The Case of the Lion Dance

Chinatown #2

by Laurence Yep

An ex-movie star turned publicist, Auntie Tiger Lil is a pro at getting people to pay attention to her -- especially thieves! Though she was trying to draw all types of people to the opening of the Wok Inn Restaurant, neither Auntie nor her great-niece, Lily, expected that one of them would ruin the lion dance contest and make off with the big donation intended for charity. When the plans for the opening go up in smoke, Auntie Tiger Lil and Lily must comb Chinatown to find the culprit. Was it a lion dancer, a gang member, or someone behind the scenes? As in The Case of the Goblin Pearls, Tiger Lil and Lily find themselves embroiled in a mystery that could happen only in Chinatown.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Born June 14, 1948 in San Francisco, California, Yep was the son of Thomas Gim Yep and Franche Lee Yep. Franche Lee, her family's youngest child, was born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia where her family owned a Chinese laundry. Yep's father, Thomas, was born in China and came to America at the age of ten where he lived, not in Chinatown, but with an Irish friend in a white neighborhood. After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. Growing up in San Francisco, Yep felt alienated. He was in his own words his neighborhood's "all-purpose Asian" and did not feel he had a culture of his own. Joanne Ryder, a children's book author, and Yep met and became friends during college while she was his editor. They later married and now live in San Francisco.

Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.

Reviews

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this quite as much as the last one. The characters seemed more annoying and the story much slower to get into. I did appreciate the way the mystery eventually panned out, but I'm not sure I want to go through this anymore.

[Noah N · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a boy who wants to be able to compete in a karate compotion and is, trying to prove to the people who pick on him that hes not week.At the beginig of the story the boy is heiping his mom to deckarate thier resturant.For a celebration from the The boy is talking to his two friends.

[Beth Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this three and a half stars if I could. Hard to believe all but a few chapters took place on one day. I do like Lily and Tiger Lil, and their relationship...but didn't like the sub-plot of Tiger Lil having to diet. I liked the Chinatown setting a lot.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like it so far. It's a cute mystery and delves a little bit into life in San Francisco's Chinatown. I'll probably read the first book in this series.