Amy Chua ~ The Golden Gate
Synopsis
In Berkeley, California, in 1944, Homicide Detective Al Sullivan has just left the swanky Claremont Hotel after a drink in the bar when a presidential candidate is assassinated in one of the rooms upstairs. A rich industrialist with enemies among the anarchist factions on the far left, Walter Wilkinson could have been targeted by any number of groups. But strangely, Sullivan's investigation brings up the spectre of another tragedy at the Claremont, ten years the death of seven-year-old Iris Stafford, a member of the Bainbridge family, one of the wealthiest in all of San Francisco. Some say she haunts the Claremont still.
The many threads of the case keep leading Sullivan back to the three remaining Bainbridge heiresses, now Iris's sister, Isabella, and her cousins Cassie and Nicole. Determined not to let anything distract him from the truth - not the powerful influence of Bainbridges' grandmother, or the political aspirations of Berkeley's district attorney, or the interest of China's First Lady Madame Chiang Kai-Shek in his findings - Sullivan follows his investigation to its devastating conclusion.
Review
This starts off well, but is very slow and repetitive, making it quite a frustrating read. The author has created a lot of fantastic characters, including Miriam and Isabella, which is why I persevered, but the story itself is nothing special.
Parts of it are quite predictable and although some of the history is interesting, there is a lot of excess information that does not add much to the story. The inclusion of newspaper articles and testimonials does help to break up the story, but it remains a little tedious in its structure.
However, it's possible that the final version will be a little shorter and flow better.
Thanks to Corvus Books for my proof copy. Opinions my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment