P.I. Miranda Corbie literally trips over the body of Eddie Takahashi as she's walking home during San Francisco's Rice Bowl Party Celebration of 1940. It's Chinese New Year. The streets are crowded. No one sees a thing. The Chamber of Commerce wants the murder to go away and the cops are good with that, but Miranda wants the truth and she puts one foot in front of the other until she's covered the entire city looking for answers.
I'd say that CITY OF DRAGONS reminded me of 1940's film noir, except that instead of the dreamlike black and white noir shadows, everything about the novel is in living color. You can almost experience Stanley's world with all five senses. Her re-creation of the time and place -- 1940 San Francisco's Chinatown -- couldn't feel any more authentic. It's her details that draw you in, but her story keeps you turning the pages until the ending that slowly and cleverly takes you by surprise. If you've read a better mystery lately, I need to know the name of it.
CITY OF DRAGONS is outstanding! Miranda is one tough cookie; I can't wait to read more about her and her city by the Bay.
February, 1940. In San Francisco's Chinatown,
fireworks explode as the city celebrates Chinese New Year
with a Rice Bowl Party, a three day-and-night carnival
designed to raise money and support for China war relief.
Miranda Corbie is a 33-year-old private investigator who
stumbles upon the fatally shot body of Eddie Takahashi.Β The
Chamber of Commerce wants it covered up. The cops acquiesce.
All Miranda wants is justice--whatever it costs. From
Chinatown tenements, to a tattered tailor's shop in Little
Osaka, to a high-class bordello draped in Southern Gothic,
she shakes down the city--her city--seeking the truth. An
outstanding series debut.
No excerpt available.
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