What do you think?
Rate this book
Chinatown gang leader “Lucky” Louie was shot outside of a Chinatown off track betting establishment on the thirteenth of January, and lay in a coma for 88 days, waking on Easter Sunday. The number 88 is a double-helix double-lucky Chinese number; religion and superstition all lean Lucky’s way.
But Detective Jack Yu, Lucky’s boyhood blood brother, fears his friend’s luck is about to run out. When Lucky embarks on a complex and daring series of crimes against the Chinatown criminal underground, Jack races to stop him before his enemies do so—permanently.
But Detective Jack Yu, Lucky’s boyhood blood brother, fears his friend’s luck is about to run out. When Lucky embarks on a complex and daring series of crimes against the Chinatown criminal underground, Jack races to stop him before his enemies do so—permanently.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 14, 2017
5 people are currently reading
296 people want to read
About the author
Henry Chang
16 books53 followersHenry Chang is a New Yorker, a native son of Chinatown and the Lower East Side. His poems have appeared in the seminal Yellow Pearl, anthology, and in Gangs In New York’s Chinatown. He has written for Bridge Magazine, and his fiction has appeared in On A Bed Of Rice and in the NuyorAsian Anthology. His debut novel Chinatown Beat garnered high praise from the New York Times Book Review, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, among others.
Henry Chang is a graduate of CCNY (City College of New York). He has been a lighting consultant, and a Security Director for major hotels, commercial properties, and retail businesses in Manhattan.
He resides in the Chinatown area and has finished the fifth book of his Chinatown Trilogy, Lucky, which will be available Spring 2017. His fourth book, Death Money was published April 2014.
Henry Chang is a graduate of CCNY (City College of New York). He has been a lighting consultant, and a Security Director for major hotels, commercial properties, and retail businesses in Manhattan.
He resides in the Chinatown area and has finished the fifth book of his Chinatown Trilogy, Lucky, which will be available Spring 2017. His fourth book, Death Money was published April 2014.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 7, 2017
It is not a typical work of crime fiction. There are crimes in plenty, and a detective, but no detection. There is very little suspense, as we know at every step who done it, though not how soon it will all catch up with them. What is special about this book is the incredibly vivid portrait of Chinatown as a physical place and as a cultural milieu with all its racial and social complications, and the doomed relationship between Detective Jack Yu and his boyhood blood brother Lucky. The two were inseparable as boys, and remain close after taking opposite paths, one into organized crime, the other into the police.
Jack is under orders to see a therapist due to a couple of job related shootings. His lover, the attorney Alexandra is in the middle of nasty divorce proceedings and can’t see him for fear of losing custody of her son. He is at loose ends both personally and professionally. Lucky, former head of a powerful gang, has been in a coma for 88 days after being shot. When he comes to, he calls Jack to get him from the hospital and take him to one of his safe houses so he can begin to plan his revenge and his return to power.
The crimes are spectacular, but bound to fail in the end. If rival gangs don’t get Lucky, the police will.
The casual and not so casual racism that Jack faces on the job, and the skepticism he faces as a Chinese cop on the street, the multifaceted gang scene and the hidden life behind the shops and restaurants of Chinatown are all exceptionally well portrayed.
Jack is under orders to see a therapist due to a couple of job related shootings. His lover, the attorney Alexandra is in the middle of nasty divorce proceedings and can’t see him for fear of losing custody of her son. He is at loose ends both personally and professionally. Lucky, former head of a powerful gang, has been in a coma for 88 days after being shot. When he comes to, he calls Jack to get him from the hospital and take him to one of his safe houses so he can begin to plan his revenge and his return to power.
The crimes are spectacular, but bound to fail in the end. If rival gangs don’t get Lucky, the police will.
The casual and not so casual racism that Jack faces on the job, and the skepticism he faces as a Chinese cop on the street, the multifaceted gang scene and the hidden life behind the shops and restaurants of Chinatown are all exceptionally well portrayed.
November 27, 2018
A quick and fun read. I had not read any of this series before and would likely read another, if I stumble across one.
