Ghost Hero: S. J. Rozan

Macmillan describes the Bill Smith/Lydia Chin novels as:

Bill Smith is a 40-something white private investigator who lives in Manhattan; Lydia Chin is a late 20-something American Born Chinese private investigator who lives with her mother in New York’s Chinatown.  They are occasionally professional partners on a case, with complicated (and mostly separate) private lives.  A critically acclaimed, award-winning series, which has won nearly all the major crime fiction awards (the Edgar, the Anthony, the Shamus, the Nero, the Macavity, and the Barry).

The element that I have always liked about this series is that the narrator of the books alternates. The first book was narrated by Lydia Chin; the second book was narrated by Bill Smith; and so on. With that approach, each book reveals more about the personality and the backstory of the two protagonists.

Ghost Hero is told from Lydia's point of view and adds a new investigator to the mix: Jack Lee: art expert, and, like Lydia, American Born Chinese. Lydia has been asked to investigate the reported sighting of new paintings by Ghost Hero Chau, talented and celebrated ink painter. However, Chau has been dead for twenty years, killed in the 1989 Tianamen Square uprising. Jack Lee has been approached by someone else to find out about the rumors that have been spread.

I like this series a lots, yet this book was a disappointment for me. It is much more light-hearted in tone than previous books, and the relationship between Bill and Lydia is almost totally overshadowed by the inclusion of a new PI in the mix. Such a big change in tone and direction threw me out of the story from time to time. Many other reviewers noticed this, although some reviewers liked the changes much more than I. 

There was a lot of dialogue, when Bill, Lydia, and Jack get together to discuss the case, and when one or more of them is gathering information from various sources. Realistic but not my favorite story telling technique. One reviewer commented on the witty dialogue. Another found the dialogue to remind them of teenagers, and I agree. Thus, this novel is a great example of the enjoyment depending on the audience.

The story gives us a picture of the art scene in New York's Chinatown and the politics involved. That aspect of the story was very interesting. Publishers Weekly gave Ghost Hero a starred review, and says: "Engaging characters, crisp dialogue, intelligent storytelling, and a minimum of violence add up to another winner for Rozan."

I also recommend the earlier books in the series. The eighth book in the series, Winter and Night, was published in 2002 and won the 2003 Edgar Award for Best Novel. I recommend reading them in order because of the character development, but others say to just jump in anywhere. That is particularly true of the last three in the series, The Shanghai Moon (2009), On the Line (2010) , and this one. Each of those could stand alone.

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Publisher:  Minotaur Books, 2011.
Length:      325 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Series:       Lydia Chin / Bill Smith, #11
Setting:      Chinatown, New York
Genre:       Mystery
Source:      I purchased my copy.