I am a big fan of S. J. Rozan's Lydia Chin and Bill Smith series. I started reading the books in the series in 2008 and by the middle of 2009 I had read all the books available at that time. Since then I have read all the books in the series. This is the latest book in the series, which now consists of 15 books.
The two main characters in the series are Bill Smith and Lydia Chin. Bill is a white private investigator in his forties who lives in Manhattan; Lydia is an American-born Chinese private investigator in her late twenties who lives in New York’s Chinatown with her mother. They are not partners but they often work together on cases. The element that I have always liked about this series is that the narrator of the books alternates between Lydia and Bill. The first book was narrated by Lydia; the second book was narrated by Bill; and so on.
Most of the books narrated by Lydia are set in Chinatown. Bill's stories are usually set in other part of New York City.
Summary of The Mayors of New York from Simon and Schuster:
In January, New York City inaugurates its first female mayor. In April, her son disappears.
Called in by the mayor's chief aide—a former girlfriend of private investigator Bill Smith’s—to find the missing fifteen-year-old, Bill and his partner, Lydia Chin, are told the boy has run away. Neither the press nor the NYPD know that he’s missing, and the mayor wants him back before a headstrong child turns into a political catastrophe. But as Bill and Lydia investigate, they turn up more questions than answers.
Why did the boy leave? Who else is searching for him, and why? What is his twin sister hiding?
My thoughts:
The series is still going strong after 15 books. If anything, the stories are getting better and better. The pacing and tension in this story is very well-done.
The characterization is very strong. Lydia and Bill each have their own opinions and strengths; neither fits the stereotype of a private eye. I like the relationship that has grown between the two over the series.
Also, the secondary characters come alive in this book. There is Aubrey Hamilton, also known as "Bree," the mayor's assistant. At one time she had a relationship with Bill, which ended badly, and she is the one that recommended him to the mayor. They are constantly sparring in this story. The mayor’s son is an appealing character, even though he isn't on the page a lot, since the point is to find him. The twin sister of the missing boy is a real pain, very snarky and dismissive, but concerned about her brother.
The New York setting is very well done. In this story, the focus is not on Chinatown. This book features many other neighborhoods in NYC, as Lydia and Bill search the city for information about the missing teenager.
The series does not have to be read in order. I did, and I loved the early books in the series, but many readers stress that this book is a perfect jumping in point, and there are few (if any) references to earlier cases in the books.
8 comments:
I like this series, too, Tracy. I admit I've not read all the books in it, but it is a good series, isn't it? I like the different perspectives in the series, and the different parts of New York that are explored. And Lydia and Bill are fine characters. What's not to like?
This is a new author/series to me. I've not read a lot of private eye series, so maybe I should look into this one at some point. (like I don't have a million other books on my wishlist/TBR!) Probably the most notable series I read was Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series. I've still not read Y and was sad when she died and knew there'd never be a Z.
Margot, This one of the few series I have read all the way through, and I plan to keep on going as long as she writes the books. I think Lydia and Bill are great partners, when they work together.
Kelly, if you ever have a chance to read one of the books in this series, I hope you enjoy them. I can understand have a huge backlog of books you want to read.
I have only read the first 5 or 6 of the Sue Grafton series, although she lived in Santa Barbara (and Kentucky) as an adult and the series is set in Santa Teresa, a fictionalized version of Santa Barbara. I was unaware (or forgot) that she died in Santa Barbara. I have the next four books in her series; I should read one in the next few months.
Tracy, I have meant to try this series for a long, long time. Noticed that you commented to Margot that this is one of the series you have read all the books. That's a great recommendation! As you know, I like to do the 'series in order' thing. I'm going to put it on my list for 2025 and definitely plan to try book #1 (and beyond, I hope - ha!).
Kay, it is good to hear from you. I do hope you give the Lydia Chin and Bill Smith series a try, and starting from the beginning is good because I enjoyed the early books in the series. Of course that was 15 years ago or more, before I was blogging.
I was delighted to win a character name in one of S.J.'s books and pleased to see how prominent the character is. I love the series anyway.
Aubrey, I had heard about your winning the character name (at Lesa's blog, I think, and in your review at Kevin's blog) but it slipped my mind. I have had a hard time concentrating when writing reviews lately.
The Aubrey Hamilton character in the book is indeed a prominent one, and well-drawn. I will add a link to your review. S.J. Rozan's series is one of my favorites and the characters are always good.
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