pretty good ( )

Loosely constructed portrait of the underbelly of Chinatown, with glimpses into the lives of a Chinese-American detective, a Chinese godfather type, his mistress, his driver, and other crime operators. ( )

Jack Yu, a cop from a Chinese background, has returned to police his old neighbourhood in New York's Chinatown.
We follow two other characters as well, both with dreams of escaping--a limo driver and a rich Tong leader's mistress.
Prejudice and racism and American society are dealt with, as well as entrenched criminality in the Chinese community.
Different perspective. Interesting. ( )

Did not like this at all. Ugh. ( )

I guess I'd sum this up by saying that it shows promise but didn't quite hit the mark for me. The setting is great: Chinatown is alive and vibrant, seedy and jaded (no pun intended). However, the plot was a bit uneven but lacking in drive. The main character is reasonably well drawn but I never got a real sense of what made him tick. Chang seemed to set us up to root for the murderer, but then turned him/her into someone that left a bad taste in the mouth. Still, the promise was there and I might try #2 someday to see if Chang grows into his work. ( )