Book Review: Reflecting the Sky

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Reflecting the Sky     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
S. J. Rozan
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Private Investigator
Series: Lydia Chin / Bill Smith # 7
St. Martin's, Feb 2001, $24.95, 304 pp.

Chinese-American Lydia Chin and Bill Smith are now official partners in a private investigation business. Lydia's honorary grandfather Gao, an herb shop owner in Chinatown asks her to perform some tasks in Hong Kong for him. She agrees, taking Bill with her, to deliver a package containing a jade statue to the grandson of a deceased friend, Wei Yao Shin.

The easy assignment turns difficult almost from the onset of their arrival in Hong Kong. Someone kidnaps Harry, the intended recipient of the delivery, but Lydia and Bill have no idea who or why since several diverse groups claim responsibility. The jade piece turns out not to be the one that belonged to Wei. As the American sleuths try to find and return Harry safely home; they risk their own lives in the process.

S.J. Rozan is one of the best writers of hard-boiled private eye novel as proven with her latest, REFLECTIONS IN THE SKY. The tale includes several red herrings that take the reader down false trails leaving everyone clueless as to who the kidnappers are. Hong Kong is vividly described as a beautifully strange hybrid mix of Eastern and Western cultures that leads to the reader wanting to visit the island. The award winning Ms. Rozan, in her seventh Chin-Smith mystery, provides her fans with another powerfully taut thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner

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