February 19, 2017
Detective Jack Yu is back on the job, though still conflicted over issues in his life. His romance with Alexandra Lee-Chow is on hold due to her contentious divorce. The NYPD is concerned about his mental health and has set him up with a shrink who is delving into the shootings he's been involved in and the serious injuries he's suffered in the line of duty.
And now his boyhood friend Tat "Lucky" Louie, a Ghost Legion dailo, has risen from the dead.
Tat has awakened from an 88-day coma and asked for Jack to pick him up at the hospital. Lucky had been shot outside a Chinatown off track betting establishment. While still comatose, Lucky heard his associates planning to kill him and take over his criminal operations.
Jack does an "arrest" to get Lucky away from a group trying to have him discharged in their custody. Lucky won't consider an offer of Witness Protection and talks Jack into releasing him on the street, a move that doesn't win him any points with his captain.
Jack knows Lucky is bent on revenge but he doesn't think the gangster's nickname is going to be enough to save him. The atmospheric plot sweeps back and forth between the activities of the detective and the gangster, providing insight into the two men and their close bond.
Henry Chang lives on Mott street, where some of the action in the novel takes place. He provides a definite sense of place, a glimpse into Chinese culture, opportunity to learn a little Chinese and a good story. What more can one ask?
And now his boyhood friend Tat "Lucky" Louie, a Ghost Legion dailo, has risen from the dead.
Tat has awakened from an 88-day coma and asked for Jack to pick him up at the hospital. Lucky had been shot outside a Chinatown off track betting establishment. While still comatose, Lucky heard his associates planning to kill him and take over his criminal operations.
Jack does an "arrest" to get Lucky away from a group trying to have him discharged in their custody. Lucky won't consider an offer of Witness Protection and talks Jack into releasing him on the street, a move that doesn't win him any points with his captain.
Jack knows Lucky is bent on revenge but he doesn't think the gangster's nickname is going to be enough to save him. The atmospheric plot sweeps back and forth between the activities of the detective and the gangster, providing insight into the two men and their close bond.
Henry Chang lives on Mott street, where some of the action in the novel takes place. He provides a definite sense of place, a glimpse into Chinese culture, opportunity to learn a little Chinese and a good story. What more can one ask?
June 23, 2017
I have no idea how this ended up in my Goodreads queue, but this was so off the mark for me that I felt like I was missing something. A noir novel without any of the fun parts of noir, a mystery with no mystery at the center, a thriller where all the action is described as factually as possible. The Chinese-American cop at the center of the book has to deal with a lot of racism on the force, although I couldn't figure out what the author was getting at when all the bad characters referred to people as "Chi-nese". I really only made it through to the end because the book is a slim 218 pages with a generous helping of white space. Soho Crime did a great job packaging it, though.
August 17, 2017
Lucky
Mysterious Book Report No. 298
by John Dwaine McKenna
New York City’s Chinatown is the home turf of NYPD Detective Jack Yu, the beleaguered serial character created by author Henry Chang, and a personal favorite of the MBR, because the pragmatic and altruistic Chinese-American crime fighter operates in one of the most violent, superstitious, drug and gang-infested, as well as racially-prejudiced environments on planet earth without losing his personal moral compass . . . or his humanity. Jack was born and raised in Chinatown. He knows the unwritten rules: don’t talk to outsiders, we take care of our own problems and run our own community. By joining the round-eyed white devils in blue, Jack became—in his own father’s words—A jouh gow, a running dog, someone used by the white police department against his own people. “A Chinatown cop, first sign of trouble you’re the one they throw under the bus,” according to Tat “Lucky” Louie, Jack Yu’s boyhood friend, blood brother and a lifelong criminal.
