Ghost Hero: (Bill Smith/Lydia Chin) (Bill Smith / Lydia Chin)

---

The books alternate narrators between Chin and Smith. This volume is narrated by Lydia Chin. This is a very relaxed detective story, with little physical violence and just an occasional gunshot or two. The mystery centers on contemporary Chinese paintings - but just exactly how contemporary? The artist reportedly died in Tiananmen Square during the political protests. But now there are rumors of valuable paintings by the artist surfacing. It seems like everyone wants the paintings but nobody knows where to look.

Are they real and, if so, are they just coming to light, or are they new? There is more broad humor than in most of the series. Bill pretends to be a Russian gangster, an imitation that convinces everybody despite Bill's occasional slide into Jewish dialect humor: Vat you tell me, eet's our leetle secret.

The material about Chinese art is fascinating. I even enjoyed the descriptions of the work of Pang Ping-Pong: Tiered pagodas, terraced rice fields, moon-gated gardens, the slithering Great Wall.

Busy folks swarmed everywhere, numerous as insects. Only when I looked closely I saw these weren't people. They were American cartoon characters. Mickey Mouse in his white gloves, harvesting rice. Donald Duck, along with Daisy, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and an army of shirted and pantless water birds strolled the wall.

Yosemite Sam inspected the terra-cotta warriors. Outside the Temple of Heaven the Simpsons posed for a family photograph. Said Bill the pseudo-Russian, "Thees ees crep. May 10, Ronald Wise rated it liked it. This was my introduction to Lydia Chin and Bill Smith, as they worked their eleventh documented case. And as is common when an outsider becomes privy to the conversation of a well-established duo, following their banter was initially confusing, but as I got to know them better I learned to enjoy their friendly sparring. Keeping track of the players in this mystery — with all their alternate identities and motivations — challenged my ability to comprehend the action and final resolution.

My habit This was my introduction to Lydia Chin and Bill Smith, as they worked their eleventh documented case. My habit of keeping reading notes proved valuable. In terms of geopolitical posturing, the influence of organized crime, and the secrets of those in power, current real-world developments and suspicions have almost made the issues that surfaced in this case seem insignificant.

Oh, the good old days Jun 03, Chris Eirschele rated it really liked it.

Ghost Hero by S. Rozan is a crime private investigator fiction. They live and work in the New York area. Ghost Hero revolves around Chinese art and the painters' world, and long lost art from the days of the Tiananmen Square protests. The characters and places are authentic feeling and the author does take characters out of their comfort zones.

I really enjoyed this book, and I used an AudioGO.

See a Problem?

I really enjoyed the story. Very different from the ones I have listened to in the past. Takes place in NYC and has intrigue and excitement. The story was excellent. As I said Emily Woo Zeller did a fantastic job on the performing but in the beginning she spoke so fast and at the end I found she again spoke very fast. The accents were great. The story was fun. All together, definitely, I will be listening to more! Feb 11, Sylvia rated it it was ok Shelves: The very last scene was great, but I don't feel it was worth slog that was the last third of the novel.

Also I'm slightly disappointed that they pronounced the names in Mandarin even though Lydia is supposed to be Cantonese. Jan 06, Carol rated it really liked it. Lydia Chin and Bill Smith, this was 11 in the series. They are hired to find out about a rumor of some new paintings by Ghost Hero, Chau Chun. Together with Jack Lee, a friend of Bill's they travel about New York's art galleries drinking tea and meeting interesting people. Jan 02, Cathy rated it really liked it Shelves: Loved the kooky characters.

An Asian sleuth set in Chinatown is different and interesting. I'd loved a short story by S. Rozan and I should have looked for her novels sooner. Aug 27, Saffron Garey rated it really liked it. Is this the last we'll see of Lydia and Bill?

Ghost Hero

I need to track down the short stories now. Oct 25, Kathy rated it liked it Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Chinese politics — past and present; Characters: Jeff Dunbar aka State Dept: Chau Chun aka Ghost Hero aka Dr. A political artist — mostly ink — drew pictures and wrote poems to protest Chinese dictators — voice of the commoner, at Tenemein Square 30 years ago and thought to have died.

