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A Detective Jack Yu Investigation #3
Red Jade: A Detective Jack Yu Investigation
Two bodies are discovered at an address on the Bloody Angle, Chinatown's historic Tong battleground. NYPD Detective Jack Yu's investigation takes him across the country to another Chinatown, this one in Seattle, in pursuit of a cold-blooded Chinese American gangster and a mysterious Hong Kong femme fatale.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Henry Chang
16 books56 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
May 30, 2026
NYC detective, Jack Yu, is just getting over his father’s (Pa) death. “He’d moved out on Pa, but only because Chinatown was no longer the same place for him as it was for his father. Jack’s Chinatown was colored by violence, death and a feeling of helplessness that he hated. He’d become a cop, thinking he’d make a difference. The difference was he’d become as cynical and hard as the gangboys he’d left behind.”
Yet, in his new precinct, Yu gets a call in the early hours of the morning telling him to return to Chinatown and investigate a homicide.
“The scene looked like a textbook open-and-shut murder-suicide, on that ANY of the murder squad cops could have stepped up to, way before he’d gotten the call. Even a sergeant and a couple of uniforms could have managed it. So why me? Jack had to ask himself. Because I’m Chinese? Not that he was complaining. Murder was murder, any way you colored it.”
I admit to being fascinated by Chinatowns and the Chinese-American communities. They seem somewhat insular and not entirely acclimated to American life. Chang offers some insights into this with his writings and Red Jade contains some very complex and overlapping elements.
Past cases are making their appearance in court.
“So here’s the deal.” Sing said as if in a summation. “When we go to trial, the existence of this woman is going to create about Johnny being the lone shooter. They’re going to work you over on cross-examination. And we need to limit the damage.
“Bullshit.” Jack said quietly.
And we get to go inside the shops and the clubs and the social services. We meet the rich and the down-and-out and even a fortune teller. Many of these are concerned as much about “saving face” as with the crime around them.
We follow the mysterious Mona as she tries to hide from both Yu and The Red Circle Triad. Part of this tale is told from her perspective and there are also various criminal perspectives. Author Chang pays a great deal of attention to Chinese customs and a variety of beliefs. For instance, the criminal boss, Gee Sin, is a despicable character involved in everything from theft to sexual slavery. Various types of financial fraud seem to be a specialty. His book is call Thirty-six Strategies and he is so proud of refining one of them (forgery and identity theft) that he calls it “stealing the dragon and replacing it with the phoenix.” He tailors his crime strategies to the local customs and holidays around the world.
An integral part of Jack’s world is Alexandra his friend and confidant. It’s a delicate relationship between a cop and an attorney who often represents those who have been mistreated by the police. Alex is part of the Chinese-American Defense Squad (CADS).
“He (Jack) wondered if Alex’s impending divorce was reinforcing her involvement with CADS, as she seemed to bloom when fighting controversial cases. He remembered Alex at the pistol range. Combat stance. Firing in short bursts. She really was an Annie Oakley, but was she relishing the feel of actually shooting someone, symbolically? In the wake of the cop killing of the Chinese honor student, were her emotions feeding her dead-eye accuracy?”
The venue moves to Seattle for the two of them when a clue takes Jack to the same city where Alex is attending a convention. Patience in pursuit of quarry apparently is a Chinese maxim, but Jack has only limited time before he must return to NYC. As in New York, there is prejudice: real, intentional and/or imagined.
“Chinaman still rang in Jack’s brain. He could already imagine the jokes coming out of the Patrol ranks: No shit. A short Chinaman? That’s the entire population of Chinatown! Or, Whaddya kidding me? Midget Chinaman? A dinky chinky? A short slant?”
While many reviewers/reviews characterize this book as “noir,” I don’t see it as quite fitting that mold. True, the view is dark and we have a lot of night action and rain, but for me, the model is more the modern police procedural. As such, Chang succeeds in showing the benefits (and the limitations) of police investigation. The police in this tale, no matter in which city they are located, are basically a reactionary force. Little is shown of their interest in preventing crime rather than finding the “perps.”
The 87th Precinct was the classic police procedural where the “guys” worked together to “get the perp.” This is different, perhaps because Jack is different (Chinese-American) and those he “works with” are almost all outside the police precinct. He isn’t quite a loner but most of his work is done alone.
I liked the raw nature of Chang’s tale…it is the first one I have read but he writes a continuing saga of Jack Wu’s life. Here and there, Jack has to acknowledge that he has gone down the wrong path or jumped to an unjustified conclusion. For instance, “He’d figured them wrong, Jack realized. The Seattle cops had expressed racism in their tone and content, but they had been up front with it, unlike in New York where they’d play you with a smile and a wink before stabbing you in the back. He’d never condone racism but knew in the end that actions speak louder than words.
Come to this book for the action and suspense but stay for the many facets of Chinese-American culture.
3.5
Yet, in his new precinct, Yu gets a call in the early hours of the morning telling him to return to Chinatown and investigate a homicide.
“The scene looked like a textbook open-and-shut murder-suicide, on that ANY of the murder squad cops could have stepped up to, way before he’d gotten the call. Even a sergeant and a couple of uniforms could have managed it. So why me? Jack had to ask himself. Because I’m Chinese? Not that he was complaining. Murder was murder, any way you colored it.”
I admit to being fascinated by Chinatowns and the Chinese-American communities. They seem somewhat insular and not entirely acclimated to American life. Chang offers some insights into this with his writings and Red Jade contains some very complex and overlapping elements.
Past cases are making their appearance in court.
“So here’s the deal.” Sing said as if in a summation. “When we go to trial, the existence of this woman is going to create about Johnny being the lone shooter. They’re going to work you over on cross-examination. And we need to limit the damage.
“Bullshit.” Jack said quietly.
And we get to go inside the shops and the clubs and the social services. We meet the rich and the down-and-out and even a fortune teller. Many of these are concerned as much about “saving face” as with the crime around them.
We follow the mysterious Mona as she tries to hide from both Yu and The Red Circle Triad. Part of this tale is told from her perspective and there are also various criminal perspectives. Author Chang pays a great deal of attention to Chinese customs and a variety of beliefs. For instance, the criminal boss, Gee Sin, is a despicable character involved in everything from theft to sexual slavery. Various types of financial fraud seem to be a specialty. His book is call Thirty-six Strategies and he is so proud of refining one of them (forgery and identity theft) that he calls it “stealing the dragon and replacing it with the phoenix.” He tailors his crime strategies to the local customs and holidays around the world.
An integral part of Jack’s world is Alexandra his friend and confidant. It’s a delicate relationship between a cop and an attorney who often represents those who have been mistreated by the police. Alex is part of the Chinese-American Defense Squad (CADS).
“He (Jack) wondered if Alex’s impending divorce was reinforcing her involvement with CADS, as she seemed to bloom when fighting controversial cases. He remembered Alex at the pistol range. Combat stance. Firing in short bursts. She really was an Annie Oakley, but was she relishing the feel of actually shooting someone, symbolically? In the wake of the cop killing of the Chinese honor student, were her emotions feeding her dead-eye accuracy?”
The venue moves to Seattle for the two of them when a clue takes Jack to the same city where Alex is attending a convention. Patience in pursuit of quarry apparently is a Chinese maxim, but Jack has only limited time before he must return to NYC. As in New York, there is prejudice: real, intentional and/or imagined.
“Chinaman still rang in Jack’s brain. He could already imagine the jokes coming out of the Patrol ranks: No shit. A short Chinaman? That’s the entire population of Chinatown! Or, Whaddya kidding me? Midget Chinaman? A dinky chinky? A short slant?”
While many reviewers/reviews characterize this book as “noir,” I don’t see it as quite fitting that mold. True, the view is dark and we have a lot of night action and rain, but for me, the model is more the modern police procedural. As such, Chang succeeds in showing the benefits (and the limitations) of police investigation. The police in this tale, no matter in which city they are located, are basically a reactionary force. Little is shown of their interest in preventing crime rather than finding the “perps.”
The 87th Precinct was the classic police procedural where the “guys” worked together to “get the perp.” This is different, perhaps because Jack is different (Chinese-American) and those he “works with” are almost all outside the police precinct. He isn’t quite a loner but most of his work is done alone.
I liked the raw nature of Chang’s tale…it is the first one I have read but he writes a continuing saga of Jack Wu’s life. Here and there, Jack has to acknowledge that he has gone down the wrong path or jumped to an unjustified conclusion. For instance, “He’d figured them wrong, Jack realized. The Seattle cops had expressed racism in their tone and content, but they had been up front with it, unlike in New York where they’d play you with a smile and a wink before stabbing you in the back. He’d never condone racism but knew in the end that actions speak louder than words.
Come to this book for the action and suspense but stay for the many facets of Chinese-American culture.
3.5
June 22, 2013
Henry Chang crafts very good police procedurals with the added bonus of explaining a culture that I would otherwise know nothing about. His main character, Detective Jack Yu, is an ABC (American born Chinese) who can speak Cantonese and he navigates the complex social structures that exist in every American Chinatown and that connects every Chinatown around the world. This is the third book I've read by Henry Chang and there are no neat beginnings and endings to them. The stories are not tied up in a bow at the end which gives them a realism lacking in other books in this genre.
In this book, Jack tries to find a short Chinese man who he thinks shot his boyhood friend Lucky. Lucky had taken a path into organized crime but maintained ties with Jack and gave him information occasionally to help in his investigations. Now Lucky is in a coma and the man who shot him has fled with stolen expensive watches and a bit of money. Jack is also searching for a beautiful Chinese woman who was a mistress to a mid-level crime boss. The crime boss, Uncle Four, is dead, the mistress is missing and the chaffeur is accused of the murder but the chauffeur claims he is guilty of nothing except falling for the mistress. The mistress is also sought by the head crime boss for stealing a fortune in gold Panda coins and jewelry.
I'm definitely reading more in this series.
In this book, Jack tries to find a short Chinese man who he thinks shot his boyhood friend Lucky. Lucky had taken a path into organized crime but maintained ties with Jack and gave him information occasionally to help in his investigations. Now Lucky is in a coma and the man who shot him has fled with stolen expensive watches and a bit of money. Jack is also searching for a beautiful Chinese woman who was a mistress to a mid-level crime boss. The crime boss, Uncle Four, is dead, the mistress is missing and the chaffeur is accused of the murder but the chauffeur claims he is guilty of nothing except falling for the mistress. The mistress is also sought by the head crime boss for stealing a fortune in gold Panda coins and jewelry.
I'm definitely reading more in this series.
July 9, 2011
Henry Chang takes Noir to a new level for me in this book. Sparsely written with well drawn character it has an authenticity about the asian experience in America and particularly the nuances of the immigrant and American born Chinese. I particularly enjoyed the delicate use of the Chinese Language with the immediate English translation following. "Yat yat bot.Yat bok yat sup bot." Sure to prosper, sure to grow. Let's hope Henry keeps Jack Yu working.
September 22, 2020
I'm so old that I remember when novel series used the same characters and basic setup to tell standalone stories. You could pick one up and read it without having to start at Vol 1 and go straight through in order. Authors seemed to know how to give you basic backstories without hitting you with the whole content of the preceding novels in the series. Those were the days.
At first I thought I had wandered into a Chinese American version of the Spencer novels, what with Jack sharing bites of his steak with his girlfriend before they both attack a plate of clams--but then they're not really that close. They talk about doing things together but they're both so afraid of attachment that nothing much happens. I would normally class this as a police procedural, but somehow I doubted that a cop outside his jurisdiction, even the NYPD, could get people who'd never heard of him or his case to do quite so much of his legwork in so little time--and on a weekend, no less.
Chang may have been writing for a mainly Sino-american audience, but I got the feeling that a lot of the psychic reader/magic amulet woo-woo was put in to make it "exotic" for the general public. That part really didn't work for me, particularly as nothing much is resolved.
I picked up No. 3 in the Jack Yu series hoping that it would be a standalone police case. Silly me. I found myself drowning in information from the first 2 books, but the "case" that supposedly forms the nucleus of this volume was unfinished, left hanging, as the Vanishing Woman from Vol 2 vanishes yet again, taking with her (?) the Big Baddy. You read the whole book to have the case wash away with the tide. I found the floating garbage off the pier a fitting metaphor.
It wasn't terrible, but it could have been much better than it was.
At first I thought I had wandered into a Chinese American version of the Spencer novels, what with Jack sharing bites of his steak with his girlfriend before they both attack a plate of clams--but then they're not really that close. They talk about doing things together but they're both so afraid of attachment that nothing much happens. I would normally class this as a police procedural, but somehow I doubted that a cop outside his jurisdiction, even the NYPD, could get people who'd never heard of him or his case to do quite so much of his legwork in so little time--and on a weekend, no less.
Chang may have been writing for a mainly Sino-american audience, but I got the feeling that a lot of the psychic reader/magic amulet woo-woo was put in to make it "exotic" for the general public. That part really didn't work for me, particularly as nothing much is resolved.
I picked up No. 3 in the Jack Yu series hoping that it would be a standalone police case. Silly me. I found myself drowning in information from the first 2 books, but the "case" that supposedly forms the nucleus of this volume was unfinished, left hanging, as the Vanishing Woman from Vol 2 vanishes yet again, taking with her (?) the Big Baddy. You read the whole book to have the case wash away with the tide. I found the floating garbage off the pier a fitting metaphor.
It wasn't terrible, but it could have been much better than it was.
May 19, 2025
Six-word Review: Exciting yet character-driven with a great ending.
Longer review later.
Longer review later.
October 5, 2010
Are you an Henry Chang fan in the New York Area?
FREE TALK "Chinatown Noir" with ED LIN and HENRY CHANG hosted by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum!
Two master storytellers pull us into Chinatown's darkest recesses in their newest mysteries, which teem with snakeheads, urban terrorists, and corrupt cops. Signed copies of Red Jade (Chang) and Snakes Can't Run (Lin) will be available.
When: Wednesday, October 27 at 6:30pm
Where: 108 Orchard Street, New York, New York, 10002
Please RSVP at events@tenement.org
FREE TALK "Chinatown Noir" with ED LIN and HENRY CHANG hosted by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum!
Two master storytellers pull us into Chinatown's darkest recesses in their newest mysteries, which teem with snakeheads, urban terrorists, and corrupt cops. Signed copies of Red Jade (Chang) and Snakes Can't Run (Lin) will be available.
When: Wednesday, October 27 at 6:30pm
Where: 108 Orchard Street, New York, New York, 10002
Please RSVP at events@tenement.org
July 13, 2011
This is the third in this series and the first that I have read. I do not usually like reading out of order, but sometimes it happens. This book contained quite a bit of Chinese culture which I enjoyed. It almost made up for the fact that the mystery part of it was so choppy and weak.
November 10, 2018
This was an interesting fictional look into the underbelly of several Chinatowns throughout the US. I never realized how pervasive the criminal activity was in these areas. Not did I understand how closely associated the long established criminal elements in China work with the illegal aliens who live in or ply their trade in various Chinatowns. It must be horrendous for the law abiding Chinese and other Asians to live in such dangerous areas. No wonder our government is dealing so harshly with China. This is an entertaining, fast paced read that will attract those liking detective work and pursuits of fleeing criminals.
May 2, 2021
A decent story with reasonably good characters. Unfortunately the writing style was a bit rough - as in other series I like taking place in Russia or Italy, there are foreign phrases thrown in to give a feeling of an exotic nature. In this book, almost every paragraph or two has one of those phrases - it was getting annoying. Along with the hero taking shaolin breaths to relax or focus - even during an aborted love scene in the book. A good editor and a revision would have done wonders for this book.
February 17, 2020
This was a better than average mystery novel. I was not previously familiar with the Jack Yu series, but was able to jump right in and feel at home even though this is the third book in the series. I especially liked the way the writer showed how a character being hunted by both law enforcement and organized crime slips from New York to Washington state and then into Canada, and how she constructs a new identity for herself. I'll read the whole series after having this taste.
November 5, 2020
Read this one out of order. Accidently skipped a book. I think there is one more in the series and then your left hanging. There are some threads that are left for you to contemplate. Not sure if he will come around and wrap those up. I enjoy the series.
December 12, 2021
3.5 really like the gritty writing style . This time Jack’s character is more developed . Learning more about Asian and the police issues, and the Chinese underground’s long reach. The second story of Mona is very interesting .
