What a thriller with my two favorite cities - Shanghai & NYC. The characters are fascinating & keep you guessing. A great read!

I just couldn't get into this book. The mystery of Penelope's life dragged on far too long into the story, making her hard to identify with. I felt like I was plodding through the writing, with all of the metaphors and similes. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

The Jade Tiger takes you back to 1920s New York City for a classic murder mystery. This book is seeped in complicated family drama. Penelope, the heroine of this book, has a solicitous past that just won’t leave her alone. With quirky characters, an excellent setting, and a twisting storyline, Cooper checks all the boxes for me. I look forward to reading her next book I’m the Penelope Harris Mysteries series.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

What a fun little mystery. Based during the times of prohibition, Penelope is just trying to keep her family afloat. I loved her loyalty to them but also her worry about if she was making the right decisions. Her mother was so funny, I loved every time she was on the page (because I wasn't quite sure what she was going to do or say). Lund was a great addition, not quite police anymore, but so trusted and knowledgeable. I loved unraveling the story with the characters as we got to know the people and their alibi but also their secrets from Shanghai.

This is a fast read, fast paced, and once you get started, it will be hard to put down. I definitely will be looking to read the next one!

I loved the atmospheric nature of this novel. I was sucked in from the very beginning and the mystery was SO good. I couldn't put the book down because I needed to know what happened.

I downloaded this thinking the election will be over. Things will be over. It will be quiet. I can read and absorb. Things didn't get quiet and Penny in New York City didn't seem like something I could have my brain chew on. Scrolling for something to read yesterday I came on it again and was reminded I needed to read it. Jokes on me. I was up until midnight finishing it. This morning I read the offered 'In the Lobby' introduction to Penelope Harris mysteries. While it might be helpful to have some of the back story from the introduction the novella and the novel seem very different. In the Lobby is light and Jade Tiger is a very dense rich book. There are threads to follow and a plot to figure out. The writing flows and the characters are well fleshed out. Pretty soon you are engrossed as the action pulls you in. You think you know where this is going then it whips back like a curve on a mountain road. When the bombshell hits.... Nope, can't tell you that. Get a copy. You won't regret it.

The Jade Tiger by E.W. Cooper

A fun read from start to finish, but a tough book to review without spoilers, I shall be cautious. The story takes place in New York City in 1928, with many references to Shanghai, China, which also plays an important role in the story.

Penelope Harris Ambrose, who once owned The Jade Tiger, a casino/night club in Shanghai, has a secret, which comes to light piece by piece in this tale. I love the way the author feeds you bites along the way, grabbing your interest. Foremost, there is a murder at an out-of-control gathering in New York at the home of Penelope’s cousin, Mary. Most of the invitees have a past connection to the Jade Tiger.

The police investigation opens the door for many guests to have committed the crime. Everyone in the story is a suspect at some point. Many have been blackmailed by the victim and may have cause to do harm.

A whodunnit which will delight many a mystery reader, I give this book a solid four stars.

The Jade Tiger by E.W. Cooper is a well written "who done it" murder mystery set in the 1920s. In depression-era NYC, this story unfolds around a nightclub, The Jade Tiger. The prose describe the scenes, history and culture perfectly, and with great detail, evidencing that the writer did their research. This story is written with clarity and accuracy. The mystery is interesting and well done which adequately draws the reader in and keeps their interest until the end.

Thank you, NetGalley and Ink Dog Press, for a copy of this book for review.

Great start to a series that I will be looking forward to reading. This book has everything you want in a great mystery. It has a great location in 1920s New York. It had murder, scandal, blackmail, and a cast of colorful characters. We also get a peek at the gambling world of China. The thing I really liked about this book is that it had many characters that were important to the plot so it was like putting a puzzle together to see where each character fit. Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of this enjoyable quick read.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

The Jade Tiger takes place in prohibition-era New York City. Penelope Harris has recently relocated to New York after leaving Shanghai, where she ran a casino with her husband. It seems that Penelope is not the only person who has made this trip, and many people from her past begin to surface in various ways. A woman is murdered, and the book takes us through the search for her killer.

I found this book mediocre. I was never fully engaged with the characters and didn't find any of them particularly sympathetic. There were too many characters for me to feel like I could piece the mystery together myself, and the stakes were low--I just felt like the mystery needed to be solved so the story would end, but not because I particularly cared who did it.

There were details that described the setting and atmosphere in enjoyable and tactile ways, but ultimately, I'm just glad to be done with this book, and do not plan to read another in the series.

Loved the concept of this. The book takes place in the prohibition era United States, and it is full of social drama that quickly becomes a whodunnit as it all essentially takes place on the night of one lavish party where someone turns up dead. The Jade Tiger was the name of a casino run by the main character and her late husband back in Shanghai, and there are constant allusions to the mysterious circumstances of his death and all the various ties that the characters have the place and to each other. The way the story was written was light on character development in my opinion (it sort of had to be that way because of how the mystery unfolded), but I struggled at first with keeping up with the characters and their motivations until about halfway through- after that I was totally absorbed. Pick this up if you’re in the mood for a new take on an Agatha Christie type mystery!

