Rating: 
Summary: Concourse won the 1996 Shamus Award for Best Novel
Review: S. J. Rozan's CONCOURSE, the author's second novel, won the 1996 Shamus Award for Best Novel (the Shamus is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America). In doing so, Rozan became only the second female writer to win for best novel (Sue Grafton being the other one). She also beat out strong competition from much more seasoned competition (Dick Francis, for example). Personally, I think it is one of the finest crime novels I've ever read. But then I'm a bit prejudiced towards it...Keith Kahla/Edito
Rating: 
Summary: Chin & Smith - Book 2
Review: Several months ago I read "China Trade" and enjoyed it immensely. Lydia Chin, Chinese-American Manhattanite, was a fun new slueth. Her partner, Bill Smith, had a small role in the book which was filled with Chinese-American culture.Concourse is an entirely different sort of book. It's narrated by Bill Smith and is almost entirely his adventure. Maybe it was the monotoned narrator on the Chivers audiotape but I found myself vacillating between neutral and negative when it came to Bill. He smokes way too much and just seemed pretty whiney. Lydia drops by once in awhile but there's hardly any of her charm or the interesting cultural aspects of the first book. The mystery itself starts with the death of guard at a nursing home in the Bronx. Bill goes undercover as a guard and quickly finds lots of unanswered questions. The prime suspect in the crime, a gang leader named Snake, convinces Bill that someone else did the crime. Then there are more deaths and strange happenings around the nursing home. The solution is nicely complicated without being totally beyond belief. According to my notes this book won a Shamus award and was chosen by the Independent Mystery Booksellers as one of the 100 best mysteries of the 20th Century. It didn't do all that much for me but it might be better reading in print (and for someone is isn't as opposed to smoking).
Rating:
Summary: Chin & Smith - Book 2
Review: Several months ago I read "China Trade" and enjoyed it immensely. Lydia Chin, Chinese-American Manhattanite, was a fun new slueth. Her partner, Bill Smith, had a small role in the book which was filled with Chinese-American culture. Concourse is an entirely different sort of book. It's narrated by Bill Smith and is almost entirely his adventure. Maybe it was the monotoned narrator on the Chivers audiotape but I found myself vacillating between neutral and negative when it came to Bill. He smokes way too much and just seemed pretty whiney. Lydia drops by once in awhile but there's hardly any of her charm or the interesting cultural aspects of the first book. The mystery itself starts with the death of guard at a nursing home in the Bronx. Bill goes undercover as a guard and quickly finds lots of unanswered questions. The prime suspect in the crime, a gang leader named Snake, convinces Bill that someone else did the crime. Then there are more deaths and strange happenings around the nursing home. The solution is nicely complicated without being totally beyond belief. According to my notes this book won a Shamus award and was chosen by the Independent Mystery Booksellers as one of the 100 best mysteries of the 20th Century. It didn't do all that much for me but it might be better reading in print (and for someone is isn't as opposed to smoking).
Rating: 
Summary: Better than the first mystery
Review: This book concentrates on the male detective rather than Lydia Chin. The hero is funny, self-deprecating and sort of Rockford-like (as in Rockford Files). Good plot, easy to read. I'm looking forward to reading Mandarin Plaid.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Awesome
Review: This book has everything a good mystery needs - a great plot, engaging characters, snappy dialogue, suspense and humor. China Trade was good but this book is better for three reasons: 1) Bill Smith's character is much better developed, 2) it has a tougher, more realistic edge to it and 3) the interaction between Bill and Lydia is more interesting. In sum, highly entertaining. I plan to read all her books.
Rating:
Summary: Better than China Trade, and C.T. was great!
Review: This book has interesting characters and plot, and is extremely well-written. I read it first, then found China Trade, the first novel in the series, in the library. As a (real) man, I can say that Rozan's Bill Smith is realistic; I would not have guessed that the author was female if I hadn't already known it. Smith reminds me of J.P. Beaumont, Jance's Seattle detective, and I can't think of a better compliment. It was a pleasant surprise to find that China Trade was written from the viewpoint of Lydia Chin. I hope that the viewpoint continues to alternate between the main characters in the later novels. If the quality continues, Rozan will join J.A. Jance, Minette Walters, Dick Francis, Robert Crais, and Ed McBain on my A-list of mystery writers whose new books I will buy in hardcover. On to Mandarin Plaid! P.S. Jonathan Kellerman is borderline for my A-list. Sue Grafton, Robert Parker, and James Lee Burke are former A-listers.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for a rainy afternoon
Review: This book was a page-turner, moving right along. The author knows how to make the characters seem real, while not getting bogged down in extraneous matters. Good story, just enough action, likable characters, good dialogue. What more can you ask for
Rating:
Summary: Good Plot, Stock Characters
Review: This book was well-written, but a disappointment to me because I thought Rozan's first book, China Trade, was excellent. In China Trade, Lydia Chin was interesting and witty, and her Chinatown background made her different. Bill Smith is as ordinary as his name. All his little quirks, like classical piano and his love of Lydia, are just that, quirks. They don't add up to a believable character. I got tired of his descriptions of fall leaves and his lonely, depressed personality. The plot was good and side characters like Mrs. Goldstein very well done. The African American dialogue some characters speak gets tedious. Lydia was a complete blank in this volume. She might have been a totally different person from the Lydia in China Trade. Her romantic feelings about Bill are vague. I would not recommend this book even though it did win the Shamus award.
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