Lucky, (Soho Press, $24.95, 218 pages, ISBN 978-1-61695-784-1) by Henry Chang is the fifth installment in his fascinating series featuring Jack Yu. This time, Jack’s trying to nurse a fading, but intense and complicated love affair when he gets word that Lucky Louie, his boyhood pal and one of the most feared dailos in all of Chinatown, has come out of his eighty-eight day coma and is calling for Jack. After being shot twice in the head driving a gangland assassination attempt, Lucky wasn’t expected to live, much less overhear his former associates plotting the divvying up of his empire. But he did. He’s not called “Lucky” for nothing, and the fact that he emerged from his coma on the eighty-eighth day . . . a double helix, and a very fortuitous number in Chinese lore . . . proves it. Now, as Lucky sets out to retake and rebuild his lost empire by robbing the tong and triad-protected businesses of his enemies, he’s got an SOS, shoot on sight, order on his head along with a $10,000 reward, while his lifelong friend, NYPD Detective Jack Yu, tries to convince him to enter the witness protection program. But Lucky’s a believer in his own good luck and it’s ability to see him through any danger. He lives by the mantra, Live big or die small. Whichever one happens, Lucky Louie will be a gamer all the way to the end. If you’re a fan of noir, the Jack Yu stories will enthrall, entertain and introduce you to a thriving community that’s like a small slice of a foreign land, smack-dab in the midst of America’s biggest city. It’s a visit you won’t forget!
Mysterious Book Report No. 298
by John Dwaine McKenna
New York City’s Chinatown is the home turf of NYPD Detective Jack Yu, the beleaguered serial character created by author Henry Chang, and a personal favorite of the MBR, because the pragmatic and altruistic Chinese-American crime fighter operates in one of the most violent, superstitious, drug and gang-infested, as well as racially-prejudiced environments on planet earth without losing his personal moral compass . . . or his humanity. Jack was born and raised in Chinatown. He knows the unwritten rules: don’t talk to outsiders, we take care of our own problems and run our own community. By joining the round-eyed white devils in blue, Jack became—in his own father’s words—A jouh gow, a running dog, someone used by the white police department against his own people. “A Chinatown cop, first sign of trouble you’re the one they throw under the bus,” according to Tat “Lucky” Louie, Jack Yu’s boyhood friend, blood brother and a lifelong criminal.
Lucky, (Soho Press, $24.95, 218 pages, ISBN 978-1-61695-784-1) by Henry Chang is the fifth installment in his fascinating series featuring Jack Yu. This time, Jack’s trying to nurse a fading, but intense and complicated love affair when he gets word that Lucky Louie, his boyhood pal and one of the most feared dailos in all of Chinatown, has come out of his eighty-eight day coma and is calling for Jack. After being shot twice in the head driving a gangland assassination attempt, Lucky wasn’t expected to live, much less overhear his former associates plotting the divvying up of his empire. But he did. He’s not called “Lucky” for nothing, and the fact that he emerged from his coma on the eighty-eighth day . . . a double helix, and a very fortuitous number in Chinese lore . . . proves it. Now, as Lucky sets out to retake and rebuild his lost empire by robbing the tong and triad-protected businesses of his enemies, he’s got an SOS, shoot on sight, order on his head along with a $10,000 reward, while his lifelong friend, NYPD Detective Jack Yu, tries to convince him to enter the witness protection program. But Lucky’s a believer in his own good luck and it’s ability to see him through any danger. He lives by the mantra, Live big or die small. Whichever one happens, Lucky Louie will be a gamer all the way to the end. If you’re a fan of noir, the Jack Yu stories will enthrall, entertain and introduce you to a thriving community that’s like a small slice of a foreign land, smack-dab in the midst of America’s biggest city. It’s a visit you won’t forget!
November 10, 2017
The protagonist in this series, Jack Yu, is a Chinese detective. The action centers in New York’s Chinatown. The novels offer a brutal look into the poverty and violence, the gangsters and crime of the society. The “Lucky” of the title is Jack’s boyhood friend, a Chinatown gang leader name Louie who was shot in a Chinatown OTB establishment and lay in a coma for 88 days, finally awakening on Easter Sunday.
Jack believes his blood brother friend has run out of luck, and tries to get him to enter the witness protection program. But Lucky eschews Jack’s advice, and upon his recovery after leaving the hospital puts together a small crew in an attempt to regain his position as the crime boss of Chinatown. He masterminds several daring operations against other crime bosses’ gambling dens or massage parlors, stealing large sums of money. It is a race with one of two results.