A solid mystery set in the 1920s. Both a thriller and a mystery, this included well constructed character, good dialog, and nice descriptions (which bog down the momentum occasionally, but also help put the reader there). It's a little predicable, but well crafted overall. I look forward to the author's next book. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the review copy from the publisher!!

Wow! I love the timeframe, 1928, and while I normally prefer my mysteries set in England, I most definitely enjoyed this book. I love how the author teased out the backstory in Shanghai as it related to the present. The reveal of the killer, while not exactly a shock, was well written. You believed in the despair that the victim caused him, as she had so many others in her life.
Another thing I thoroughly liked was Penelope’s family, especially her mom. What a shrewd, strong woman. I also enjoyed finding out how the relationship between Penelope and Thom brought them to this point. The devotion they still had for one another was special and came across as real.

I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in return for a fair review.

Penelope Harris has lost her husband, Shanghai casino, most of her money and almost her life. She has a secret about her husband and is being blackmailed by Renee, his former lover, who is now engaged to Penelope’s cousin Charles. When Renee is murdered, both Charles and his cousin are suspects. The investigative team of one detective and one demoted police officer eventually suspect every character. Their swift-shifting opinions and fast decision-making confused this reader at times. Thom Lund, former Shanghai police officer and in love with Penelope, has a slightly more effective approach. E. W. Cooper’s characters are guilty of risky behavior that has followed them halfway round the world. They cannot seem to shed the past. The allusion to Bizet’s operatic Carmen is appropriate. Carmen is a gutsy woman as are the female characters.in this work.

In the Jade Tiger by E.W. Cooper, Penelope Harris has returned from Shanghai to New York to rebuild her life. When she meets an old acquaintance from Shanghai, her past threatens to catch up with her.
Honestly, I am not sure how to summarize the plot without providing spoilers. What enticed me into reading this book was the promise of a crime novel set in the 1920ties in New York and Shanghai. I was not disappointed. The author's vivid description of the atmosphere and mood drew me in and I hope the author will continue to explore especially the Shanghai setting. I loved that the story took place in the roaring 20ties in New York. I have not read many books set in this time and place and I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that it was thoroughly researched. It made me want to learn more about this fascinating time, which is always a plus point for me.

The perpetrator of the main storyline did not come as a huge surprise. however, this book is as much if not more about the past as about the present, and the past for sure held plenty of surprises. I loved that the author kept developing the characters. I found myself rooting for and then again doubting several of the main characters, something I love in a book.

Sometimes the reactions of the characters were a bit dramatic and the policemen a bit fast in their judgement. However, this may be intended to reflect the attitude of the time. I would love to know the author's thoughts on that.
I for one am very much looking forward to the next book in this series and to hopefully learn more about these fascinating characters.

I really struggled with this book and I could not even finish it. Too trite and the plot lines is so overused. Plus the exoticness of Shanghai loses its glow in the 21 st century. I really wanted to like this book but couldn't muster up any enthusiasm for the lead character.

I enjoyed Cooper’s prohibition-era historical novel for its glimpses of New York society in the 1920’s and the grittier, glamorous culture in Shanghai in the years preceding this story.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the book for me was its ever-present moral ambiguity: no character seemed without flaws, and virtue was often difficult to discern. I appreciated that the author rarely tried to impose their personality on the reader; we were trusted to form our own conclusions about each character’s choices.

That said, something was missing for me in this novel. It was atmospheric. It allowed me to travel to interesting times and places. And, it offered colorful characters, and dramatic tension. BUT, it still felt like an hors d’ouevres, not a meal. I enjoyed it, but was not satisfied when I finished. Quite simply, I wanted more out of this book than I received.

NetGalley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a candid review.

I was intrigued by this story. I liked the way that it went from past to present (1920) I would like to see more of the main characters. Could there be more stories?

An interesting read about 2 murders set in the 1920’s, one in Shanghai and the other in New York City.

Penelope Harris and her scoundrel husband, Kinkaid Ambrose, ran a casino, The Jade Tiger, in Shanghai. After he was murdered in a robbery that left Penelope critically injured, she has paid off Kinkaid’s debts and is now in New York City, 1928.
At a high society gala thrown by her cousins, another murder occurs. This time it is her late husband’s lover. As the police interview all the attendees, it becomes apparent that many of them have skeletons in their closets and more than one of them have motive.

A good start to a new series. I really like that it was set in the 1920’s, since I haven’t read many historical mysteries set during then. It did take me a bit to get invested with the characters and I was a little confused who was who with all the people introduced but it did have a few twists that I wasn’t expecting. Look forward to the next book!