From my blog: Always With a Book

This is Amy Chua’s debut fiction novel and I have to say…I am a fan! She has written a well-researched historical thriller that kept me engaged from page one and I do hope she continues to write fiction because I definitely would love to read more from her!

I love historical thrillers and this one really was on point and completely drew me in. I of course loved the murder mystery and this one really kept me guessing all the way until the very end. There was misdirection, conflicting evidence and unreliability among the suspects. And yet, through all that, our steadfast detective was determined to get to the bottom of things! I loved Detective Al Sullivan & would love to see more of him in future books!

I also appreciated the way the setting was such an integral part of this book. I learned so much from reading this, and this is one of the reasons why I love reading historical fiction. The author really used the time and place – Berkeley, California in 1944 – to her advantage to weave historical facts and little-known bits of history into her story to make it that much richer, all the while creating such a vivid story. I’m not all that familiar with Berkeley, now or in the past, so to have it come alive on the page was just amazing. For instance, I didn’t realize that Madam Chiang Kai-Shek visited there during WWII, nor did I know that this area was the ship-building capital of the country at the time.

I highly recommend this historical thriller. It’s got a little something for everyone – a murder mystery, family drama, social history and one seriously good story! I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author!

An enjoyable historical mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie. The murder of a politician in 1940s California leads detective Al Sullivan to investigate. While the crime at first appears tied to one of his many political adversaries and groups, Sullivan becomes intrigued by the death of a 7 year old girl at the same hotel a decade earlier. Sullivan becomes entangled with the girls remaining family, all heiresses to a vast fortune. How the two deaths are connected is the propulsive undercurrent that drives Sullivan. In the background is commentary on race and class in 1940s America, many of the same issues that still plague America today. A sharp twisted plot, sympathetic characters, realistic dialogue and writing make for an enjoyable fall read. A solid debut!

I love a good detective “who dunit” but even better when I learn something. The Golden Gate takes place in the San Francisco/Oakland Hills area on the 30’s and 40’s. There are two major voices. One is the family matriarch recounting and protecting details of her daughter and granddaughters’ lives including the tragic death of one granddaughter. While the other voice is Detective Al trying to solve a mystery at the glamorous Claremont Hotel. The writing had a good pace with twists and social norms, mores and laws of the time. Very good read.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. Can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from David Lat's substack Original Jurisdiction. The email contained an interview with Yale Law professor Amy Chua, known to some the Tiger Mom for her book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom. David's interview, however, centered around Amy's newest book--a novel set in the 1930s and 1940s in San Francisco. The novel, entitled The Golden Gate, was published last week.

Intrigued, I requested an advanced copy of the book on NetGalley, which I received. David said he consumed the book in two days, an impressive feat for a dad of two young kids. As the mom of two young kids who is also teaching first year legal writing, I was skeptical that I could finish the book in a timely manner. Fortunately (for this review) and unfortunately (for the rest of my life), I had a few days of not feeling well. This allowed me to cuddle on the couch with my cats and my kindle and devour The Golden Gate in three days.

At its most basic level, The Golden Gate is a double murder mystery--jumping between the tragic death of a young girl in the 1930s and the murder of a notable politician in 1944. Both deaths occurred at the Claremont Hotel. But the novel is so much more than simply a murder mystery--it is a thoughtful, meticulously researched, look at many of the complicated issues of that time (and the present) like race and racial identity, prejudice, gender, social status, mental health, politics, and policing practices. The story is told primarily from the perspective of Al Sullivan (or Alejo Gutiérrez), the detective assigned to solve the second murder, and Mrs. Bainbridge, the matriarch of a wealthy San Francisco family. Mrs. Bainbridge's granddaughters are implicated in the murder, and her narration comes through in a deposition and a later factual narrative that she wrote for the district attorney.

I don’t want to give away too much of the story #nospoilers, so let me tell you what I loved about the book. In short, nearly everything.

First, it was a gripping story. I definitely wanted to figure out whodunnit, and the author certainly kept me guessing.

