The Writer's Life 9/21 - Red Jade

I wasn’t in the mood for a mystery, but when I saw Henry Chang’s Red Jade was set in Chinatown and came in at less than 250 pages, I dove into it. It is the third of his four novels, each featuring NYPD detective Jack Yu. He is haunted by a shootout that killed several and left a childhood friend on life support. A questionable lead has him take a weekend swing to Seattle on his own dime. The quality of a crime novel has to do with authenticity, and this one has it in spades. Chang grew up in Chinatown, graduated from CCNY, and has experience in hotel and building security. As I’d hoped, there are many references in the book to the  culture of the areas involved, including terms such as gwailo for white person. As one would expect of someone who constantly deals with the dark side of human nature, the hero has a hard shell. Dealing with the lowest forms of life day in and day out would make a cynic of almost anyone. There is a fascinating femme fatale at the center of the story. At 14 she was pimped off to cover her father’s gambling debts, leading to an intense hatred of men. Although she is indirectly responsible for the murder of a sap she used to steal money and jewelry, she is sympathetic, even though it is highly doubtful she will ever be able to trust anyone, especially male. The title refers to a good luck charm she carries. There is a hint of the paranormal in the work, which I enjoyed despite my skepticism. Soho Press published it in 2011. Its editor was negligent. There are numerous errors throughout. One was amusing, the detective putting out a cigarette twice within the same page. Only eight users at Amazon, where it is selling modestly, have rated Red Jade, forging to a consensus of four of five. I rate it 3.5. Chang is still living in lower Manhattan.

I've never been excited by any pope's visit to NYC, not even John Paul, whom I greatly admired and miss. Due to his leftist beliefs, I'm not a fan of Pope Francis. In an op-ed piece in today's NY Post, George Will takes him to task, stating that the the pontiff's views are detrimental to those he wishes to help most, the world's poor. The language is tough but civil, as one would expect from Will. No doubt he will draw fire from the left, who support the Pope's political views while rejecting, laughing at the church's traditional teachings.

Scott Walker has suspended his campaign for the presidency. That's too bad, as he's done a great job as governor of Wisconsin. He had the sense and conviction to take on unions, and still held on to a majority of voters, who like what his policies has done for the state's economy.

My thanks to the kind folks who bought books today on Bay Parkway.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5

Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/