Beijing Payback is the first book I have read from this author.

The story is about revenge and it is written in a way that is thrilling. When Victor Li learns some shocking truths during his father’s funeral he is devastated. He learns his father not who he through he was. Finding out he was part of a crime syndicate has him traveling to Beijing for more answers.

Well written with great characters.

Imagine you're a college student and your father Li is murdered. Horrible, right? Well, then imagine that you discover that he was just running a restaurant, he was running a crime organization that started in China years ago and continues today. That's what Victor, and his sister Jules are faced with. Victor has never taken things too seriously but he has good friends in Andre and Eli. Can he or should he trust Sun, who turns up and claims to have been his protege and to have access to the people who killed him? Not many would get on a plane to Beijing and take on this mysterious organization but that's what Victor does. Some minor practicalities aside, this is a fast paced, well written debut that occasionally gets a little off track but is still highly readable. There's twists, turns, and lots of action. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Those who like gritty little guy against the bad guys tales should try this one.

Beijing Payback finds Victor and his sister Jules mourning the murder of their father. In the following days, Victor is given a letter from his father that reveals he has been living a secret life. Not only is he running 4 restaurants, but he is also one of four founders of a crime syndicate in Beijing. Enter Sun, Old Li's protege since his childhood, who takes him on a mission to avenge his father's death and expose the syndicate, who his father says in the letter, killed him.

This was a very fast paced read with plenty of action. I enjoyed how the characters interact with each other, the detail of the settings, and little bits of humor thrown in by the author. The group of Victor, Jules, Eli, and Andre are well developed for their various roles, and you can tell that they truly love and care for each other. Sun was also well developed. The writing and insight into Chinese culture and the brief history we are given was well done. An excellent book, overall.

My appreciation to NetGalley and HarperCollins for gifting me an e-copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Daniel Nieh has written a smart and intriguing revenge thriller with Beijing Payback. It will keep you reading until the final page!

Summary:
College student Victor Li‘s father has been murdered. Overwhelmed by grief, he and his sister Jules are stunned to learn that their father wasn’t only a restaurateur: he was linked with a crime syndicate in China. A young man named Sun, who claims to have worked for “old Li” for years (unbeknownst to old Li’s American family) arrives and tells Victor that his late father and three other men in Beijing had formed a “brotherhood” that smuggled goods from China to America. Sun also tells Victor that his father’s refusal to smuggle some mysterious, horrible thing called “Ice” (obviously not frozen water!) has turned two of the brotherhood against him. These are powerful, dangerous men. The implication is clear: two of old Li’s oldest friends have had him killed.

Li has written his son a letter to be given to Victor in the case of his death, instructing him to help Sun put an end to these men’s depravity. Against Jules’ advice (and a lot of other people’s advice, too), Victor skips class registration, boards a plane, and heads to Beijing with Sun. One of Li’s friends will help them. Soon Victor is in a strange world of organized crime, foreign reporters, police tails, Russian prostitutes, and gangsters–and bloodshed. A lot of bloodshed. And it’s anyone’s guess as to whether he’ll make it out alive.

What worked for me:

1. The well-developed characters
I particularly liked the fun interplay between Victor, his long-time best buddy Andre, and their roommate Eli. They’re funny, quirky, and genuinely seem to care about each other, though in their college-boy phase of life, that looks more like back-slapping and fist-bumping than hugs and crying on each other’s shoulders. The interaction between Victor and his two roommates helps show Victor’s emotions of grief at his dad’s murder and his anger at the kid-glove treatment the rest of the world gives him.

Jules, Victor’s sister, is a terrific character, too. She’s irritating, acid-tongued, and uptight, but she assesses situations better than Victor. She deeply loves her brother. Her character arc, while not deeply developed, is compelling and right for her character.

2. The backstory
There’s a lot of background information that we need as we read this book: old Li’s friendship and business dealings with the brotherhood, his character, etc. Not all of it can be conveyed in the present time because he’s dead when the novel opens. Nieh uses a lengthy letter from Li to his son to give us a picture of Li, his childhood (including really interesting information about the changes in Chinese culture after the revolution), his friendships with the others in the brotherhood, and how and why he had deceived his children. Nieh gives Li a writing voice of his own that is both revealing and entertaining and in sync with the other accounts of his personality. Even though all of it is backstory, it moves the story along.

3. The strong ending
Obviously, I’m not going to spoil it for you! But after everything the characters have been through in both America and China, this resolution is satisfying. Well done.

What didn’t work for me:

1. The middle section in Beijing slowed me down. Somehow, even with the characters running into life-threatening danger, I felt that the writing dragged its feet a bit. Victor’s thoughts center around his anger at his father for his double life, his grief, and his father’s instructions. His father’s last instructions have shattered his world but also opened it to a bigger one. It’s compelling for a while, but I got a bit tired of the repetition.

2. There’s also a sex scene thrown in late in the novel. (Victor’s inability to hook up with the women he wants to hook up with has been a recurring motif in the book.) It doesn’t add much to the story.

Overall, a strong novel.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Beijing Payback was both interesting and confusing. Perhaps I am just slow, but keeping up with the action in Beijing was not always easy. I wondered how our protagonist was able to get himself into the situations he did and come out alive. But, it's a story, right? Lots of action, lots of violence, some pondering, and ultimately the ending that one rather expected. Yes, there are twists and turns, but they weren't always very credible to me. But the author has spirit and I give four stars to encourage a sequel.
Thanks, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.