The Most Southern Place on Earth: that’s what they call the Mississippi Delta. It’s not a place Lydia Chin, an American-born Chinese private detective from Chinatown, NYC, ever thought she’d have reason to go. But when her mother tells her a cousin Lydia didn’t know she had is in jail in Clarksdale, Mississippi―and that Lydia has to rush down south and get him out―Lydia finds herself rolling down Highway 61 with Bill Smith, her partner, behind the wheel.
Rozan’s remote Coahoma County is as atmospheric as her New York City, and the Chinese-American traditions of 'paper sons' (Chinese who immigrated to the U.S. with fraudulent papers) and their shopkeeping history in the South are craftily revealed in her trademark elegant prose. This new title in an award-winning and critically acclaimed series will be welcomed by fans. And what will they make of the big surprise in the final chapter?
... outstanding ... Rozan's intricate plotting and affinity for characterization is seamless, making the reader remember how much we missed spending time with these private detectives. Rozan uses the historical footnote of Chinese grocers as a springboard for a rich, deeply satisfying mystery.
... the twists and turns mean that nothing is what the reader expects—and the ending is a shock ... I loved the history in this book, and I learned quite a bit ... But my favorite part of this book is its message. At its heart, this is a book about family, both near and far. For the Chinese—and the people in Mississippi—family is all-important. Family ties prove to be the critical piece of the puzzle.
