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Joshua Jin is one of the more interesting protagonists to come along in mystery fiction for quite a while. The Sacramento Chinese American D.A.'s professional life has fallen apart following the death of his daughter and the departure of his wife. So mired in grief that he dissolves in tears while trying a man for murder, he's exiled to an out-of-the-way department where he's handed a politically charged Chinatown child rape case and told to make it go away. It shouldn't be hard, because there's no physical evidence, and the victim, a 13-year-old girl, won't name the man police know was responsible. Further, the perpetrator is represented by a brilliant criminal defense lawyer who happens to be the woman Jin jilted for his soon-to-be-ex wife. But Jin realizes that his personal salvation depends on fighting a system that would ignore a little girl's pain. This gripping courtroom drama ranks with the best of Scott Turow in its brilliant depiction of the inner reaches of the human soul; the final pages throw a curve that you won't see coming. Lee's voice in this second novel (after China Boy) is confident, sure, and passionate, and his characters memorable and resonant. This is a novel with great heart, and Lee is a writer to watch. --Jane Adams
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