Second, the writing and research was phenomenal. While I expect a Yale Law professor to meticulously research her academic writing, I don’t think that I was prepared for the level of careful detail I saw in a novel. I highly recommend reading the author note at the end of the book for additional resources and further context about the story. But what made the writing and research extra impressive was how accessible it was to the average reader. I would recommend this book both to lawyer friends and to friends who just like a good mystery. The most lawyerly part of the novel was a brief discussion about incorporation and the exclusionary rule, and even that section was accessible to nonlawyers.

Third, the author addressed controversial, complex topics in extremely thoughtful ways. Her characters were complex—there were few overt “good guys” and “bad guys.” In fact, my opinion of the characters morphed as I read the book. Her characters dealt with difficult questions. Perhaps the most poignant for me was Detective Sullivan’s complex approach to his identity. I appreciated how the topic was personal to the author—it is personal to me as well.

This wouldn’t be a good review if I didn’t point out something that could have been improved. Although I am a bit hard pressed to identify I defect, I will say that the last 25% of the novel dragged a bit (until I got to about 90% finished).

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the free e-ARC, and thank you Amy Chua for an excellent read!

I really enjoyed this novel and it's blend of mystery, crime drama, and historical fiction. The police and investigation angle sort of gave me vibes of classic police dramas (think Dick Tracy), all set against a backdrop of Depression-era and WWII San Francisco. The novel was full of interesting historical facts (history of the Golden Gate Bridge, Japanese internment, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, Redwood forests, Mexican deportations in the 1930s, indigenous peoples of California, and more). I learned a lot, plus was sucked into the mystery as we investigated a murder at the Claremont Hotel (and also a death at the hotel more than a decade before that).

There were a LOT of players - Japanese and Chinese immigrants, policemen and lawyers, Communists, a wealthy family and their offspring, blue-collar workers, a prominent businessman and more. That was sort of the fun – how did they all connect? Somehow it all worked. The novel also touches on bigger issues of race and class, passing as Caucasian, a “white savior” complex – issues that are still relevant in the present day.

I highly recommend this book for a page-turning mystery where you’ll learn something, too!

THE GOLDEN GATE is Amy Chua's debut novel, which completely amazes me as it is so well written ! It is a fascinating multi-layered historical mystery set in Berkeley, California in 1944. Walter Wilkinson, is an extremely wealthy industrialist and presidential candidate, who has been found brutally murdered in his hotel room at the illustrious Claremont Hotel. Berkeley Homicide Detective, Al Sullivan, who was having a drink with a lovely young lady at the Claremont that evening, takes on the murder investigation. It is clear that Wilkinson’s death was not just a random attack, he is a man that has quite a few enemies, so the murderer definitely had motive, and being at a hotel with do many people, a great place to blend in. The investigation takes a twist when it's revealed that there was another high-profile death at the Claremont, 15 years prior, of a little girl. Seven-year-old Iris Stafford, one of the youngest members of one of the wealthiest families in San Francisco, the Bainbridges, was found dead at the bottom of a hotel laundry chute. Is there be a connection between the two deaths? Are the remaining Bainbridge heiresses - Iris’ sister, her twin cousins or the family matriarch, their grandmother, Genevieve, involved with the recent murder? Set during the Waning years of World War II, with the awful internment of Japanese citizens in camps, the extreme labor strikes and awful discrimination against persons of color - Mexicans, Asians and Blacks, the story portrays the unsettled times of San Francisco’s past. The historical aspects were wonderfully woven along with the plot. I enjoyed hearing the various points of view, beginning with Genevieve’s point deposition to the District Attorney. This was an amazing first novel from Amy Chua and I really look forward to reading more from her.

Detective Al Sullivan was called to the Claremont Hotel when shots were fired at politician Walter Wilkinson. He was shaken but unharmed. Hours later Sullivan was called back to view Wilkinson’s body. His investigation leads him to Isabella, Cassie and Nicole, the three Bainbridge heiresses. One of the women was identified leaving the victim’s room at the time of the shooting, but the witness could not say which heiress it was. In 1930 the Claremont was the site of a tragedy when Isabella’s sister Iris died in a fall down the laundry chute. The sisters had matching dolls and Iris’ doll was found in Wilkinson’s room with only his fingerprints on it. As Sullivan investigates the death in 1944, he keeps finding connections to Iris’ death. Amy Chua alternates Sullivan’s investigation with the deposition of Genevieve Bainbridge, the girls’ grandmother. DA Doogan has threatened the arrest of all three women if she does not reveal who was responsible. Her deposition goes back to her own marriage and the history of the family to better understand the heiresses.

