Good first attempt and an even better storyline.
But it would have benefited from some serious editing. Too many parts were to unbelievable, other parts felt rushed especially the Beijing portion, and way to much about the main characters college basketball career. The character is far to awkward to accomplish what he does later in the book.
( )

Victor Li is a typical Southern California Chinese-American college student, who is into basketball and physical/mental fitness. His father has been murdered, and he and his sister are wondering about their future, when their father's Beijing protégée (Sun) shows up and turns their world upside down, revealing secrets about their father's past. When Victor and Sun fly off to Beijing to find out why Victor's father was killed, it gets silly. About the only thing I liked was Nieh's regular usage of prophetic Mandarin phrases, followed by their English translation. Sadly,too much of the rest were tropes. ( )

When Victor Li’s father is murdered, there is every reason to believe that Victor and his sister will be financially care-free. Their father, an immigrant from China, after all, had started a small chain of very successful Chinese restaurants in California.

However, as Victor discovered, the restaurants are actually owned by a syndicate in China. There is no way to discover the true story behind his father and his partners except to go to Beijing and do some investigation.

What Victor finds is stunning. There’s a tangled web of brotherhood and hate, grudges and loyalty that began when his father and his friends bonded as street kids during the tough Communist years.

I enjoyed the Chinese history which included both the Cultural Revolution and the heavy hand of the Chinese Communist Party, but somehow this novel by a Chinese American struck the wrong note for me. Instead of immigrant success, there is actually a crime syndicate using American business as a way to legitimitze dirty money from China. Their latest scheme is truly horrific in a country where life is cheap.

In a way, it fits right into the current administration’s anti-Chinese propaganda .It’s probably no more than unfortunate timing for the first time author. The author envisions this as the first book in a trilogy. Others may enjoy the thriller/action sequences. Just not for me. ( )

This book presents quite the conundrum. It is proliferated with exceptional writing with pockets of the most pedestrian writing I've read in a long time. The plot centers around a young man whose father come over from China and managed to successfully open a chain of Chinese restaurants. Unfortunately for the young man, the circumstances that allowed for this successful immigration are more than meets the eye and when his father is murdered he must confront his father's secret past.

When the author Daniel Nieh describes the father's past in China the book is a fascinating read, and often lively read. Unfortunately, it often bogs down with ruminations and introspections by the protagonists that are less lively and interesting. Plot threads are left hanging and incidents that appear to be pivitol are left unresolved.

To be fair, I may be nitpicking a debut piece that does show promise. I surmise that this will be the first in a series of books to focus on our hero. I also surmise, that the writing will improve with each offering and I look forward to future episodes. ( )