His paintings and art worth a lot of money… Dr. Yang; hired by Dr. Yang, university professor, and his daughter is a budding artist. Lydia figures out Yang is Chau… At first, I thought the audio narration was bringing down the quality of the book "ruining" is a bit dramatic , but later I realized that Zeller's reading made a flawed story harder to take. For those unfamiliar with the series, the author took several years off before returning a year ago with On the Line , featuring Bill Smith's frantic search for a kidnapped Lydia.

I enjoyed that one just fine - William Dufris did a terrific job with the audio. Rozan alternates her protagonists' point-of-view At first, I thought the audio narration was bringing down the quality of the book "ruining" is a bit dramatic , but later I realized that Zeller's reading made a flawed story harder to take.

Rozan alternates her protagonists' point-of-view in each book, so this was her return to writing as Lydia. I wish I could say it worked as well as Bill did, but sadly no. Instead, we got a lot of snappy banter during a Nancy Drew-style investigation, featuring much running around the City, to galleries, artists' studios, an art professor's office, Lydia's office, their new temporary?

Very little actually happens here. At no point was I ever convinced anyone was in any danger - it was all about the mystery of the paintings - were they "real" or a fraud? Things did turn nasty at the end, though that wasn't so much violence, as let's say But, Lydia and her gang save the day by the last page. Here's where the narration affected my perception - Lydia should be around 30 or so by now, and Bill a good 10 years older. Instead, she came off as barely old enough to have graduated from university, and Bill the same age, if not younger.

He spends much of the first part of the book in character as a Russian gangster, and when he's being himself I thought he was on loan from Archie Comics, with a squeaky "Gee, Willikers! Lydia, besides sounding very young, seemed too wise-cracky. So much so that near the end when that happened, I stopped and thought about whether that line was really intended or implied as being that way; it was the narrator's slant. A new character, Jack the fellow investigator, features heavily, more so than Bill, who's often offstage.

Jack's been hired by someone else to look for the same information that Lydia's client wants, so they cross paths early on. I wondered if he'd been intended to start a love triangle with Lydia and Bill. I also wondered if he were as heterosexual as implied. And, oh yeah, Lydia's mother is still bigoted about white, old Bill I give the book a third star because it's possible that the print version might have been less annoying. Zeller is actually a good reader, if a poor fit for this story her native Chinese pronunciation and accents aside.

Get A Copy

May 02, Kia rated it liked it Shelves: Lydia and Bill are back. This story is a nice combo of Lydia and Bill, in a Lydia centered story. I'm not trying to spoil it for you, so my review will only touch on some stuff you may want to learn as you read the book. If you don't mind learning a few things but not the ultimate conclusion outside of the book read on: The interplay between the three of them is nice, Lydia and Bill are back. The interplay between the three of them is nice, I hope to see more of Jack as the series progresses, but with a specialty in Chinese art, I don't know if that is possible.

His paintings caused lots of problems to the PRC and they were glad to declare him gone and no longer an issue. The scrum is on, there are multiple people from multiple sides looking for them. There are art experts, artists - paper, paint, sculpture - and dealers looking for the pieces as well. He's of course preferable to Bill in her mind. The world of art is touched on but you won't be out of your depth with this book, Rozan does a fine job of describing the art and the skill it takes to create it without boring the non-artistically inclined.

I sort of knew whether or not Chau was alive about mid-way through the book but the actual revelation doesn't occur until the last three or four pages. I know precious little about it so it's nice to learn a little here and there. Oct 15, Kelly Knapp rated it really liked it Recommends it for: This is my first taste of S. I was impressed with Ghost Hero. The protagonist, Lydia Chin is an in-depth fully developed Chinese —American private detective character.

These characters will use whatever means necessary, including a little lying, cheating, and blackmail to solve their cases and do right by their clients. In this, Rozan's eleventh novel about Chin, she has apparently g This is my first taste of S. In this, Rozan's eleventh novel about Chin, she has apparently given her P. Instead of the usual cheating spouse or finding an embezzler, she has been asked find out about the rumours surrounding some new artwork by a well-known, dissident artist, named Chau.

