(Rounded up from 2.5)

I seriously considered DNF’ing this book but I decided to plow through to the end to learn “whodunit.” The book did get more engaging in the second half but I still found myself skimming a lot. The Golden Gate is partly historical fiction and partly police procedural/mystery, with a large dose of social commentary. The main action takes place in 1944, with some chapters taking place in 1930.

You can tell that Amy Chua has a background in writing nonfiction because several parts of this book feel more like a nonfiction book than a novel. These side trips into history, while interesting, interrupted the flow of the narrative and really slowed things down. The book would have benefited from either eliminating these mini-dissertations or shortening them significantly. There were long sections about the history of California’s Bay Area, including the fur trade, the Gold Rush, opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the redwoods, among others.

The main narrator is detective Al Sullivan, who was born Alejo Gutiérrez, the son of a half-Jewish Mexican father and a White mother from the midwest. In 1931, when he was seventeen, his father and two half-brothers were deported to Mexico during the “Mexican Repatriation.” (This was actually a historic tidbit I didn’t know anything about.) So he took his mother’s family name when he joined the Berkeley CA police department, hoping to “pass” as white. Discrimination of all sorts was common in those days (and unfortunately still fairly common today), so he felt it would be a career disaster to keep his birth name. I came to really like Sullivan. He has a strong moral center, which was severely tested many times over the course of the story. He also was wonderful with his 11-year-old niece, Miriam, who was a terrific character. No one else interested me much, however.

In addition to the historical side trips, the flow of the narrative is also interrupted by excerpts from a deposition by one of the main characters, Genevieve Bainbridge, but her words are very relevant to the mystery. She tells a long-winded story about her family, meant to convince the police that none of her granddaughters were to blame for the murder at a fancy hotel of a presidential candidate who had been visiting Berkeley.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title. (I switched exclusively to the ebook once I decided I needed to skim.) The audiobook has three narrators who all do a wonderful job: Robb Moreira (who does most of the narration as Detective Sullivan), Suzanne Toren, and Tim Campbell.
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Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I'm a sucker for a good thriller or hisfic, and this one sounded so good. Plus that cover? *chef's kiss* Despite this being a historical thriller -- best of both worlds -- it was a bit slow in the pacing. There were a lot of characters that we were introduced to, and two plots going on, so at first I was confused as to what was going on. However, once I figured out who everyone was and what was going on, I quickly found myself absorbed in the story and couldn't put it down.

I liked that this was a complex who-dunnit and there is doubt cast on everyone involved. This one was heavily researched and it touches upon topics such as Japanese internment, racial identity, and class disparity.

I would definitely recommend this book to any historical fiction, thriller or mystery readers, and will be on the lookout for other books by Amy Chua.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur for my eArc. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Golden Gate.

I'm not a fan of historical fiction, but I do like history and I requested The Golden Gate based on the intriguing premise, so I went into this with an open mind.

I'm glad my request was approved because I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

The Golden Gate is a combination of a detective story, racial and societal politics, and history, just to name a few.

It's not a coincidence the detective in charge of the murder investigation at the swanky Claremont Hotel graduated from college with a degree in history.

Each chapter begins with a brief overview of the history or background of the location or area he's driving to.

As Sullivan navigates the tricky threads of the investigation, tangling with the wealthy and notorious Bainbridge family, he unravels their family secrets, while struggling to hold onto his own family, and coming to terms with his own identity as a biracial man, uncle, and detective.

This was well written and well researched, and Ms.. Chua incorporated politics, communism, China, corruption, unions, inequality and social status and class inequality well within the story.

I learned a few facts about this time period, as well as the influential Asian women who lived during these times.

I liked Al Sullivan; he's a good guy, and loyal to his job and his family. I also liked his spunky niece, Miriam, and their bond. She's similar to her uncle, a hard worker and loyal to her family, namely her deadbeat mom.

But, the mystery took a backseat to the political and racial turmoil brewing in San Francisco and California at this time.

My only caveat is that Sullivan figures out whodunnit but the readers are told through an info dump by the killer.

Personally, I prefer it when the detective or whoever is solving the mystery says, "I figured it out!"

I'd like to see Al Sullivan in a series and learn more about Miriam, but with more focus on the mystery rather than history.

I've never been to the Claremont but after reading this, I'm curious to see it for myself.

I really enjoyed this book especially the beginning and the end. I learned so much about California's history via the author having the characters provide the information. I feel as though the story really slowed down in the middle but I guess it was unavoidable

Overall I enjoyed the book

The Golden Gate
By Amy Chua

This is ostensibly a murder mystery. But it is also an expose of society in the San Francisco Bay area during World War II. Al Sullivan, a Berkley police detective, is not Irish as his name would indicate – he is actually the son of an American mother and a Mexican father, and his name is Gutierrez. He has inherited his mother's genes and thus appears "white". He is the detective in charge of the investigation of the murder of Walter Wilkinson, a presidential candidate, at the Claremont Hotel. The plotting here is cleverly done, and the perpetrator and the motive aren't exposed until the end.

More significant than the actual murder is the back story of what was going on socially at the time. We find Madame Chiang Kai-Shek living in the area, together with Chinese communist infiltrators and Chinese tongs. Then there are the Japanese, who have been relegated to internment camps after Pearl Harbor. On the other extreme are the social elite whose wealth shields them from the life challenges of those on the lower rungs of society. The Claremont is a perfect reflection of the social order. Add to that the police corruption and the protesting strikers and communists and you have a clear picture of the city of the time.

I enjoyed this book as much for the background information it provides as for the mystery itself.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an arc of this book.

I think my biggest complaint with this book was that the author didn't know what she wanted to write about. There are the bones of a historical mystery here, but it's completely overtaken by a (frankly boring) history textbook, with a little bit of Gothic paranormal scenes randomly thrown in. I think the author should have chosen one of these routes to pursue and edited everything else out.

The mystery itself wasn't awful. I wasn't actually invested in the outcome because the storyline wasn't mysterious enough for my taste. The writing was just too blunt: the detective went here, he talked to this person, he's sure she did it, now he thinks this other woman did it, but now he's positive this third woman is the culprit. There weren't enough clues or red herrings dropped along the way for me to want to figure out whodunit too. So, the mystery plotline was serviceable, but not engaging.

Honestly, there was just way too much history included in the story. Pages upon pages upon pages of unnecessary history bogged the story down and made reading it a chore. I made at least ten different notes for myself throughout the book when the author goes off on a 5-page tangent when one paragraph would have sufficed. It seemed like she wanted to include every single piece of research she did on the history of California, Mexico, female architects, the migration of blacks to California, the otter trade, native peoples crossing the Bering Straits, etc. I was having flashbacks of my boring high school history textbook for much of the story. The vast majority of this needed to be edited out because it didn't bring anything to the actual murder mystery plot.

Not only did the history lessons need to be cut because they were unnecessary, but also because this book is told in the first person. It was jarring to read multiple pages of detailed California agricultural history and then have the next paragraph start with "I pulled the car over in front of the house." (Just for example.) It was like two different texts were cut and pasted together with different POVs.

As for characters, I wasn't impressed here either. Only the MC was developed to any degree, none of the side characters were more than a couple of adjectives. And I truly didn't like the MC. I didn't enjoy being in his head, and I didn't find him interesting.

The only not bad thing about this book for me was the prose. It was an easy book to read, the sentences were well formed, but that isn't enough for more than one star in my opinion.

4.5 stars
I started this one at work and I’m so glad it ended up being a slow day at the office because I couldn’t put it down! At times I wasn’t really sure which genre this book wanted to be in-historical fiction, murder mystery, police procedural, with a sprinkling of possibly paranormal. Whatever it is, I found it oddly addicting.
I really appreciated every so often the author added a few paragraphs of California history when it ended up being relevant to that part of the story. It flowed into the narrative naturally and never felt like a history textbook.
When you get closer to the end (around 75% or so), you’re going to want to just cancel any other plans you might have so you can finish the book uninterrupted. You’ll have all kinds of twists and turns thrown at you. Don’t bother trying to keep track of them all… just hold on and enjoy the ride!

The Golden Gate is murder mystery that spans several decades. Not only that it is a history lesson woven into the murder mystery.

This starts with the murder of a young girl in a hotel. Next we pick up what is to be the present, a murder of a man that was a political candidate.

There are many characters over the different time periods which were at times difficult to keep track of. While I enjoyed some of the history provided, at times it was too much about the many topics covered. While some might find this enjoyable, for me it was tough to follow.

Historical mystery fiction by Amy Chua set in San Francisco of the 1940s. A little girl from the wealthy Bainbridge family dies under mysterious circumstances in the opulent upscale Claremont hotel. Over a decade later, a prominent politician and possible Presidential Candidate, Walter Wilkinson is found dead in the same hotel with his pants down and his mouth stuffed with mysterious objects. This leads homicide Detective Al Sullivan to investigate. With interesting glimpses of the life and times in San Francisco of the 1940s, this is an engrossing historical mystery which will keep you guessing till the end.

Thank you Netgalley, Amy Chua and St. Martin's Press for the ARC

Rich, twisty, and unpredictable!

The Golden Gate is a mysterious, gripping tale set in Berkeley, California, during 1944 that sees Homicide Detective Al Sullivan investigating the bizarre murder of presidential candidate Walter Wilkinson in the Claremont Hotel which, as it unfolds, also seems strangely entangled with the death of a seven-year-old girl in the same hotel ten years previous, China’s first lady Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, and a whole slew of mischief, mayhem, and long-buried secrets.

The prose is sharp and brisk. The characters are multilayered, flawed, and persistent. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel seamlessly into a menacing tale full of corruption, coercion, politics, racism, inequality, deduction, suspicious motivations, criminal behaviour, dangerous endeavours, familial drama, red herrings, lies, and murder.

Overall, The Golden Gate is an ominous, atmospheric, sophisticated read by Chua that I hope is only the start of what could be an entertaining series with its noir-type feel, colourful characters, abundance of action, and straight-up detective work.

This is an interesting historical police procedural. A prominent politician is murdered in a high end hotel and most of the suspects are from wealthy families. Detective Al Sullivan is tasked with finding the killer and the reason for the murder. Al is focused on doing his job while also trying to take care of his 11 year old niece. Readers will be be surprised by the twists and turns as the plot reveals who the true killer is and the motive.

This historical crime novel takes place in Berkeley, California and goes back in forth between the 1930s and 1940s. The 1944 mystery begins with the murder of Walter Wilkinson, (a politician who had come in second to FDR for president in 1940) had been killed and there are plenty of suspects to choose from. Our detective was already at the largest hotel on the West Coast, when he was called to Wilkinson’s suite. Wilkinson had been dead. Also notable is an old and strange antique doll that was found in the empty closet. Is this a red herring? Sprinkled throughout the book is the relationship of the homicide detective and his niece, showing us the extreme poverty of the time if you were not white. And the Golden Gate Bridge makes an appearance. You will be kept guessing with the story.

3.5 stars

Amy Chua’s debut novel The Golden Gate is an ambitious work of historical fiction that weaves together many threads spun around the murder of a politician named Walter Wilkinson at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California in 1944. Al Sullivan is the police detective on the case and he gets to work quickly, following one clue after another that mysteriously keeps leading him to the Bainbridge family (one of the wealthiest families in San Francisco) as well as another death that occurred at the same hotel 14 years ago. As the investigation unfolds, several other possible “angles” emerge that attempt to throw Sullivan (and us as readers) off track, but of course, the truth prevails in the end.

This historical mystery was an enjoyable read overall, but due to the broad scope of issues (social, political, and everything else in between) that Chua tries to cover here, it felt like the story was all over the place at times. Chua also incorporated a lot of historical facts throughout the story, many of which were fascinating (especially to a history buff like me), but didn’t seem to have much relevance to the plot. In fact, there were moments where I felt like I was reading a history textbook rather than mystery novel (which felt even more awkward considering the sections with the most historical facts were largely narrated from Sullivan’s first person perspective). There were also large segments where Sullivan would go into spiels relating to his background — again, interesting, but felt kind of off-topic since much of it didn’t seem to have anything to do with the case he was investigating.

The part of the story’s structure that I thought worked really well was the deposition from the Bainbridge family’s matriarch Genevieve, which was interspersed throughout the narrative. The way that these sections were written — with just enough information yet not revealing too much — combined with the other clues from the investigation, had me wondering and second- guessing certain things (as a mystery novel should).

Overall, this one was definitely entertaining, but I think it would’ve been more effective if the irrelevant historical facts were left out, as this distracted from the story at times. With mysteries / thrillers, I prefer for them to be more tightly-plotted — this one went off on too many tangents, which made the plot harder to follow. This was a good first effort though and I appreciate all the research that Chua put into this one. I actually didn’t realize until I read up on the author afterwards that Chua also wrote the nonfiction book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother — her 2011 memoir that I’ve had on my TBR for ages but still have not yet read. I guess this is as good a reminder as any to find time to get to that one at some point.

Received ARC from Minotaur Books via NetGalley.

The Golden Gate reminded me of a classic noir detective story, with a twenty-first century social justice point of view. In addition to the whodunit, there was also commentary on class issues. The history of California and the Bay Area was really interesting.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in California history, noir detective stories, whodunit mysteries, or those interested in class struggles.

The book blurb hooked me immediately. Unfortunately, the story itself was not very compelling. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy.

Chai’s first novel is definitely worth the wait and her own history can be felt powerfully. This is a classic noir mystery with a detective that is struggling with his own place in life, subtle and not so subtle red herrings, 1940’s era and vibes, and three beautiful blond heiresses under suspicion of the murder of a cad. I kept imagining a young Humphrey Bogard, Lauren Bacall, Veronica Lake, and Ruth Roman. The grandmother is a favorite character and I could imagine Agnes Moorehead. I seldom cast characters as I read but it must be the 40’s noir feel. There is a lot of social commentary built into this novels storyline, definitely relevant then and still today, but not oppressive to the read.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St Martin's Press for the early listen/read.
This review will be for both audio and ebook
Loved this book and this author! First book I have read by this author. Will definitely read more by her.
What a great mystery and the investigation that was involved in solving two mysteries. One from the current time (1944) in the book and one from 10 years earlier (1933-34).
Highly recommend.
The narrators did a wonderful job telling the story. Was easy to differentiate between the characters.

On the one hand, I loved this book, on the other, I think it should have been two books. There just seemed to be too much going on for one story. That being said, I enjoyed it and the different parts of the book. It was crime drama, mystery, family drama and historical fiction all wrapped in one. I enjoyed the different aspects and the history throughout the book. It made it easy to understand life during that time. It was very clear that Chua focused on research in order to write her story. If you enjoy historical fiction, give it a try, if you are bored by history, this is not the one for you.

Berkeley, California 1944 - a presidential candidate is assassinated in a hotel room. The investigation brings up the death of a 7-year-old-girl from 10 years earlier. As the surviving sister and cousins are pulled into the investigation, it is hard not to be swayed by their power and wealth. Will they ever find out what really happened?

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copies.

Pub Day: September 19, 2023

3.5

Combine a murder of a Presidential candidate in a supposedly haunted hotel that involves a wealthy and influential family and the First Lady of China in San Francisco in the 1940's and you get quite a story! Detective Al Sullivan is at the swanky Claremont Hotel when he finds out there has been a murder there. He asks for a room to be the headquarters for his investigation and is given the only room available - the one that is considered haunted. He also finds out that his suspects could be from the wealthy Bainbridge Family that are somewhat off limits unless he has definitive evidence against them. But who could it be? The matriarch and grandmother, her daughter who is mentally unstable, or one of her granddaughters? Tie in another possibility of the Chinese First Lady, who is also a bit off limits, and the Detective is left with a lot of challenges and work.

It felt a bit long for me as the author tied in a lot of history, including some on the building of the Golden Gate Bridge and that Japanese internment camps, but overall it was compelling reading that kept me guessing.


My thanks to Net Galley, Minotaur Books and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this e-book and audio book.

Al Sullivan is the lead detective investigating the murder of a presidential candidate at the Claremont Hotel in San Francisco in 1944. A witness states one of the three wealthy Bainbridge girls was leaving his hotel room around the time of the murders, the question is, which one?

This is a phenomenal book that grabbed me from the get go and had me hooked to the last page. There is so much more to this book than just a murder mystery though. It's a history lesson on class, racism, homophobia, gender discrimination, Japanese internment. The characters are very well rounded and the story is well plotted with good pacing. The story is told in dual timelines, one about the murder mystery, and the other set in 1930 giving the backstory, as told my the Matriarch of the Bainbridge family.

Al, our main character is flawed, but sympathetic. At times, both likable and unlikable. I really enjoyed the time I spent with these characters. Also, please read the author's note at the end and check out the author's recommended reads to learn more about the history of the time and place that the story takes place in.

My appreciation to Saint Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, author Amy Chua, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.