Meanwhile Jack is called upon to perform his duties as a New York City cop, giving the author the means to describe the culture and people of Chinatown (and the satellite areas in Queens) , portraying the streets, buildings and environment as only a native can. Henry Chang writes simple, hard prose, tightly plotted.
Recommended.
Jack believes his blood brother friend has run out of luck, and tries to get him to enter the witness protection program. But Lucky eschews Jack’s advice, and upon his recovery after leaving the hospital puts together a small crew in an attempt to regain his position as the crime boss of Chinatown. He masterminds several daring operations against other crime bosses’ gambling dens or massage parlors, stealing large sums of money. It is a race with one of two results.
Meanwhile Jack is called upon to perform his duties as a New York City cop, giving the author the means to describe the culture and people of Chinatown (and the satellite areas in Queens) , portraying the streets, buildings and environment as only a native can. Henry Chang writes simple, hard prose, tightly plotted.
Recommended.
August 27, 2022
Rounding up to 4 stars since I am canto and from NYC so I throughly enjoyed the authors description of the old neighborhood: the smells, the foods, the local flavor. Having lived in Chinatown for a few years and growing up in the area I am curious to see if these tongs and triads actually exist lol not sure how I would find out though ha! I think this book is seriously how all ABCs imagined how the bad boy life would be from watching all the movies growing up. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it! I didn’t know this was his newest #5 in the detective series so I am definitely going to read the 4 previous ones!
May 19, 2017
If you haven't read the Jack Yu books before, this is a great place to start and you'll be fine with it as a standalone. Chang does a fantastic job of bringing NYC's Chinatown to life. The dichotomy of two childhood friends- cop and gangster- is a constant theme but here one has the advantage of learning a bit about Chinese expat culture. There's no extra language here and no extraneous plot devices. Read this one for a good procedural well told. Once you've done that, look for more from Chang. thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.
February 4, 2022
3.7 book continues Jack Wu’s childhood friendship with Lucky who is out of a comma and seeking revenge . More in the experiences of Chinatown cultures . Interesting part about the month where Chinese visit graves and spend death money and celebrate those who have passed . The book mentioned the cemetery where my father is buried .
The book could have gone much farther about the black book and the mysterious Red Jade. It was more like a place holder book .
The book could have gone much farther about the black book and the mysterious Red Jade. It was more like a place holder book .
August 18, 2017
Overall I thought it was an entertaining book. It was a quick read and kept me engaged. I do wish it explained a little better some of the slang used and the Chinese food. I felt that some of the character and scene development went over my head because of the slang usage. I would recommend the book to those interested in noir-ish type books and quick reads.
July 21, 2017
In this noirish mystery, Jack Yu struggles with divided loyalties when his childhood friend, recently out of a coma, goes on a crime spree. This well written thriller was a great read: my only quibble is that I wished the many Chinese dishes described were in English.
August 9, 2019
This book is better than a 3 star, but I mark it down as one of the series characters disappeared without being definitely dead and I kept expecting to see her show up again. I was very disappointed she didn't.
November 28, 2022
Show, don’t tell. This book seemed more interested in limning a portrait of local color, describing Chinatown, than in getting around to a story. Perhaps there was a story in all those words, but I did not find it.
March 8, 2023
Easy quick read with a lot of New York specific details, I think I would of enjoyed it more if I was from there but not a bad quick read. Felt like I was reading an episode of a police tv show and and this episode was based out of Chinatown
June 15, 2017
A bit tedious.
July 19, 2018
Grabbed this because I am a mystery reader. Did not finish, couldn’t get interested.
October 17, 2019
Pretty good crime novel, short enough to read in an evening. Read during a trip to New Jersey and enjoyed it a lot.
March 1, 2017
NYC Detective Jack Yu is back, confronting love and loyalty in Chinatown as a childhood pal, now on the wrong side of the law, seeks revenge on those who betrayed him. This is a story perfectly pitched, delivered in a gritty, urban staccato style, populated with characters who provide a glimpse into the real life and richness of Chinatown. A solid mystery with a fascinating protagonist.