She and her partner, Bill Smith, know nothing about art. However, Bill knows just the right man who can handle that end of the search, Jack Lee — a second generation Chinese-American. Where Chin and Smith are old-school play it hard PIs, Jack is the new brand of PI…no hard ball and no gun, just great research and intuition. I find great comfort in knowing that authors today are still entwining issues of today with the mistakes and horrors of the past.

Tiananmen Square was an unnecessary tragedy and should never be forgotten. That being said, Rozan had intricately woven a believable scenario of an incident happening today that can only be solved by remembering a 20 year old incident. But some find it very difficult to let go of the past. Feb 06, Kathleen Hagen added it. Ghost Hero, by S. Lydia Chin is called in on what appears to be a simple case. A talented and celebrated ink painter, Chau's highly-prized work mixes classical forms and modern political comme Ghost Hero, by S.

There's only one problem - Ghost Hero Chau has been dead for twenty years, killed in the Tianamen Square uprising. Not only is Ghost Hero Chau long dead, but Lydia's client isn't who he claims to be either. And she's not the only P. Lydia and her partner, Bill Smith, soon learn that someone else - Jack Lee: What starts as rumors over new paintings by a dead artist quickly becomes something far more desperate--a high-stakes crisis the P. This book was hard to follow,and Lydia was the only one who seemed to be on top of things. First off because it's a wonderful series with interesting, well-wrought characters and a somewhat unique presentation in that the books rotate between being told by Bill for all of one book, followed by a Lydia-perspective story with the next book.

It sounds odd, but it really works. This book was a Lydia book, which I have to admit I do favor, although I like Bill's well enough too. The second reason I would be sad at the series ending is that it doesn't read like a last book Can't say more than that. So if it is a last book, I'm guessing it was because of a publishing issue, not necessarily because the author wanted to end there. This is a series that I've read over several years, a couple books a year and this excellent book that takes us into the world of contemporary Chinese-American art, only leaves me wanting more.

By comparison, some series are old and tired and really needing to end by book This series is not one of them. I keep hoping for more and hope that my hope isn't a vain one. Oct 17, Barb in Maryland rated it liked it Shelves: Wonderfully twisty mystery set in the world of modern Chinese art.

It all starts with what seems to be a simple job for Lydia and Bill. There are rumors that there are new painting out there by Chau Chen, "Ghost Hero". Jeff Dunbar hires our duo to find out if the paintings exist and, if they do, are they real or fakes. Chau Chen died a hero in Tiananmen Square. But there were rumors around that people had seen him after that-hence the 'ghost hero'. As the story progresses more players are added: Then there's a sleazy art gallery owner with financial difficulties, the Chinese mob, a Russian gangster, the Chinese government, the American government and a host of young artists and various family members.

It all climaxes in a grand flourish of Lydia, Bill and Jack scamming the bad guys. And when the final revelation was made I gave a happy sigh. Fast paced and a quick read. And, as always happens when I read Rozen's books, I came away hungry for some Chinese food--maybe some pork dumplings or soupy noodles. There are no discussion topics on this book yet.

A former architect in a practice that focussed on police stations, firehouses, and zoos, SJ Rozan was born and raised in the Bronx. She currently lives in Greenwich Village, New York. Rozan has a B. No Colder Place by S. Bill Smith is going undercover again as a favor t… More. Shelve No Colder Place. A Bitter Feast by S.

Joining the company of Sue Grafton, Jonathan Kell…. Shelve A Bitter Feast. Stone Quarry by S. Bill Smith's country cabin in upstate New York is…. Reflecting the Sky by S. Rozan is widely regarded as one of the fine…. Shelve Reflecting the Sky. Winter And Night by S. Private detective Bill Smith is hurtled headlong… More. Shelve Winter And Night. The Shanghai Moon by S. With The Shanghai Moon , S. Rozan returns to he… More. Shelve The Shanghai Moon.

• Du, ja Du: Geborgen in seiner Hand (German Edition)
• Understanding Hospital Billing and Coding - E-Book
• Gli altri vivono in noi, e noi viviamo in loro: Saggi 1983 - 2008 (Italian Edition)
• Brass Knuckles (Dave Haggard Adventure Thriller Book 2)
• A Journey From Somerset, England To Ohio: For the Hawkins and Haine Family 1700-2000
• Nightschool, Vol. 3: The Weirn Books