I strongly suggest that you start reading Henry Chang’s Jack Yu mysteries. There are four of them, of which DEATH MONEY is the latest. They are not long, dense, complex, or any of the other things that might keep you from becoming engrossed in yet another new series; they are simply very, very good. Yu serves as a homicide detective and cultural tour guide, adroitly working both roles with a natural nonchalance that, in turn, causes the narrative to flow quickly. He can take you places where you never have been before without your having to leave the comfort of your reading space.

"[W]hat raises the book to a level far beyond an above-average mystery is Chang’s intricate and intimate knowledge of the geography and culture of New York’s Chinatown, from the alleys that the tourists rarely visit and never notice to the transactional interplay that takes place in plain view yet is unobserved by all but the area’s inhabitants."

While Chang has not been hesitant to move Yu out of the familiar (to him) confines of his native New York, almost all of DEATH MONEY, with the exception of a brief foray into New Jersey, takes place in Chinatown. Yu is brought in to investigate when an Asian man is found dead in New York Harbor. At first, the death appears to be a possible suicide until an autopsy reveals that the victim was murdered. Forensics tells Yu a bit about the killer, but there still isn’t much of a trail for him to follow. The man has no identification, and there is little else in the way of clues to pursue --- aside from a cryptic list of telephone numbers that, in turn, belong to various Chinese carry-out restaurants, including one owned by Yu’s friend, Billy Bow, who is every guy’s dream wing man (if every guy has a death wish). Still, Bow’s network proves invaluable to Yu, whose status as a policeman often results in doors being closed that otherwise would be open to him.

Making do with what he has, Yu follows an extremely tenuous trail that takes him from Chinatown’s hidden gambling dens to the unspeakable poverty of Asian immigrants who are exploited by the very people who were supposed to be their salvation. But when Yu’s investigation leads him to a confrontation with one of Chinatown’s most powerful leaders, Yu is none-too-gently warned off the case by forces within the NYPD. Therefore, Yu must decide if he will continue to seek justice for an almost anonymous victim, a move that may cost him his career...or worse.

There is a mystery at the heart of DEATH MONEY, one that is intertwined in the “who” of the victim and “why” of the murder. The answers to those questions, and Yu’s pursuit of them, would be enough to make the story worth reading. However, what raises the book to a level far beyond an above-average mystery is Chang’s intricate and intimate knowledge of the geography and culture of New York’s Chinatown, from the alleys that the tourists rarely visit and never notice to the transactional interplay that takes place in plain view yet is unobserved by all but the area’s inhabitants. The combination of these factors makes DEATH MONEY one of the most compelling and riveting novels you will read this year.