I was fortunate enough to meet Marele Day (the author) when she presented a guest lecture as part of a criminology series I attended a few lifetimes ago. Oddly, she was exactly how you expect a crime writer to be - mysterious, flamboyant, and a bit batty.

Marele's private dick creation (so to speak) is Claudia Valentine. Thirtysomething Claudia's beat centres on downtown Sydney - the setting is a visual treat for Australians and non-locals alike. Will Claudia find the key with the Golden Dragon or will the Triad get her first? All will be revealed in the fullness of time...

Promised to cestmoi as part of the Favourite Suspense/Mystery Authors Bookrelay .

Released on Friday, September 05, 2003 at Postal Release in Melbourne, Victoria Australia.

Mailed to cestmoi - enjoy!

Just received in the mail. Thanks ever so much. I will journal again as soon as I've read it...and by the way..thank you for the postcard!

Fun little mystery set in Sydney, Australia. I liked the main character, Claudia Valentine and since this is a series, probably would have had some answers to some questions if I'd read the whole series in order! For instance, why doesn't she want to have full custody of her children (as a mother, I'm curious). How does she afford a Daimler on a PI salary? Unless Daimlers are cheaper in Australia ;)

The mystery itself is set in Sydney's Chinatown and was full of references to the city and its people and the influx of Chinese from Hong Kong in the early nineties. This was very interesting and very important to the plot line.

Some questions left unanswered at the end..who was James Ho really and what was his reason for wanting to open the boxes?

All in all, it was fun to read a mystery not set in a large, well known US city. Although I could compare Claudia Valentine to Kinsey Milhone and all the other more well known female PI's. Funnily enough, other than saying that Claudia is tall and a red head there is no reference to her physical attributes or lack thereof.

I'm going to pass this along to another Toronto BC'er I know who enjoys mysteries.

Thanks for sharing this with me veritas9.

Thanks so much for thinking of me, cestmoi! What a sweetheart you are. This is just my kind of thing, and I know I will enjoy it before releasing it to someone else.

Finally got around to reading this fun little mystery. I found it very enjoyable -- the author has a breezy style that goes well with her character and with the setting. I mostly enjoyed the tour of Sydney - both the tourist areas and the less-known parts. I thought the Chinese-descent characters were mostly steretypes. I guess they don't need to be well-rounded, since they are just props in a mystery. Claudia is not a unique detective, either, but she is pleasant enough to spend a couple of days with. And I wasn't sure where the plot was going for most of the time, which is always a good sign. I wish there were more of Marele Day's book available -- I would certainly read them.

Donation to book store.