Amy Chua’s debut novel, The Golden Gate, is a sweeping, evocative, and compelling historical thriller that paints a vibrant portrait of a California buffeted by the turbulent crosswinds of a world at war and a society about to undergo massive change.
In Berkeley, California, in 1944, Homicide Detective Al Sullivan has just left the swanky Claremont Hotel after a drink in the bar when a presidential candidate is assassinated in one of the rooms upstairs. A rich industrialist with enemies among the anarchist factions on the far left, Walter Wilkinson could have been targeted by any number of groups. But strangely, Sullivan’s investigation brings up the specter of another tragedy at the Claremont, ten years the death of seven-year-old Iris Stafford, a member of the Bainbridge family, one of the wealthiest in all of San Francisco. Some say she haunts the Claremont still.
The many threads of the case keep leading Sullivan back to the three remaining Bainbridge heiresses, now Iris’s sister, Isabella, and her cousins Cassie and Nicole. Determined not to let anything distract him from the truth―not the powerful influence of Bainbridges’ grandmother, or the political aspirations of Berkeley’s district attorney, or the interest of China’s First Lady Madame Chiang Kai-Shek in his findings―Sullivan follows his investigation to its devastating conclusion.
Chua’s page-turning debut brings to life a historical era rife with turbulent social forces and groundbreaking forensic advances, when race and class defined the very essence of power, sex, and justice, and introduces a fascinating character in Detective Sullivan, a mixed race former Army officer who is still reckoning with his own history.
Written by the Tiger Mom herself, when I saw this book at the airport bookstore of all places, I just had to pick it up for myself and read it on the plane. And I did. It was definitely a spontaneous purchase but honestly I don’t have many regrets—it’s always nice to be one of the early readers of a book when they come out. It was a thriller/murder mystery written by an Asian female lawyer; the choice was easy.
The Golden Gate follows our detective, Al Sullivan, as he investigates the high-profile murder of Walter Wilkinson in the luxurious Claremont hotel. Setting place in 1944 as the “present,” Al investigates the case where all three of the Bainbridge heiresses have been implicated in the murder as possible suspects. With a high-profile murder, there are also many other powerful forces at play, including China’s First Lady, and the suspects’ grandmother, Genevieve Bainbridge. Just how did this unfortunate family get involved in such a messy situation, and who will end up being punished for the crime?
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Down the Rabbit Hole 