with lots of twists and turns. It takes place both in Chinatown, NY and Shanghai. The Shanghai Moon was "lost" in Shanghai during the revolution when Jews were sent to Shanghai and refugees were sent to encampments. Where is the jewel now? So many leads for the Private Investigator, Lydia Chin - and lots of history to be learned. It definitely kept me on my toes following each of the storylines that were part of the book. A great read.
June 22, 2018
I don't tend naturally to mystery, but thoroughly enjoy a well-written story with intriguing characters, complexity, and authenticity. With the WWII history woven throughout this puzzler I couldn't resist the recommendation of a reliable friend. I haven't read any of the other Lydia Chin mysteries, but plan to do so now.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews