The Two Chinatowns

Dan Mahoney is unique in that he does not write the usual police or detective "thriller." What he really writes are police-procedure novels. As a retired NYPD Captain he takes you behind the sceens and shows you exactly how a law enforcement team (and, of course, the novel's hero) track down the bad guys. You are in on their conversations, their thoughts, and their actions. If you want to know how it all works, plus get-to-know a number of fascinating characters, this is your book. I gave it 4 stars, not 5, because I miss Mahoney's usual hero, "McKenna"; this book features one of his other detectives, "Cisco" who was a minor character in other Mahoney books. A good read!

The Two Chinatowns By Dan MahoneyThis is well written by an author who knows his subject. Dan Mahoney worked as a policeman for 25 years before retiring as a captain. This novel is written carefully with the smallest detail covered. It is a tragic adventure that covers two cities in two different countries in America with the exciting final in Hong Kong, Singapore and Guam. Cisco Sanchez the star in the story claims to be the best detective in New York. Besides, he is a boxer for the New York police team and an actor in the ring who has never lost a fight. Cisco saw Sue Hsu the woman he wanted to marry. She was an airline hostess. As usual he planned every move to meet her under the best of circumstances. He even took a flight she was working before introducing himself. Everything worked as planned except she was killed by a group of Chinese, part of the `Born to Kill' street gang. She accidentally got in their way on the way to the ladies toilet. Sue had taken Cisco to visit her Chinese Uncle's restaurant in Toronto when it happened. Cisco swore that he would not rest until all the people concerned with her death were taken down.Cisco discovered that The Chinese gangsters who contracted the `Born to Kill' street gang were heavily involved with smuggling illegal Chinese into New York and Toronto by way of containers ships from China. The novel grows from there to the climax at the end in Guam.For ones who are interested this book has some very interesting part facts about smuggling Chinese and other Asians into America. It is a very dangerous, interesting and a lucrative business. Life is very cheap in this novel.

Cisco has been a somewhat minor character, but in this book, The Two Chinatowns, he takes center-stage in a thrilling multi-national manhunt. His character has a charm that will appeal to all. Sure he's an egotist, but it's not ego....its Fact!! He is a great cop. His interaction with the Toronto PD and his own NYPD shows just how great he is. His dialogue, as written by Mr. Mahoney, is sometimes funny and sometimes serious, but always right on the money. I've read all of Dan Mahoney's books and since I love them all, I'd be hard-pressed to "slot" this one into a ranking. It's great....you'll enjoy it!!

This author keeps writing terrific book after terrific book. The Two Chinatowns showcases what he does best: great action, interesting characters, inside police stuff (the real stuff, not like on tv), and moving outside New York to an international perspective (in this case, the Chinatowns of NYC and Toronto and how the Asian gangs work ). Another winner!