Concourse: A Bill Smith/Lydia Chin Novel (Bill Smith/Lydia Chin Novels)

by S.J. Rozan

Book Overview

It flows through the Bronx like a river between banks of faded elegance. And at the end of the avenue called the Grand Concourse is the place people go to die, the Bronx Home for the Aged. The only... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312959443
• Release Date: September 1996
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
• Length: 291 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.8" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Simply Awesome

This book has everything a good mystery needs - a great plot, engaging characters, snappy dialogue, suspense and humor. China Trade was good but this book is better for three reasons: 1) Bill Smith's character is much better developed, 2) it has a tougher, more realistic edge to it and 3) the interaction between Bill and Lydia is more interesting. In sum, highly entertaining. I plan to read all her books.

Gripping, Sensational!

I'm so glad I found this author. Wonderful writing--clear, fresh images and strong, dark scenes. The characters were terrific. Even the minor characters were believable, whole people, complex and disturbing. If you want to discover a great detective novelist, read S. J. Rozan now.

Great character-driven mystery

CONCOURSE, by S.J. Rozan is the second novel of the Lydia Chin - Bill Smith series started in CHINA TRADE. CONCOURSE is an even stronger entry.Bill Smith, despite his ordinary name, is anything but ordinary, even though he would be the last person to admit it. Rozan gives us a few clues to his less than ideal past, and that alone makes the reader want to learn more. As far as his relationship with Lydia -- their tenuous romance is gentle, wistful and at the same time, built on a deeply felt trust.The plot of CONCOURSE takes Bill and Lydia into the world of non-profit organizations that are anything but, and leads Bill into the savage world of Bronx street gangs that live by their own rules and are governed by codes of honor written in blood. In the end, the ultimate brutality is the evil wrought by money and power -- a struggle that nearly costs Bill his life.CONCOURSE is not for the faint of heart; the language is strong, the violence harsh and realistic, but the characters and plot are involving and exciting. A highly recommended series.

Better than China Trade, and C.T. was great!

This book has interesting characters and plot, and is extremely well-written. I read it first, then found China Trade, the first novel in the series, in the library. As a (real) man, I can say that Rozan's Bill Smith is realistic; I would not have guessed that the author was female if I hadn't already known it. Smith reminds me of J.P. Beaumont, Jance's Seattle detective, and I can't think of a better compliment. It was a pleasant surprise to find that China Trade was written from the viewpoint of Lydia Chin. I hope that the viewpoint continues to alternate between the main characters in the later novels. If the quality continues, Rozan will join J.A. Jance, Minette Walters, Dick Francis, Robert Crais, and Ed McBain on my A-list of mystery writers whose new books I will buy in hardcover. On to Mandarin Plaid!P.S. Jonathan Kellerman is borderline for my A-list. Sue Grafton, Robert Parker, and James Lee Burke are former A-listers.

Wow!

Rozan really proves her versatility in this book, writing from the point of view of Lydia Chin's occasional partner, Bill Smith. Not being a man, I can't vouch absolutely for her accuracy, but it sure seemed like an accurate portrait of what it's like to live inside a guy's brain. Like China Trade, this is a terrific mystery that keeps you turning the pages to find out whodunnit. But it's more than that--it's also a well-written novel with complex, well-developed characters.