February 19, 2023
I think this is my fave in the series so far. A lot of build up only to have Mona escape again. I wonder where she and the man with the fake arm ended up after they disappeared into the sea. Also finally have romantic development between Jack and Alex!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2018
Three and a half stars...it's best to read this series in order since this book in particular is strongly tied to the previous one; two more to go in this very gritty NYC Chinatown noir.
March 26, 2019
Don't understand the beginning deaths. What do they have to do with anything. Lots of tension when the story starts up.
July 8, 2019
Cool crime novel I picked up at my library book sale
March 15, 2023
satisfying noir.
October 13, 2011
Detective Jack Yu somehow can’t escape New York’s Chinatown in this third novel in the series. Apparently, he is the Fifth Precinct’s token Chinese-American, called upon when sensitivity to the community and its inhabitants is necessary. He had recently transferred to the Ninth Precinct in Brooklyn and he moved to that borough’s Sunset Park area following the death of his father, but he can’t escape his past.
In the early morning hours, he’s called in to handle an apparent murder-suicide, his presence requested by the fathers of the victims who believe he can provide the necessary “face saving” for the families. This task accomplished, Jack then pays attention to a couple of open cases, eventually traveling to Seattle at his own expense in an attempt to solve them.
All three novels in the series are economically written, especially short chapters, with a smattering of Chinese words for flavor (no MSG). This police procedural moves in logical progression across the continent, looking at more than the Chinatown of New York’s Lower East Side.
Recommended.
In the early morning hours, he’s called in to handle an apparent murder-suicide, his presence requested by the fathers of the victims who believe he can provide the necessary “face saving” for the families. This task accomplished, Jack then pays attention to a couple of open cases, eventually traveling to Seattle at his own expense in an attempt to solve them.
All three novels in the series are economically written, especially short chapters, with a smattering of Chinese words for flavor (no MSG). This police procedural moves in logical progression across the continent, looking at more than the Chinatown of New York’s Lower East Side.
Recommended.
January 20, 2011
Part of the Detective Jack Yu series. Born and grew up in NY's Chinatown, later became cop and more recently moved away, but was called back for this case at the request of friends of his father such that the case be handled discreetly. Action and intrigue as several cases are related and ends with a real international buster chase involving quite a crew and race for time! Good character portrayal and place descriptions. You really are a part of it.
October 20, 2010
I love that we learn more about Mona. This is a really good series. The perspective of a Chinese-American policeman working in NYC's Chinatown is as exotic as many Soho Crime books set in foreign countries. Reading a bunch of books at the same time for a big author event at the store. Life has gotten in the way of my reading this past couple of months...
May 8, 2011
This book kept my interest and was easy to follow even with multiple plot lines. I like that the author used Chinese phrases to describe various scenarios and included the translation of the phrases, making for a realistic Chinatown atmosphere and setting. This is the third book in the Jack Yu series. I liked this book so much I'm going back to read the two earlier books.
May 27, 2025
Chinese-American, Jack Yu, has to balance two cultures in his life. This can be either an advantage or disadvantage to his professional life as a detective. Whether at the precinct or in Chinatown, he deals with racism and prejudice from both sides. He does good old fashioned legwork when working a case but also engages the services of a Chinese fortune teller, on occasion.
April 8, 2011
I liked this one better than the first two, and now I have to wait for the fourth book to be published. A good part of Red Jade took place in Seattle, near where I live, and I especially enjoyed those sections. Now I have to wait for the fourth book in the series to be published.
December 13, 2011
This came from the staff recs shelf at the library. I saw it and thought it would be a nice way to revisit New York through some stringy noir. Nope. Parts of it were interesting but overall it was many different flavors of sloppy.
June 11, 2014
Errr... I don't know. I expected there's a connection I can develop when reading this book. But, it's too alien for me. Perhaps, second or third reading might be an option, but I've had enough for now.
December 9, 2010
" In the whirling commotion of jetsam and wreaths of kelp, she imagined sea nymphs ans sirens with beckoning smiles."p.228
fun, fast read
fun, fast read
January 6, 2011
would read something again by this author, although the setting and the main characters were all rather bleak.
February 25, 2011
More about Chinese tongs, gangs in Chinatowns everywhere.
May 3, 2011
This book flows well, really immerses the reader, and offers a window into Asian American culture.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews