When I first picked up THE GOLDEN GATE, I was glued to this historical murder mystery, and I figured I would be staying up to finish it. There are wo murders fourteen years apart at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. One of Mrs. Bainbridge’s granddaughters was found dead in the laundry chute in 1930. The second murder of presidential candidate, Walter Wilkinson, was found murdered. I enjoyed the deposition of Mrs Bainbridge told intermittently throughout the book. I also found that I looked forward to the interactions between Detective Sullivan and his eleven-year-old niece Miriam.

Where I had trouble with this book is there were too many historical facts in the writing, and I became distracted and found myself taking note after note. At times, it was hard to remember all of the characters. I wished I realized that Chua had Author Notes in the back and had read the notes before reading the book. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

There's a lot going on in this book - which I expected based on the synopsis, but I was still a bit surprised at the scope of this first novel by Amy Chua. There's an interview with her at the end of the audiobook in which she describes her research methods, and as both a lawyer and a writer of several non-fiction books, she's clearly adept at research. It certainly shows here in this novel where she deftly weaves in historical, political and sociological information to help set the plot and tone to 1944 (and earlier) in Berkeley, California. It's an interesting mix of family drama, political intrigue (both global and local) and murder mystery. The characters are fascinating, particularly homicide detective Al Sullivan, who's called in to help solve the murder of a former presidential candidate. Interwoven throughout is the deposition of the grandmother of the three main suspects, who are her heiresses and granddaughters. But is she a reliable narrator?
It kept me interested throughout, and I found myself really liking the conflicted Detective Sullivan, and by the end was hoping that maybe this could be the start of a series centered on his character.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

Let's deal with the baggage first: Yale Law professor; defender of indefensible scum Brett Kavanaugh; author of polarizing memoir <I>Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother</i> in 2011, and <I>Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations</i>, an ambitious, polarizing take on why cultural identity must be considered in all political calculus, in 2018. She challenges her readers in her non-fiction, and not all y'all like that.

Ready to set all that baggage down now? Okay, let's go.

California has a long history of racist nastiness. There are strands of that history in this historical mystery. The author's own racialized identity gives her, IMnever-remotelyHO, the insight and standing to imagine the life of a half-Latino, half-Irish (believe it or not, Irishness was in that time also a looked-down-on ethnic identity) talented observer with a strong thirst for Justice to be Done no matter how that end ends up looking. Unusually for a guy from his not-WASP background, Al Sullivan (took mom's name to avoid the most easily deployed prejudice) got into and graduated from UC-Berkeley, which is how he came to the attention of the factual-but-used-fictionally police chief and "father of modern policing" August Vollmer, thus in a position to investigate this high-profile case.

Now that the detective's in front of your mental eyes, let's talk about the mystery. A polarizing politico is murdered at Berkeley's fancy hotel, the Claremont. Super-easy to come up with suspects since he was not nice to much of anyone, as well as rumored to have been <I>intimately</i> involved with Madame Chiang Kai-shek, then resident in Berkeley. Virulently anti-Japanese and fully on board with Executive Order 9066, to boot. There are links in all of these strands to people present in the Claremont that night, giving them motives for killing the scumbag (another mystery wherein the police just shoulda shrugged when he was found shot and said "whatcha gonna duuu" TBH). What Al discovers as he searches for the real answers is that even people officially on his side, like the DA, are ready to bury truth for expediency, and shed-loads of people whose own paths have twists and turns they want to keep hidden are also on every side. In the end, there are a lot of names and identities to keep track of, and the pace is slightly slackened by the multiplicity of strands interweaving to make a net that can only catch a certain party. These are issues common to new-to-police-procedural writers. They aren't fatal flaws, either. The author's note at the end of the book leaves little doubt about her abilities as a researcher and as a fiction writer. She details the sources and inspirations for the fictionalized people, explains her choices well, and makes a darn good case that this crime could have been solved in just this way in reality.

What kept me reading was the sense that the real world of 1944. with all its bloody horrors, its dirty deals done to serve a "greater good," its regular people struggling with their life-stuff and with the sheer, pervasive nightmare of prejudice unmuted, was just like this.

That is one of the highest compliments I can pay a writer: I believe you.

A Crime Set in 1944 California

A prominent politician with many enemies is murdered in the prestigious Clarement Hotel in Berkeley California. Homicide Dective Al Sulivan was having a drink at the hotel at the time and is one of the first police on the scene.The Clarement was the scene of another death ten years earlier that may be connected to the present tragedy. Iris Stafford, a ten-year-old girl a member of the wealthy Bainbridge family, was found dead having fallen down the laundry chute while playing hide and seek with her sister Isabella.

The investigation focuses on the remaining three Bainbridge heiresses, Isabella and her cousins Cassie and Nicole. Their formidable grandmother, Genevieve Bainbridge is also a part of the investigation. Her deposition is presented in segments throughout the novel. There is an aura of power and sex throughout the book. It was a time of economic disparity, racial tension, and the Chineese connection of Madame Chaing Cai-Shek.

This is a well crafted mystery novel set in an interesting and turbulent period of California history. The author does a good job of weaving the history, economic, and political issues throughout the story. My only reservation is that for some readers the historical sections may bog down the mystery. There is also the element of a ghost story which, although related to the plot, may be distracting.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for this review copy.

Amy Chua merges detective fiction with historical fact and family drama in this sweeping novel. Venturing into a wide array of historical topics and issues of race and class seems to overwhelm her narrative, yet the detective story remains its clear focus.

Chua capitalizes on a picturesque setting that is both complex and intriguing. The San Francisco Bay area during WW II was a hotbed of intrigue and social unrest. Moreover, it was emblematic of massive cultural changes that loomed on the horizon for America. The internment of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast was controversial, as was the fear of Japanese and Communist spying and sabotage. The US Naval fleet was being rebuilt at the Kaiser Shipyard in the face of labor strikes. Significant infrastructure projects like the Golden Gate Bridge and Lincoln Highway were being realized. Ethnic and immigrant groups were targets of fear and mistrust, while stratification based on wealth and class persisted. At the significant risk of overwhelming her readers with all of this, Chua can’t seem to resist also including a few historical, but inconsequential characters, like Madam Chiang Kai-Shek, Dr. Margaret Chung, and August Volmer.

The major characters, however, are well-drawn and multifaceted, each harboring secrets and motivations that engage the reader. As the protagonist, Detective Al Sullivan moves the plot along with a relentless focus on solving the murder of a womanizing politician during a stay at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. Al is a colorful and likeable guy. His Mexican father was repatriated during the depression to save jobs for Americans. His mother was poor having emigrated to California from Oklahoma during the dust bowl. Despite his modest and estranged family background, Al graduated from Berkeley, served with distinction in the military, and rose to the rank of detective in the Berkeley Police Department. His murder investigation faces significant challenges, however. He must contend with an ambitious and morally challenged DA while simultaneously looking after Miriam, his precocious 11-year-old niece, who was abandoned by her mother. Unfortunately, Chua elects not to develop either of these intriguing plot elements or Al’s ambivalence about his own heritage.

The other key figure in the plot is Genevieve Bainbridge. She is the iron-willed matriarch of a wealthy SF family. Chua reveals her backstory in a series of depositions, sprinkled throughout the novel. The most important points are as follows: one of her grandchildren died a decade earlier by falling down a laundry chute at the Claremont while playing a game of hide and seek; and her daughter, Sadie, suffered mental illness that unfortunately was treated with a lobotomy. These seemingly disparate plot lines have the delicious habit of persistently showing up in Al’s murder investigation. Not unlike Detective Sullivan, Genevieve is totally focused. However, her goal directly conflicts with his. She wants to protect her three granddaughters from Al’s probing of them as suspects in his murder case.

Notwithstanding its complexity, the plot is totally engaging. It is peppered with red herrings as well as thoughtful examinations of wartime historical and cultural elements. Regrettably, Chua’s tendency to keep a lot of balls in the air leads to uneven pacing. The central mystery occasionally meanders into lengthy descriptions and subplots that don’t seem to add much to the main story. Moreover, the exploration of multiple cultural themes, while illuminating, can feel didactic. Despite being overly ambitious, THE GOLDEN GATE is a well-researched debut fictional work by an accomplished non-fiction writer.

Readers will alternately gasp at and empathize . . . all the while enjoying her writing, which . . . is brisk, lively and no-holds-barred.. The Golden gate is Amy Chua's first novel, and a fine one. But it's not her first book. Remember all the kerfuffle in 2011 over the tiger mother? Whatever you thought of that memoir, you are bound to love The Golden Gate. It's a historical novel set in Berkeley, California at the Claremont Hotel and involving the death of a child in 1934 and the assassination in 1944 of a presidential candidate. And a Philip Marlow/Sam Spade type detective to pull all of this together. Rich with historical detail and social/political issues and perfect for the mystery lover.

This is a really interesting debut novel. It’s set in the 1940s in San Francisco and also plays slightly as a noire mystery type book. Detective, in charge has many suspects, and is at same time dealing with his own issues partly from being biracial. He’s running up against high Society individuals while he is trying to solve a murder. The characters are very nuanced and all seem to be gray, rather than good or evil. I did not know who was responsible for the murder until the end. I really enjoyed the writing style because I felt like it was atmospheric and kept me involved in the book from start to finish. If you are looking for a good mystery that has historical elements. This is the book for you.

Detective Al Sullivan is at the elegant and luxurious Claremont Hotel when one of the staff informs him that one of the guests, a former presidential candidate, Walter Wilkinson, has been the target of an assassination attempt. Moving his room and posting police outside, Al heads home, only to be called back because Wilkinson has been killed. While investigating that murder, Al finds links to another death ten years earlier—Iris Stafford, the granddaughter of the hotel owner. He also finds ties to a local Communist party and an underground railroad hiding Japanese citizens from internment. How does everything fit together? Who killed Walter and why? The answers he uncovers could send a ripple effect across Berkely.

Before I get into the review, I want to let you know there are trigger warnings. They are racism (explicit and on page), bigotry (explicit and on page), poverty (explicit and on page), mental illness (on and off page), and child abandonment (on page).

I love reading good historical fiction. I also like reading mysteries and books in the World War 2 era. So, when St. Martin’s Press sent me the widget, I decided to download the book after I read the blurb. I was curious how the author would meld everything together and keep my attention.

There are two storylines that The Golden Gate is centered around. I liked how the author intertwined these storylines. She did so gradually by letting hints about Iris’s death appear in the investigation of Walter’s murder. By the end of the book, both storylines are entangled together.

The storyline centering around Iris and her death was heartbreaking. From flashbacks to the written testimony of Mrs. Bainbridge, you get to see how Iris’s life was up to her death. The author also showed how Iris’s death affected everyone around her. But the author did something clever. She held off telling exactly how Iris died until the end of the book. And you know, even then, I doubted whether her death was an accident or not. The confession at the end of the book, tied to Walter’s murder, didn’t sit right with me.

The storyline centering around Al and his investigation into Walter’s murder was a ride. The twisty plotline made me guess who could have killed him. Every so often, I forget that this book was set in 1944, so when Al just entered a house to get information or threatened a Hispanic worker with deportation and taking her kids, I was shocked. But, it did go right with how things were in that era. I did like that Al wouldn’t let go of this case and kept looking for a motive. As I mentioned above, this was a very twisty plotline, and the author didn’t give up the murderer until the very end of the book.

I liked Al and felt terrible that he had to hide the fact that he was mixed race (Mexican and white). But, in that era, you couldn’t get ahead in life if you were anything but lily-white. So, he did what he thought was right. That meant changing his last name to his mother’s maiden name and passing himself as white. What I also liked about Al is that he is flawed. He said and did things in the book that he regretted later on (the scene where he told Miriam he wasn’t her father broke my heart). He was also a good detective and determined to solve Walter’s murder and Iris’s death. By the end of the book, I felt that Al had matured. He was steps closer to accepting who he was. He also did something that I didn’t see coming.

The secondary characters truly made this book pop. From accurate historical figures (and the author has a very cool connection to one of them) to fiction, they added depth to this book.

The historical fiction angle was terrific. You could tell that the author did her research. I could picture myself standing among these people and not having an issue believing what she wrote.

The mystery angle was just as good as the historical fiction angle. The author did something that happens next to never: she stumped me on Iris’s death and Walter’s murder. Not only was it not who I thought it was, but it ended up being the last person I would have expected. I loved it. I was a little disappointed that Walter’s murderer wouldn’t face justice.

The end of The Golden Gate was terrific. The author brought together Iris’s death and Walter’s murder (see what I wrote above). I liked how she ended it with something very positive. But how she ended made me wonder if another book might be written in this universe. If so, I would love to read it. Also, the afterword was wonderful and detailed all the research she put into the book.

I would recommend The Golden Gate to anyone over 16. There is language, violence, and very mild sexual situations. Also see my trigger warnings above.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Amy Chua for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Golden Gate. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

There has been a murder of a presidential candidate at the famous Claremont Hotel in San Francisco. Detective Al Sullivan is on the case. But, this case has opened up a can of worms from 10 years previous, a mysterious death of a child.

Detective Sullivan is a character I really liked. He is not your usual detective you would expect in the 1940s. He had a past that he is trying to hide. He is also smart and does not take no for an answer. I love how he handles some of the suspects.

I enjoyed the history surrounding San Francisco. The author really did her research. Throw in this unique mystery and you have a pretty dad-blame good read! This story just kept twisting around itself. As a reader…you think you know…but then you don’t…but then you do..or do you?!?!

Need a good murder mystery with a good bit of history thrown in…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

The Golden Gate is a hotel catering to the rich and infamous. A boffo prologue tells us there’s been a murder. In the first few pages, there are actually two deaths. And three golden girls--wealthy and beautiful cousins--who are all suspects. We don’t know all the players yet but we can be pretty sure things are going to keep on happening.

There’s a strong flavour of San Francisco noir, the cynical cop getting the runaround from wealthy businessman and politicians. Except this cop is half-Latino and thus very conscious of his race-based risk if he calls them out on their lies. He's worked hard to pass as white on the force, even using his mother's maiden name instead of his father's Mexican surname. Indirectly at first, later more directly, the Japanese Internment of WW2 plays a role. Distinct overtones of Lavender House by Lev A. C. Rosen.

The chapters trip around in time between the first Golden Gate death, of a child, and the second, of a well known and much despised politician early in WW2. It's a slow unveiling of that ever-popular plot: rich Americans behaving badly. It's the author's first foray into crime fiction and that shows in the technique of revealing most of the useful backstory (and the solution) not through the detective's own efforts but through intermittent pieces of a long statement by the golden girls' grandmother, produced on the thinnest of legal pretexts.

There’s lots of evidence here that Amy Chua is better known for her nonfiction, as page after page elides away from the ongoing story into neutral-voice narration of San Francisco’s, and America’s, history. The history and culture are interesting as sidelights on the setting. Several characters are either real people, or fictional ones whose life events are lifted from then-living people. But those digressions, like the grandmother's statement, tend to distance us from caring about the characters or becoming fully immersed in exploring the plot.

As Chua is a talented writer and cares deeply about producing textured backgrounds rich in historical detail, her next mystery novel will almost surely be better, with the background serving as, well, background and the characters allowed to fully explore their own unfolding story.

#Netgalley #TheGoldenGate #novel #reviewing #fiction #AmericanFiction #WW2 #JapaneseInternment #California #politics #politicians #philandering #adultery #cousins #lesbians #gays #LGBTQ #murder #AmericanHistory

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua

Rating: 4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First of all, Chua described this book as “historical suspense” which I’d never heard of before but as a historical girlie I’m ALL IN🙌🏻

It’s 1944 and presidential candidate Walter Wilkinson is found dead at the fancy, Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, CA.

Al Sullivan is the lead detective on the case and all roads keep leading him back to the Brainbridge family. A wealthy, well known family in the Bay Area, who seem to have their own secrets hiding at the Claremont.

I initially chose this book for one reason: the location. I enjoy reading about places I am familiar with in real life!

I learned so much while reading this! Chua included soo much history in it like the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Mexican deportations of 1930 and the labor movements at the shipyards. There was so much that I couldn’t believe as a California native, I had never learned.

On top of all the history, the suspense was on point!! She had me guessing right until the end!

It did feel a little long at times but in the end it all worked for me.

Thanks to #netgalley, the publish and the author for this e-arc!

This is a mystery book that comes with heart and soul.

Amy Chua ís a brilliant writer and I can't wait for he rot come out with new books.

We get a murder mystery set against the backdrop of 1930's San Fransisco. We get a plethora of historical facts and lessons, however, the details dn astray are given in such a way that it never disrupts the flow of the story.

I love the Detective Sullivan and he's someone I'd love to go out for a meal and talk to. This story really gives you a breadth of knowledge while keeping you invest in the mystery.I really love how the book brings up things such as The Chinese Exclusion Act, which I'm shocked, is actually not that well known.

If you love a good misery, historical events, learning about topics of history that are often overlooked picks up this book!

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua is one of the Best I've read this year! And I had a 200+ word review of it, which I lost before saving/sending it! Grr!
If twists and turns in murder mystery are exciting to you, Chua's debut is not to be missed. If Northern California in 1930-1944 during both the depression and wartime tensions, Berkeley Homicide Detective All Sullivan is your guide to this true page-turner. If race and class tension woven into your psychological murder thriller, The Golden Gate satisfies supremely! This book is filled with so many awesome aspects of a sure-to-be bestseller!!
I highly recommend this outstanding debut of Amy Chua!!!

The year is 1944 and the US has interned residents of Japanese descent due to the circumstances of WWII. Across the bay from SF, in Berkeley, the murder of a prominent politician, Walter Wilkinson, is making headlines. Detective Al Sullivan is on the case and finds that the wealthy Bainbridge cousins, Nicole, Cassie and Isabella, are somehow mixed up in the mess. The Bainbridge girls aren’t telling the whole story and neither is their grandmother. But Al is determined to get to the bottom of this case.

Set only miles from my hometown, I loved all the local historical references in this novel. There is so much hidtory that I didn’t know, especially that Madame Chiang Kai Shek was living in Berkeley during WWII! There are references to how the Japanese, the Chinese and the Mexicans were treated during that time period as well. And a lot of lies to sift through to keep the suspense engaging.

Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for this early digital review copy. This book is available today, 9/19/23.

The almost post-war time period and the California location for this historical crime fiction mystery are fascinating enough, but when the link to the past in the form a decade-old unsolved death is added this story becomes mesmerizing. Author Amy Chua’s debut novel is an excellent read, full of people you want to know – or at least understand – better, locations familiar but enticingly different, and events that span time and place, delving into race, class, haves vs. have nots and the joy of a good mystery.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Minotaur MacMillan for providing an advance copy of The Golden Gate via NetGalley. I recommend this book without hesitation. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @stmartinspress and @minotaur_books for the advanced copy of The Golden Gate by Amy Chua. What an amazing debut novel (that is out today, 9/19)!

This is an intricately woven historical mystery set in Berkeley, California, in 1944 that not only incorporates mystery, family drama, race and social class, but also a fascinating amount of history of the area. Sometimes I rushed a bit through those sections because I wanted to get back to the mystery. And let me tell you, I did not have the ending figured out at all! The author’s note is also a must read.

Rating ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ /5

This book was exactly what I was looking for in a thriller. I loved the historical references and the writing really pulled my into the mystery. I loved that it would flip between multiple points of views so that I was kept guessing as the story progressed. I did get confused at points when new point of views were introduced but I liked the main characters so much that I was able to keep going.

The authors writing style is perfect and allows a hunting quality to the history and characters. It was well paced and had so many twists I wasn't able to guess the ending at all. This is a great thriller for anyone who loves the combination of history, mystery and crime.

Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Once I started to The Golden Gate by Amy Chua I could not put it down. This book follows Al Sullivan, a dective in Berkley that is trying to solve a murder at the Clairmont Hotel. Al was in the right place ( the bar at the Clearmont) when Walter Wilkerson is shot at in his hotel room. Al has Wilkerson moved to another floor and room with a patrol officer stationed at the door. Wilkerson soon realizes that he left something in the former room and goes back to get it. Wilkerson is soon discovered dead in the room. This book has so many plot twists that it is hard to guess how was the real murderer and why Wilkerson was murdered. Every time Al tries to solve the mystery he has another angle to check out. All of his suspects are from the Bainbridge bloodline and Al is determined to get to the bottom of this case at whatever it costs him. This book is mainly set in the 40"s during WW2 and Amy Chua gives you the background of Chinese and Japanese internment camps. She also gives you the history on San Fransico and the surrounding areas. Love it!

This epic historical novel takes you to so many varying places while centering around San Francisco, early 20th century. A tragedy, a murder, a plethora of characters from high society to low keep the plot turning and the questions forming until it all comes to a head.
Chua’s novel is enchanting as it takes on the time period effortlessly, in all its glory and shame. The plot, told from various perspectives, paints an entire and elicit picture and I simply couldn’t put it down!

THE GOLDEN GATE by Amy Chua is a compelling and multi-layered historical mystery set in Berkeley, California in 1944. Walter Wilkinson, a wealthy industrialist and former presidential candidate, has been found brutally murdered in his hotel room at the Claremont Hotel. Berkeley Homicide Detective, Al Sullivan, who was having a drink at the Claremont that evening, takes on the murder investigation. It is clear that Wilkinson’s death was a targeted attack, but he is a man with many enemies so the perpetrator and motive are not immediately known. The investigation soon leads to another high-profile death at the Claremont over ten years prior. Seven-year-old Iris Stafford, a member of one of the wealthiest families in San Francisco, the Bainbridges, was found dead at the bottom of a hotel laundry chute. Could there be a connection between the deaths? Do the remaining Bainbridge heiresses - Iris’ sister, her twin cousins and their grandmother, Genevieve, have anything to do with the recent murder? Set against the backdrop of World War II, the internment of Japanese citizens in camps, violent labor strikes and rampant discrimination against Mexicans, Asians and Blacks, the story portrays the turbulent times and the darker side of San Francisco’s past. The historical aspects were seamlessly interwoven with the plot. I enjoyed hearing Genevieve’s point of view through her deposition to the District Attorney. This was a well-crafted and intriguing debut novel from Amy Chua and I look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.