The Golden Gate by Amy Chua (2023 fiction)

What initially caught my attention was that this book is set in the Bay Area, and most of it in Berkeley and its environs. The mystery concerns two deaths that take place at the Claremont Hotel, one in the 1930s and one ten years later in 1944, during the height of WWII. Coincidentally, the same prominent family is involved in both. The first was a child who seemingly accidentally fell down a laundry chute. The second was a candidate for President of the United States. The main, first-person character is a police detective, Al Sullivan, a tough cookie who sometimes does things right and sometimes not. The narrative reminds
me of Joe Friday. Tasked with bringing the murderer to justice, Sullivan discovers the link with the Bainbridge family and oddly, with Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, whose brief residence in Berkeley coincides with the time frame. Some murder mysteries are described as having twists. Reading this one is more like playing a ping-pong game, as each suspect is on-again, off-again, leading one through a convoluted series of truths and lies as Sullivan chases lead after lead. There are a number of subplots, including Sullivan’s 11-year-old niece Miriam, who is just shy of delinquency, and the undercurrent of racism against not only the Japanese but anyone who isn’t white. This is a gripping novel that is quite readable but pay attention lest you miss something important.

Reviewed by Ginger Russell