Paper Son

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What to expect

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, New York City, 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?

Critics Review

“S. J. Rozan paints with the full palette of the human heart, using depth, detail, and nuance of character that I haven’t seen since Raymond Chandler.”

Robert Crais, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Once again, S. J. Rozan proves why she is the consummate pro.”

Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author

“Outstanding.”

Associated Press

“The twists and turns mean that nothing is what the reader expects—and the ending is a shock.”

Criminal Element

“Narrator Emily Woo Zeller masterfully voices New York Chinese and Mississippi Delta Chinese, as well as Southern black and Caucasian characters…Zeller’s talent as a narrator shines from the start with her performance of Chin’s stern, disapproving, yet loving mother. The history of the Chinese community in the Delta is fascinating and deftly delivered. Listeners new to the series will be able to quickly pick up on the characters. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

AudioFile

“The term paper son refers to Chinese immigrants who came to the US after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882…Rozan skillfully weaves this history into her narrative, adding texture and nuance to what is already a cracking good mystery.”

BookPage (starred review)

“Stellar…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

“Rozan’s detective stories have won every prize in the book, so expect mystery lovers to flock to this one.”

Library Journal

“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

“A transcendent novel…Rozan’s soaring imagination is breathtaking.”

Jeffrey Deaver, New York Times bestselling author

“S. J. Rozan has written the book she was meant to write, and that only she could write. A remarkable achievement from a fine writer.”

Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author

“S. J. Rozan can write sentences that make my jaw literally drop. She’s as good a prose stylist as I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

Denis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author

“Old secrets, racial tensions, the ultimate meaning of famil—Rozan weaves these threads together in a compelling narrative with her characteristic moxie and humor. Read this now.”

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, author of Sarong Party Girls

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