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Paper Son: Book summary and reviews of Paper Son by S. J. Rozan

Paper Son

A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Novel

by S. J. Rozan

Paper Son by S. J. Rozan X
Paper Son by S. J. Rozan
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  • Published Jul 2019
    352 pages
    Genre: Mysteries

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Book Summary

The latest Lydia Chin/Bill Smith mystery takes the acclaimed detective duo into the Deep South to investigate a murder within the Chinese community.

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.

From the river levees to the refinement of Oxford, from old cotton gins to new computer scams, Lydia soon finds that nothing in Mississippi is as she expected it to be. Including her cousin's legal troubles―or possibly even his innocence. Can she uncover the truth in a place more foreign to her than any she's ever seen?

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"As usual, Rozan is adept at devising a plausible but intricate mystery for her leads...Her superior prose and characterizations will make even newcomers hope for a shorter wait for the next book in the series." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"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?" - Booklist (starred review)

"A triumphant return of this sorely missed franchise." - Kirkus Reviews

"Once again, S. J. Rozan proves why she is the consummate pro. Not only is Paper Son one hell of a detective book, the story also takes on a hidden gem of Southern culture―Chinese history in the Mississippi Delta. Rozan continues to entertain with this wonderful series by taking us deep into the most unexpected and fascinating worlds. I have no doubt she's walked these Mississippi backroads." - Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Sinners and Robert B. Parker's Old Black Magic

"S.J. Rozan writes with verve and humor while avoiding the usual cliches outsiders often succumb to. She even gets the dialect and speech patterns right!" - Margaret Maron, awardwinning author of the Deborah Knott and Sigrid Harald mystery series

"Blood and the blues are cooking down on the Delta in the triumphant return of Lydia Chin and Bill Smith. Rozan's Paper Son is crawfish pie full of surprises served up by this master of the PI genre." - Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of What You Break

"It's been long since we've entered the world of Lydia Chin and Bill Smith, and Paper Son doesn't disappoint... Filled with twists, turns, and sudden surprises, Paper Son is highly recommended." - Brendan DuBois, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author

"Old secrets, racial tensions, the ultimate meaning of family―Rozan weaves these threads together in a compelling narrative with her characteristic moxie and humor. Read this now." - Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, author of the international bestselling novel Sarong Party Girls

This information about Paper Son was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

S. J. Rozan Author Biography

SJ Rozan's real name is Shira Judith Rosan. She is a native New Yorker, is the author of eighteen novels and six dozen short stories. Her work has won the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, and Macavity awards for Best Novel and the Edgar for Best Short Story. She's also the recipient of the Japanese Maltese Falcon Award and recently received the Life Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America. Bronx Noir, a short story anthology SJ edited, was chosen NAIBA "Notable Book of the Year." She also co-edited, with Jonathan Santlofer, the anthology Dark End of the Street. Spring 2022 will see Crime Hits Home, the Mystery Writers of America anthology, edited by SJ,

SJ has served on the National Boards of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and is ex-President of the ...

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