February 1, 2017
This book reads like a dime novel/pulp fiction but set in modern day NYC, and it works. It's a short and fast reading book of 216 pages. It has all the characteristics of an old western paperback: good guys, bad guys, a defined plot, hero figure, flawed figure, lots of action, some introspection, quick ending.
I finished it in less than 1 day. It was easy to read, no slow parts and the writing basically carried me along from start to finish. The twist is that instead of the Wild West, we have New York's Chinatown. The author writes it as a thriving subculture from the inside. It's almost like a parallel universe.
The only thing that I wondered was why Jack Yu didn't have a partner and why he didn't have a defined role, he seem to be able to roam around and act as a free agent inside his department, being called at will, and seemingly only being called when the crime had a Chinese connection.
Overall I liked it because it was a good and fast read and because of the inside look into Chinatown. There are other books in the series and this one touches on events that happened previously but you don't need to have read the earlier books. Detective Yu's private life is mentioned but is only a very small part of the story. I'd definitely want to read the other ones in this series.
I received this book as a review copy.
I finished it in less than 1 day. It was easy to read, no slow parts and the writing basically carried me along from start to finish. The twist is that instead of the Wild West, we have New York's Chinatown. The author writes it as a thriving subculture from the inside. It's almost like a parallel universe.
The only thing that I wondered was why Jack Yu didn't have a partner and why he didn't have a defined role, he seem to be able to roam around and act as a free agent inside his department, being called at will, and seemingly only being called when the crime had a Chinese connection.
Overall I liked it because it was a good and fast read and because of the inside look into Chinatown. There are other books in the series and this one touches on events that happened previously but you don't need to have read the earlier books. Detective Yu's private life is mentioned but is only a very small part of the story. I'd definitely want to read the other ones in this series.
I received this book as a review copy.
April 18, 2018
Reviewed for Library Journal in March 1st, 2017 issue.
Det. Jack Yu struggles between his loyalties formed growing up in New York's Chinatown and his role as a police officer in the very same neighborhood. When he discovers that his ex-Chinatown blood brother "Lucky" Louie has woken up from his 88-day coma, he is determined to save his childhood friend. Jack views this miraculous recovery as a last chance for Lucky to enter witness protection and pleads with him to abandon his life of crime. Instead, Lucky is intent on executing a glorious payback to those who tried to kill him. The two old friends vie for dominance as redemption clashes with revenge and the body count grows higher. This fifth installment in the "Jack Yu" series (after Death Money) is set against an intriguing and fascinating backdrop in a section of New York rife with history. While it is possible to read this as a stand-alone, there are many references to past cases that seasoned followers will more easily understand. VERDICT: The sparse writing infused with Chinatown culture will appeal to those who are drawn to noir mysteries with a rich cultural component.--Amy Nolan, St. Joseph, MI
Det. Jack Yu struggles between his loyalties formed growing up in New York's Chinatown and his role as a police officer in the very same neighborhood. When he discovers that his ex-Chinatown blood brother "Lucky" Louie has woken up from his 88-day coma, he is determined to save his childhood friend. Jack views this miraculous recovery as a last chance for Lucky to enter witness protection and pleads with him to abandon his life of crime. Instead, Lucky is intent on executing a glorious payback to those who tried to kill him. The two old friends vie for dominance as redemption clashes with revenge and the body count grows higher. This fifth installment in the "Jack Yu" series (after Death Money) is set against an intriguing and fascinating backdrop in a section of New York rife with history. While it is possible to read this as a stand-alone, there are many references to past cases that seasoned followers will more easily understand. VERDICT: The sparse writing infused with Chinatown culture will appeal to those who are drawn to noir mysteries with a rich cultural component.--Amy Nolan, St. Joseph, MI
Want to read
March 28, 2017#5 of the Detective Jack Yu series set in NYC's Chinatown. Just published two weeks ago, and the 'last' in this series. The Mystery Book Group read the first in the series, Chinatown Beat, in May 2008. I'll be sorry to see the last of this series! What's next from Henry Chang?
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews