Feisty police matron, Anna Blanc, finds herself running through the sand with her hat askew and her satin heels ruined but manages to escape the beach and the detective chasing her. Inside the pail she is carrying is the head if a Chinese man. Anna now has her very own case, although, technically, Anna is not a detective. This is 1908 and women are not allowed to be police officers and do jobs of men! Sharing her information with Joe Singer, her former love interest, she learns that he has secretly been working in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles himself, as this is an area of widespread corruption. Together, they began to search the area for any information about missing men (the head), and stumble across the body of a white, female missionary stuffed inside a trunk in the room of a Chinese man. Hoping to keep this discovery secret, Joe realizes that if a white woman is found murdered in Chinatown violence would erupt against the Chinese population. Joe’s Chinese friend, handsome Mr. Jones, hesitantly agrees to help them solve this murder.
[alert variation=”alert-info”]Publisher: Seventh Street Books
Formats: Paperback, eBook, Kindle, Audible
Purchase: Powell’s | Amazon | iBooks[/alert]
This is the second novel in this series of the Anna Blanc Mysteries. This novel is filled with mystery, romance, and historical fiction. It is a good standalone story and is fast-paced and fun to read. The character, Anna, is young and bright and very determined to make her way in this lifetime. She is a socialite turned working girl with many faults. She seems to mature a bit as the story evolves. The descriptions used for theme of culture, time, and people was spot-on. They helped this reader visualize the city and the behaviors of the Chinese characters. Readers who enjoy historical fiction and those who are young at heart will get the most out of this novel!
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