e-ARC from NetGalley.

An exploration of organized crime in Chinatown, In the Ghost Shadows paints a fascinating picture of both corruption & morality within gangs. This biography/memoire of former Ghost Shadows leader, Peter "Kid Jai" Chin, follows him from his impoverished childhood in Hong Kong to his grandparents' one-bedroom apartment in NYC to the smallest gang running in 1960s Chinatown to his growth into the leader of the powerful Ghost Shadows to his decades in federal prison, when he finally learned to read. To say this was a fascinating story would be an understatement.

I don't know what to say about this book beyond the fact that I find the life of Peter Chin utterly fascinating. His easy ability to forgive even those who tried to kill him. His strict sense of morality. His fierce protectiveness of women. His acceptance of the bad. His easy rapport with almost everyone he came across. The fact that all of this happened to him before he was 26.

This was almost a 5 star read for me, but what took away a star was the scattered, chaotic writing in the last 20%. It took on a desperate, feverish quality, like the author was on a deadline & stayed up all night to pound out the last 50 pages right as it was due. Information was repeated. Individuals we already knew were reintroduced, as if for the first time. There were random interjections of information about the Central Park Five, even though this had absolutely nothing to do with Peter Chin's story, and no other major historical events outside of Chinatown were discussed.

Ultimately, though, I would describe this as a must-read. And there is a 100% chance I would watch a biopic and/or documentary based on this.

An amazing and astonishing story into the history of China town in the early 70's and 80's. Peter Chan emigrated from Hong Kong to America in 1959 and became a member of the China Town Ghost Shadows gang in the 1970's. Chan rises to the highest ranks of the organized crime family. This book is the story of the Chinatown shadowy underworld, and Chan talks about the wars and the secret inner workings of the gangs. This involves racketeering, Extortion, Robberies, Kidnapping and Murders plus other countless crimes committed.
Chan talks about his time in prison and how he never informed on anyone else. A warning you may get a bit lost with all the names in this book but well worth persevering. A remarkably interesting read for true crime fans. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was an unusual story to me. I studied gangs quite a bit in my previous life (before I retired), and have had very little exposure to Asian gangs. I knew they were out there, but they really stayed under the radar.
Along comes this book by Peter Chin, a former gang leader/mob boss, who spent a LONG time in prison, and came out and reformed his life. It's the story of a horrible childhood, one that I wouldn't wish on any soul. It covers his beginnings in the Ghost Shadows gang, and goes through an entire life of gang activity. He continued until he was undone by that enemy of all organized crime, the RICO statute. I have to give the man his props, he took the case on the chin, and never informed on anybody else. His time in federal prison was interesting, especially to an old retired federal prison guard like me. Upon release from prison, he vowed to reform himself and get his first "honest" job. And he has managed to create a good life for himself.
Chin's ghost writer, Everett De Morier, does an admirable job of telling the story. He's fair to Chin, non-judgemental, but not fawning over him like some other writers do in their books about criminals. I do have to say that Chin has either told De Morier a very sanitized version of the violence that Chin must have wrought/experienced, or together they agreed not to spill any secrets.
It's a good book. Highly readable. Very interesting. It gets a bit confusing occasionally, with all the names and gang names. But if one takes his time while reading, it all comes together well.

I found this to be an astonishing story of a life that went from a horrific beginning in Chinatown, New York to one of redemption later on. It gives some history of Chinatown during the 70s and 80s that would be sorely missed otherwise. I kept finding myself rooting for Peter despite his situation, as he keeps showing such a deep sense of right throughout.