What do you think?
Rate this book
North Beach Mystery #1
Chasing the Dragon
A complicated, shadowy man in disgrace, Dante Mancuso leads a double life. Lately, though, the line he walks has become razor thin.
Dante works for The Company, a nebulous security organization operating just this side of the law. Dante wants out, but it's a hard life to leave behind-rich with its own seductions, its own dark attractions.
His latest assignment sends him back to his old North Beach neighborhood in San Francisco. First rendezvous? His estranged father's funeral in the dying heart of Little Italy. Here Dante picks up the strands of his old life and soon finds himself playing an even more elaborate game, a game that involves not just his duplicitous family, but also his ex-fiancée and his former colleagues in the San Francisco Police Department.
Adept as he is, Dante can not play this game forever, pursued by the laconic Frank Ying, a Chinese detective anxious to know the secrets Dante hides. Caught between the sinister imperatives of The Company and the ghosts of his own past, Dante treads a harrowing path to a confrontation more lethal-and more surprising-than he could have imagined.
With Chasing the Dragon , Domenic Stansberry-the acclaimed writer of modern noir-introduces a new hardboiled series set in San Francisco. In this, the series opener, Stansberry tells a story written in clear homage to the masters of the genre, yet with an original, breathtaking voice all his own.
Domenic Stansberry's recent novels include the Edgar Award and Hammett Prize finalist The Last Days of Il Duce , Manifesto for the Dead , and The Confession . He lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay area.
Dante works for The Company, a nebulous security organization operating just this side of the law. Dante wants out, but it's a hard life to leave behind-rich with its own seductions, its own dark attractions.
His latest assignment sends him back to his old North Beach neighborhood in San Francisco. First rendezvous? His estranged father's funeral in the dying heart of Little Italy. Here Dante picks up the strands of his old life and soon finds himself playing an even more elaborate game, a game that involves not just his duplicitous family, but also his ex-fiancée and his former colleagues in the San Francisco Police Department.
Adept as he is, Dante can not play this game forever, pursued by the laconic Frank Ying, a Chinese detective anxious to know the secrets Dante hides. Caught between the sinister imperatives of The Company and the ghosts of his own past, Dante treads a harrowing path to a confrontation more lethal-and more surprising-than he could have imagined.
With Chasing the Dragon , Domenic Stansberry-the acclaimed writer of modern noir-introduces a new hardboiled series set in San Francisco. In this, the series opener, Stansberry tells a story written in clear homage to the masters of the genre, yet with an original, breathtaking voice all his own.
Domenic Stansberry's recent novels include the Edgar Award and Hammett Prize finalist The Last Days of Il Duce , Manifesto for the Dead , and The Confession . He lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay area.
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 4, 2004
2 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Domenic Stansberry
24 books44 followersDomenic Stansberry is an Edgar Award winning novelist known for his dark, innovative crime novels. His latest novel, The White Devil, tells the story of a young American woman in Rome, an aspiring actress, who— together with her too charming brother— is implicated in a series of crimes dating back to her childhood days in Texas. Stansberry is also the author of the North Beach Mystery Series, which has won wide praise for its portrayal of the ethnic and political subcultures of San Francisco. Books from the series include The Ancient Rain, named several years after its original publication as one of the best crime novels of the decade by Booklist.
An earlier novel, The Confession, received the Edgar Allan Poe Award for its portrayal of a Marin County psychologist accused of murdering his mistress.
Stansberry grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently lives in a small town north of that city with his wife, the poet Gillian Conoley, and their daughter Gillis.
An earlier novel, The Confession, received the Edgar Allan Poe Award for its portrayal of a Marin County psychologist accused of murdering his mistress.
Stansberry grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently lives in a small town north of that city with his wife, the poet Gillian Conoley, and their daughter Gillis.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 12, 2015
This book just didn't do it for me. I didn't really warm to any of the characters and the events were confusing. There were a lot of references to places around San Francisco which may have been interesting if I was familiar with that city, but there wasn't enough here to make me feel as if I was there. I don't mind the ending being left hanging, but almost everything else was, too. It's a shame because the book had potential. Maybe I'm being too negative; someone else might like it just fine. But I for one was left feeling flat.
May 29, 2008
Started out as a better-than-average crime thriller -- in a field where the average is pretty abysmal -- but didn't fulfill its promise. Another bedtime book that didn't do the job.
August 5, 2018
Well written
Not satisfactory ending
Not satisfactory ending
September 14, 2011
Yikes! Let the reader beware: this is dark, unsatisfying, stuff.
The evil that lurks in the shadows in this novel is The Company, a vague entity that seems as tied to and embedded in government and law enforcement as it is the drug and smuggling cartels. The plot consists of two intertwined threads, one personal for the main character--solving the murder of his father--and one professional, the company asks him to arrange a meeting between a local Muslim leader and an up and coming Chinese mafioso for the purpose of turning them against their higher ups.
Meanwhile there are a variety of subplots, a couple of characters whose are only in the novel to be killed at plot critical moments, and a deeply evocative characterization of a (possibly non-existent) neighborhood in San Fransisco.
The point of the novel appears to be that the forces in power get what they want regardless of who gets hurt, and the best any of us can hope for is to keep our heads down and try not to get caught up in it. Although there is no explicit mention of September 11th or terrorism, the paranoia in this novel is seems clearly fueled by a distrust of government and the defense and security industries. I assume this is intentional.
Like most noirish crime novels, the universal corruption is balanced by an individual redemption. In this case this comes at the end with the main character abruptly destroying the evidence of a grand conspiracy in order to preserve his neighborhood, even though it is dying on its own. But this is an incredibly hollow redemption, because the author has given no reason why this is something worth saving.
As I wrote this, my rating went from 4 stars, to 3, to 2. There is much to enjoy about this novel, it is complex, moves very quickly, has some interesting characters, and perfectly captures the feel of the non-touristy parts of San Fransisco. Sounds like a great crime novel right? But the more I think about the deep underlying cynicism and paranoia, the less I feel like I can truly recommend this novel.
Fuck it, 2 stars, and I'm going to go reread the Maltese Falcon.
The evil that lurks in the shadows in this novel is The Company, a vague entity that seems as tied to and embedded in government and law enforcement as it is the drug and smuggling cartels. The plot consists of two intertwined threads, one personal for the main character--solving the murder of his father--and one professional, the company asks him to arrange a meeting between a local Muslim leader and an up and coming Chinese mafioso for the purpose of turning them against their higher ups.
Meanwhile there are a variety of subplots, a couple of characters whose are only in the novel to be killed at plot critical moments, and a deeply evocative characterization of a (possibly non-existent) neighborhood in San Fransisco.
The point of the novel appears to be that the forces in power get what they want regardless of who gets hurt, and the best any of us can hope for is to keep our heads down and try not to get caught up in it. Although there is no explicit mention of September 11th or terrorism, the paranoia in this novel is seems clearly fueled by a distrust of government and the defense and security industries. I assume this is intentional.
Like most noirish crime novels, the universal corruption is balanced by an individual redemption. In this case this comes at the end with the main character abruptly destroying the evidence of a grand conspiracy in order to preserve his neighborhood, even though it is dying on its own. But this is an incredibly hollow redemption, because the author has given no reason why this is something worth saving.
As I wrote this, my rating went from 4 stars, to 3, to 2. There is much to enjoy about this novel, it is complex, moves very quickly, has some interesting characters, and perfectly captures the feel of the non-touristy parts of San Fransisco. Sounds like a great crime novel right? But the more I think about the deep underlying cynicism and paranoia, the less I feel like I can truly recommend this novel.
Fuck it, 2 stars, and I'm going to go reread the Maltese Falcon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2007
CHASING THE DRAGON (Unlicensed-San Francisco-Cont) – Ok
Domenic Stansberry – 6th book
St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2004- Hardcover
Dante Mancuso, forced out after seven years with the San Francisco police, as been working around the world for “The Company.” They’ve now sent him back to San Francisco just at the time when his father has died. But when his uncle gives him photo negatives from his father, and his uncle is murdered, Dante questions his father’s death and what is behind it all.
*** The most interesting and best-developed character in this book was the city of San Francisco, the flavors and nuances of which the author captured beautifully. Unfortunately, I found the human characters flat and uninvolving. There is good dialogue and suspense, but also massive coincidences and dangling threads left at the end. I was sadly disappointed in this book.
Domenic Stansberry – 6th book
St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2004- Hardcover
Dante Mancuso, forced out after seven years with the San Francisco police, as been working around the world for “The Company.” They’ve now sent him back to San Francisco just at the time when his father has died. But when his uncle gives him photo negatives from his father, and his uncle is murdered, Dante questions his father’s death and what is behind it all.
*** The most interesting and best-developed character in this book was the city of San Francisco, the flavors and nuances of which the author captured beautifully. Unfortunately, I found the human characters flat and uninvolving. There is good dialogue and suspense, but also massive coincidences and dangling threads left at the end. I was sadly disappointed in this book.
April 14, 2011
Noirish mystery that centers around drug and human trafficking in San Francisco ports. The end is filled with enough double crosses to make any Noir buff happy, but I found myself pining for a little bit of wisecracking from the hero. However, Stansberry's observational skills bring San Francisco's waterfront and Italian-American community to fabulous life. I will definitely check out the next in this series
May 15, 2015
Seduced by the gorgeous painting of the Golden Gate Bridge, I picked up this noir mystery that is not at all my cup of tea. The depiction of North Beach and the tension between the Italian and Chinese communities kept me hanging on. One of those fast-paced books that ends quickly and leaves you feeling empty.
September 9, 2010
The author successfully keeps up a sense of forboding and menace throughout the book. I'm more used to first person detective stories, but this kept me involved and worried about what was going to happen next. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
September 17, 2010
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would! I loved the setting and the characters - North Beach, San Francisco and a bunch of Italians! Good action and a good mystery! And a pretty quick read too! A nice summer treat! I would definitely be interested in reading the next one!
January 6, 2009
It was a good book, tho I suspect if I had read earlier books about this character I would have enjoyed it more.
September 7, 2009
love a vampire story - especially with a werewolf!
September 13, 2009
Best modern day hard-edged noir I've read in years. The next two in the series fall far short of their predecessor, but CHASING THE DRAGON is well worth reading if you're a picky noir fan.
July 2, 2010
why is this guy considered a good author? this was flat, not believable, not rough enough. good for the 4 door pickup morning donut crowd maybe.
August 4, 2010
Interesting but not compelling. The flavor of North Beach surrounds a somewhat unfulfilling mystery.
January 17, 2011
A good page-turner. Nice descriptions of North Beach, Chinatown and other San Francisco locations. Decent plot.
Read
June 28, 2014loved it
May 1, 2017
Interesting story, lots of characters - not a book you can put down and come back to - too many moving pieces.
Interesting ending, but left me somewhat unsatisfied...
Interesting ending, but left me somewhat unsatisfied...
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews