Chinaman’s Chance: A Novel
By: Thomas, Ross
Lines in the first paragraph pull you into a story that never follows a straight line: “The pretender to the Emperor’s throne was a fat thirty-seven year old Chinaman called Artie Wu who always jogged along Malibu beach right after dawn even in the summer. It was while jogging along the beach just east of the Paradise Cove Pier that Artie Wu tripped over a dead pelican, fell and met the man with six greyhounds.” This book is about the ultimate con. You’re never sure until the very end who is actually being conned and why.
This is a character driven story and there are is an amazing list of characters from Otherguy Overby, to the folk singing trio of Ivory, Lace and Silk, though a former CIA agent who’s gone out on his own, to big time record producer and the head of a criminal syndicate.
Reviewer: Susan Ardis
