China White

by Peter Maas

Overseeing the interests of a Hong Kong industrialist client, Tom MacLean learns that a drug called "China White"--the purest form of heroin to hit the streets--has infiltrated New York, and a determined FBI agent seeks his help. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Peter Maas was an American journalist and author. He was born in New York City and attended Duke University.

He was the biographer of Frank Serpico, a New York City Police officer who testified against police corruption. He is also the author of the number one New York Times bestseller, Underboss, about the life and times of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.

His other notable bestsellers include The Valachi Papers, Manhunt, and In a Child's Name, recipient of the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime book. The Valachi Papers, which told the story of Mafia turncoat Joseph Valachi, is widely considered to be a seminal work, as it spawned an entire genre of books written by or about former Mafiosi.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Felisa Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those books where the author clearly lost interest in the boring protagonists(principled lawyer and plucky Irish-American FBI agent/former nun)and focused all his energy on the antagonists, Chinese heroin lords. All you ever really know about the lawyer is that he's an everyman because he drinks Budweiser and he's principled because he used to be a crusading assistant DA. The antagonists are actually pretty interesting, but the book isn't satisfying because it's difficult to really care about/sympathize with any of the characters. Also the romance is nauseating.

[Ronnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The big beast may be gone, but there're hundreds of poisonous snakes out there, coiled and ready to strike."

For me, this got bogged down too often in the backstory of the various Chinese crime bosses, none of whom were sympathetic figures and all of whom were ruthless enough to merit swifter ends. The story hummed along better when it focused on Tom MacLean and Shannon O'Shea, but even in those parts it needed way more O'Shea because, as it turned out, MacLean's not all that likable or even interesting. O'Shea, though: former nun, former missionary, now FBI agent and a dead-shot. More of her and less of the Triad intricacies would've made this more compelling, I think. And speaking of intricacies, can we just agree that "Unicorn Frankie Chin" is one of the lamest names for a bad guy? True, he's far from this book's main villain, but he sticks around way too long for his name not to affect things in a negative and sort of ridiculous way.

First line:
"The client status of Mr. Y.K. Deng of Hong Kong became a prime topic of discussion near the end of the quarterly management review of the New York law firm of Needham & Lewis, a meeting that till then had been all gloom and acrimony."

[Goodread_ton · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the theme and plot are interesting, the actions taken by the protagonist are often times unbelievable.
Add to that an unlikely manner in which the book ends, I would say this book is not Peter Maas at his best.

[Eddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to follow and I wondered if it was me. Sometimes audiobook novels are hard to follow bc you need to listen to every sentence more so than the concept like you can get away with in non-fiction. Then again there are plenty of poorly written novels I've had to put down bc they are so bad. Reading other reviews on China White confirms that this book was all over the map. I have no idea who the protagonist and antagonist was. The book seemed fragmented and disjointed going from one character who was presented as the protagonist then another replacing them as protagonist. I lost track of what was happening or where the story/plot was going. Perhaps someday I will give China White another try, but no time soon bc I've found if I don't 'get' a book its bc its the book, not me. A nice thing about Goodreads is when this happens I can confirm it.

There were interesting parts about the asian heroin trade, it's characters, and trafficking but nothing unique in the presentation. This wasn't the main focus of the book. Basically the author screwed up a basic concept that should be interesting and made it confusing in the book trying to do too many things.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Currently cleaning out my collection, and looking back on books I read long ago. Read this when it came out and remembered liking it enough at the time, but rereading it, not only is it very dated, it is so in a way that reflects on the shallowness of the 90s. It feels more like a treatise on the Triads, with simply unrealistic and cliched protagonists tacked on. I actually liked the research and the complexity of the villains, but the so called heroes just seemed like Michael Bay stereotypes, not real characters.

Some books don't hold up over time. This is one.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1997. A fact-based and fast moving thriller about Chinese drug smuggling.

[Lior Dobkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would enjoy as a movie or mini series

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cool book. It's a page turner near the end as multiple events unfold. I enjoyed it.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crime novel - Hong Kong businessman Y.K. Deng approaches the New York law firm of Needham & Lewis to help him relocate to the U.S. in anticipation of China's takeover of Hong Kong in 1997. Assigned to Deng's case is young former prosecutor Tom MacLean, who, along with his current romantic interest, FBI agent Shannon O'Shea, slowly learns that Deng is actually the head of a powerful and criminal Hong Kong triad and intends to flood America with a particularly potent type of heroin called China white, using the Mafia to distribute it.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting in that this is a novel from Maas rather than one of his non fiction mob books. I got it thinking it was a true account of the Chinese Triads. Instead it was an ok book about a lawyer whose father had a connection to a Triad leader who is now one of his clients and attempting to do a major heroin deal in the US. of course his girlfriend is the FBI agent attempting to break up the triads. OK read at best

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

China White by Peter Mass (Simon & Shuster 1994)(Fiction - Thriller). The FBI is trying to stop the importation of the largest shipment of pure heroin ever into the U.S. The shipper's lawyer finds out the truth about his client but finds himself caught in the middle. My rating: 7/10, finished 1996.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll let you know later how I feel on this one.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Guidall - narrator

[Robert Barone · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always funny to read books written back before cell phones and what not. Was a very good book. The last half was very action filled.

[Adam Berryman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, liked a lot of the bad guys in the book.