This is not only a family history, but the history of San Francisco. As war rages around the world, Chua deals with the treatment of Japanese Americans and their internment. Sullivan’s mother was American but his father was Mexican and he has encountered the racism against non-whites. Madam Chiang Kai-Shek is introduced as an acquaintance of the victim. Her appearance explains America’s changing attitude toward China at the time as her husband and Mao struggle for control of the country. Each of these elements are seamlessly blended into the mystery surrounding Wilkinson’s death. Each of the Bainbridge women hold secrets that could point to their guilt and Chua keeps you guessing to the very end. I would like to thank St. Martin’s - Minotaur Books for providing this book for my review..

A very interesting book comprising a family, mystery, and history of San Francisco.
I liked the grandmother and three granddaughters story angle the best.
The investigator was old school: nose to the grindstone and lots of pavement pounding to get to the bottom of,the story.
The author’s note was quite extensive with additional resources to explore.

In 1944, Berkeley Homicide Detective Al Sullivan is called to the Claremont Hotel as a presidential hopeful has been murdered. The top suspects are the granddaughters of an affluent family who happened to have been involved in the death of a child at the hotel in 1930.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

If you enjoyed Susan Elia MacNeal's Mother Daughter Traitor Spy (read my review), then you will want to pick up Amy Chua's debut novel The Golden Gate.

The Golden Gate is a murder mystery, but it is also about racism, immigration, capitalism, communism, fascism, and the history of California.

The story is mostly set in 1944 and focuses on the murder of presidential hopeful Walter Wilkinson. However, there are flashbacks to the day 1930 when 8-year-old Iris is found dead in the hotel.

I really enjoyed the writing. While the story skips between Al Sullivan's investigation, Iris's death, and the written "deposition" of Genevieve Bainbridge, the matriarch of the Bainbridge family and grandmother to Iris, Isabella, Cassie, and Nicole, it flows seamlessly.

This is Chua's debut novel, she has written several nonfiction books focused largely on history. As such, she pulled quite a bit of California's history into the story. Sullivan was a history major in college as well as being a Mexican-American (he passes for white though) and so he reflects on some of California's history such as the fur trade, gold rush, the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, etc. A few times it almost veered into info dump territory, but it is so interesting that I didn't mind.

Other aspects of California history such as the fact that Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, the First Lady of China. During WWII, China was our ally against the Japanese. But even so, it seems a little odd that she lived in the U.S. but perhaps it was safer than China.

Since reading Mother Daughter Traitor Spy, I've wondered why there are not more WWII books written about the West Coast, but then they would have to address the internment of the Japanese. Chua doesn't shy away from it but it doesn't take over the story either.

I really loved all the historical facts I learned. Be sure to read the author's note at the end to learn more about the historical details.

Al Sullivan is an interesting character. There is no indication that this is the start of a series and The Golden Gate is a complete stand alone novel as it is. But I would love to delve more in Al Sullivan. He discovered a few things about himself and I would love to see how this plays out for him the future.

If you are looking for an engrossing novel where you also learn some stuff, then this is definitely a book you will want to read.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Tuesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2023/09/the-golden-gate-by-amy-chua-review.html

When I first picked up THE GOLDEN GATE, I was glued to this historical murder mystery, and I figured I would be staying up to finish it. There are wo murders fourteen years apart at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. One of Mrs. Bainbridge’s granddaughters was found dead in the laundry chute in 1930. The second murder of presidential candidate, Walter Wilkinson, was found murdered. I enjoyed the deposition of Mrs Bainbridge told intermittently throughout the book. I also found that I looked forward to the interactions between Detective Sullivan and his eleven-year-old niece Miriam.

Where I had trouble with this book is there were too many historical facts in the writing, and I became distracted and found myself taking note after note. At times, it was hard to remember all of the characters. I wished I realized that Chua had Author Notes in the back and had read the notes before reading the book. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

There's a lot going on in this book - which I expected based on the synopsis, but I was still a bit surprised at the scope of this first novel by Amy Chua. There's an interview with her at the end of the audiobook in which she describes her research methods, and as both a lawyer and a writer of several non-fiction books, she's clearly adept at research. It certainly shows here in this novel where she deftly weaves in historical, political and sociological information to help set the plot and tone to 1944 (and earlier) in Berkeley, California. It's an interesting mix of family drama, political intrigue (both global and local) and murder mystery. The characters are fascinating, particularly homicide detective Al Sullivan, who's called in to help solve the murder of a former presidential candidate. Interwoven throughout is the deposition of the grandmother of the three main suspects, who are her heiresses and granddaughters. But is she a reliable narrator?
It kept me interested throughout, and I found myself really liking the conflicted Detective Sullivan, and by the end was hoping that maybe this could be the start of a series centered on his character.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

Let's deal with the baggage first: Yale Law professor; defender of indefensible scum Brett Kavanaugh; author of polarizing memoir <I>Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother</i> in 2011, and <I>Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations</i>, an ambitious, polarizing take on why cultural identity must be considered in all political calculus, in 2018. She challenges her readers in her non-fiction, and not all y'all like that.

Ready to set all that baggage down now? Okay, let's go.

California has a long history of racist nastiness. There are strands of that history in this historical mystery. The author's own racialized identity gives her, IMnever-remotelyHO, the insight and standing to imagine the life of a half-Latino, half-Irish (believe it or not, Irishness was in that time also a looked-down-on ethnic identity) talented observer with a strong thirst for Justice to be Done no matter how that end ends up looking. Unusually for a guy from his not-WASP background, Al Sullivan (took mom's name to avoid the most easily deployed prejudice) got into and graduated from UC-Berkeley, which is how he came to the attention of the factual-but-used-fictionally police chief and "father of modern policing" August Vollmer, thus in a position to investigate this high-profile case.

Now that the detective's in front of your mental eyes, let's talk about the mystery. A polarizing politico is murdered at Berkeley's fancy hotel, the Claremont. Super-easy to come up with suspects since he was not nice to much of anyone, as well as rumored to have been <I>intimately</i> involved with Madame Chiang Kai-shek, then resident in Berkeley. Virulently anti-Japanese and fully on board with Executive Order 9066, to boot. There are links in all of these strands to people present in the Claremont that night, giving them motives for killing the scumbag (another mystery wherein the police just shoulda shrugged when he was found shot and said "whatcha gonna duuu" TBH). What Al discovers as he searches for the real answers is that even people officially on his side, like the DA, are ready to bury truth for expediency, and shed-loads of people whose own paths have twists and turns they want to keep hidden are also on every side. In the end, there are a lot of names and identities to keep track of, and the pace is slightly slackened by the multiplicity of strands interweaving to make a net that can only catch a certain party. These are issues common to new-to-police-procedural writers. They aren't fatal flaws, either. The author's note at the end of the book leaves little doubt about her abilities as a researcher and as a fiction writer. She details the sources and inspirations for the fictionalized people, explains her choices well, and makes a darn good case that this crime could have been solved in just this way in reality.

What kept me reading was the sense that the real world of 1944. with all its bloody horrors, its dirty deals done to serve a "greater good," its regular people struggling with their life-stuff and with the sheer, pervasive nightmare of prejudice unmuted, was just like this.

That is one of the highest compliments I can pay a writer: I believe you.

A Crime Set in 1944 California

A prominent politician with many enemies is murdered in the prestigious Clarement Hotel in Berkeley California. Homicide Dective Al Sulivan was having a drink at the hotel at the time and is one of the first police on the scene.The Clarement was the scene of another death ten years earlier that may be connected to the present tragedy. Iris Stafford, a ten-year-old girl a member of the wealthy Bainbridge family, was found dead having fallen down the laundry chute while playing hide and seek with her sister Isabella.

The investigation focuses on the remaining three Bainbridge heiresses, Isabella and her cousins Cassie and Nicole. Their formidable grandmother, Genevieve Bainbridge is also a part of the investigation. Her deposition is presented in segments throughout the novel. There is an aura of power and sex throughout the book. It was a time of economic disparity, racial tension, and the Chineese connection of Madame Chaing Cai-Shek.

This is a well crafted mystery novel set in an interesting and turbulent period of California history. The author does a good job of weaving the history, economic, and political issues throughout the story. My only reservation is that for some readers the historical sections may bog down the mystery. There is also the element of a ghost story which, although related to the plot, may be distracting.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for this review copy.

Amy Chua merges detective fiction with historical fact and family drama in this sweeping novel. Venturing into a wide array of historical topics and issues of race and class seems to overwhelm her narrative, yet the detective story remains its clear focus.

Chua capitalizes on a picturesque setting that is both complex and intriguing. The San Francisco Bay area during WW II was a hotbed of intrigue and social unrest. Moreover, it was emblematic of massive cultural changes that loomed on the horizon for America. The internment of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast was controversial, as was the fear of Japanese and Communist spying and sabotage. The US Naval fleet was being rebuilt at the Kaiser Shipyard in the face of labor strikes. Significant infrastructure projects like the Golden Gate Bridge and Lincoln Highway were being realized. Ethnic and immigrant groups were targets of fear and mistrust, while stratification based on wealth and class persisted. At the significant risk of overwhelming her readers with all of this, Chua can’t seem to resist also including a few historical, but inconsequential characters, like Madam Chiang Kai-Shek, Dr. Margaret Chung, and August Volmer.

The major characters, however, are well-drawn and multifaceted, each harboring secrets and motivations that engage the reader. As the protagonist, Detective Al Sullivan moves the plot along with a relentless focus on solving the murder of a womanizing politician during a stay at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. Al is a colorful and likeable guy. His Mexican father was repatriated during the depression to save jobs for Americans. His mother was poor having emigrated to California from Oklahoma during the dust bowl. Despite his modest and estranged family background, Al graduated from Berkeley, served with distinction in the military, and rose to the rank of detective in the Berkeley Police Department. His murder investigation faces significant challenges, however. He must contend with an ambitious and morally challenged DA while simultaneously looking after Miriam, his precocious 11-year-old niece, who was abandoned by her mother. Unfortunately, Chua elects not to develop either of these intriguing plot elements or Al’s ambivalence about his own heritage.

The other key figure in the plot is Genevieve Bainbridge. She is the iron-willed matriarch of a wealthy SF family. Chua reveals her backstory in a series of depositions, sprinkled throughout the novel. The most important points are as follows: one of her grandchildren died a decade earlier by falling down a laundry chute at the Claremont while playing a game of hide and seek; and her daughter, Sadie, suffered mental illness that unfortunately was treated with a lobotomy. These seemingly disparate plot lines have the delicious habit of persistently showing up in Al’s murder investigation. Not unlike Detective Sullivan, Genevieve is totally focused. However, her goal directly conflicts with his. She wants to protect her three granddaughters from Al’s probing of them as suspects in his murder case.

Notwithstanding its complexity, the plot is totally engaging. It is peppered with red herrings as well as thoughtful examinations of wartime historical and cultural elements. Regrettably, Chua’s tendency to keep a lot of balls in the air leads to uneven pacing. The central mystery occasionally meanders into lengthy descriptions and subplots that don’t seem to add much to the main story. Moreover, the exploration of multiple cultural themes, while illuminating, can feel didactic. Despite being overly ambitious, THE GOLDEN GATE is a well-researched debut fictional work by an accomplished non-fiction writer.

Readers will alternately gasp at and empathize . . . all the while enjoying her writing, which . . . is brisk, lively and no-holds-barred.. The Golden gate is Amy Chua's first novel, and a fine one. But it's not her first book. Remember all the kerfuffle in 2011 over the tiger mother? Whatever you thought of that memoir, you are bound to love The Golden Gate. It's a historical novel set in Berkeley, California at the Claremont Hotel and involving the death of a child in 1934 and the assassination in 1944 of a presidential candidate. And a Philip Marlow/Sam Spade type detective to pull all of this together. Rich with historical detail and social/political issues and perfect for the mystery lover.

This is a really interesting debut novel. It’s set in the 1940s in San Francisco and also plays slightly as a noire mystery type book. Detective, in charge has many suspects, and is at same time dealing with his own issues partly from being biracial. He’s running up against high Society individuals while he is trying to solve a murder. The characters are very nuanced and all seem to be gray, rather than good or evil. I did not know who was responsible for the murder until the end. I really enjoyed the writing style because I felt like it was atmospheric and kept me involved in the book from start to finish. If you are looking for a good mystery that has historical elements. This is the book for you.

Detective Al Sullivan is at the elegant and luxurious Claremont Hotel when one of the staff informs him that one of the guests, a former presidential candidate, Walter Wilkinson, has been the target of an assassination attempt. Moving his room and posting police outside, Al heads home, only to be called back because Wilkinson has been killed. While investigating that murder, Al finds links to another death ten years earlier—Iris Stafford, the granddaughter of the hotel owner. He also finds ties to a local Communist party and an underground railroad hiding Japanese citizens from internment. How does everything fit together? Who killed Walter and why? The answers he uncovers could send a ripple effect across Berkely.

Before I get into the review, I want to let you know there are trigger warnings. They are racism (explicit and on page), bigotry (explicit and on page), poverty (explicit and on page), mental illness (on and off page), and child abandonment (on page).

I love reading good historical fiction. I also like reading mysteries and books in the World War 2 era. So, when St. Martin’s Press sent me the widget, I decided to download the book after I read the blurb. I was curious how the author would meld everything together and keep my attention.

There are two storylines that The Golden Gate is centered around. I liked how the author intertwined these storylines. She did so gradually by letting hints about Iris’s death appear in the investigation of Walter’s murder. By the end of the book, both storylines are entangled together.

The storyline centering around Iris and her death was heartbreaking. From flashbacks to the written testimony of Mrs. Bainbridge, you get to see how Iris’s life was up to her death. The author also showed how Iris’s death affected everyone around her. But the author did something clever. She held off telling exactly how Iris died until the end of the book. And you know, even then, I doubted whether her death was an accident or not. The confession at the end of the book, tied to Walter’s murder, didn’t sit right with me.

The storyline centering around Al and his investigation into Walter’s murder was a ride. The twisty plotline made me guess who could have killed him. Every so often, I forget that this book was set in 1944, so when Al just entered a house to get information or threatened a Hispanic worker with deportation and taking her kids, I was shocked. But, it did go right with how things were in that era. I did like that Al wouldn’t let go of this case and kept looking for a motive. As I mentioned above, this was a very twisty plotline, and the author didn’t give up the murderer until the very end of the book.

I liked Al and felt terrible that he had to hide the fact that he was mixed race (Mexican and white). But, in that era, you couldn’t get ahead in life if you were anything but lily-white. So, he did what he thought was right. That meant changing his last name to his mother’s maiden name and passing himself as white. What I also liked about Al is that he is flawed. He said and did things in the book that he regretted later on (the scene where he told Miriam he wasn’t her father broke my heart). He was also a good detective and determined to solve Walter’s murder and Iris’s death. By the end of the book, I felt that Al had matured. He was steps closer to accepting who he was. He also did something that I didn’t see coming.

The secondary characters truly made this book pop. From accurate historical figures (and the author has a very cool connection to one of them) to fiction, they added depth to this book.

The historical fiction angle was terrific. You could tell that the author did her research. I could picture myself standing among these people and not having an issue believing what she wrote.

The mystery angle was just as good as the historical fiction angle. The author did something that happens next to never: she stumped me on Iris’s death and Walter’s murder. Not only was it not who I thought it was, but it ended up being the last person I would have expected. I loved it. I was a little disappointed that Walter’s murderer wouldn’t face justice.

The end of The Golden Gate was terrific. The author brought together Iris’s death and Walter’s murder (see what I wrote above). I liked how she ended it with something very positive. But how she ended made me wonder if another book might be written in this universe. If so, I would love to read it. Also, the afterword was wonderful and detailed all the research she put into the book.

I would recommend The Golden Gate to anyone over 16. There is language, violence, and very mild sexual situations. Also see my trigger warnings above.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Amy Chua for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Golden Gate. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

There has been a murder of a presidential candidate at the famous Claremont Hotel in San Francisco. Detective Al Sullivan is on the case. But, this case has opened up a can of worms from 10 years previous, a mysterious death of a child.

Detective Sullivan is a character I really liked. He is not your usual detective you would expect in the 1940s. He had a past that he is trying to hide. He is also smart and does not take no for an answer. I love how he handles some of the suspects.

I enjoyed the history surrounding San Francisco. The author really did her research. Throw in this unique mystery and you have a pretty dad-blame good read! This story just kept twisting around itself. As a reader…you think you know…but then you don’t…but then you do..or do you?!?!

Need a good murder mystery with a good bit of history thrown in…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

The Golden Gate is a hotel catering to the rich and infamous. A boffo prologue tells us there’s been a murder. In the first few pages, there are actually two deaths. And three golden girls--wealthy and beautiful cousins--who are all suspects. We don’t know all the players yet but we can be pretty sure things are going to keep on happening.

There’s a strong flavour of San Francisco noir, the cynical cop getting the runaround from wealthy businessman and politicians. Except this cop is half-Latino and thus very conscious of his race-based risk if he calls them out on their lies. He's worked hard to pass as white on the force, even using his mother's maiden name instead of his father's Mexican surname. Indirectly at first, later more directly, the Japanese Internment of WW2 plays a role. Distinct overtones of Lavender House by Lev A. C. Rosen.

The chapters trip around in time between the first Golden Gate death, of a child, and the second, of a well known and much despised politician early in WW2. It's a slow unveiling of that ever-popular plot: rich Americans behaving badly. It's the author's first foray into crime fiction and that shows in the technique of revealing most of the useful backstory (and the solution) not through the detective's own efforts but through intermittent pieces of a long statement by the golden girls' grandmother, produced on the thinnest of legal pretexts.

There’s lots of evidence here that Amy Chua is better known for her nonfiction, as page after page elides away from the ongoing story into neutral-voice narration of San Francisco’s, and America’s, history. The history and culture are interesting as sidelights on the setting. Several characters are either real people, or fictional ones whose life events are lifted from then-living people. But those digressions, like the grandmother's statement, tend to distance us from caring about the characters or becoming fully immersed in exploring the plot.

As Chua is a talented writer and cares deeply about producing textured backgrounds rich in historical detail, her next mystery novel will almost surely be better, with the background serving as, well, background and the characters allowed to fully explore their own unfolding story.

#Netgalley #TheGoldenGate #novel #reviewing #fiction #AmericanFiction #WW2 #JapaneseInternment #California #politics #politicians #philandering #adultery #cousins #lesbians #gays #LGBTQ #murder #AmericanHistory

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua

Rating: 4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First of all, Chua described this book as “historical suspense” which I’d never heard of before but as a historical girlie I’m ALL IN🙌🏻

It’s 1944 and presidential candidate Walter Wilkinson is found dead at the fancy, Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, CA.

Al Sullivan is the lead detective on the case and all roads keep leading him back to the Brainbridge family. A wealthy, well known family in the Bay Area, who seem to have their own secrets hiding at the Claremont.

I initially chose this book for one reason: the location. I enjoy reading about places I am familiar with in real life!

I learned so much while reading this! Chua included soo much history in it like the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Mexican deportations of 1930 and the labor movements at the shipyards. There was so much that I couldn’t believe as a California native, I had never learned.

On top of all the history, the suspense was on point!! She had me guessing right until the end!

It did feel a little long at times but in the end it all worked for me.

Thanks to #netgalley, the publish and the author for this e-arc!