Paper Son by SJ Rozen

Lydia Chen is a Chinese-American PI living in NYC. She partners with Bill Smith. Momma Chen tells Lydia about an unknown side of the family living in the Mississippi Delta area. Lydia had no clue she even had relatives in the south. Wondering why her mom was bringing this up now, Lydia is told that one of her cousins, a Jefferson Tam, has just been arrested for the murder of his father, Leland Tam, a local shopkeeper. Mom does not believe it’s true, she just knows, and that Lydia and Bill must go to Mississippi and prove his innocence. Don’t argue with mom.

Lydia and Bill head south to an entirely unknown place. Yes, Jefferson has been charged with the knife-murder of Leland, but as he was being transported to the county lockup, he somehow escaped. Lydia and Bill head over to Leland’s store where they meet up with another cousin, Pete, a professional gambler. The store has been ransacked. Jefferson is a fugitive. And the sheriff’s deputy/detective ain’t happy with a couple Yankee PIs nosing in on his case.

Throughout the investigation, more relatives pop up, including Reynold Tam, current congressman currently in a primary campaign for governor. His chief-of-staff (and son-in-law) is yet another distant relative.

The investigation twists one way (redneck meth dealers) then another (online sports gambling) then another (meth-head’s daughter dating a black law student), and yet another (mixed race parentage that go back more than a few generations). All the while Lydia is trying to figure out the Delta culture, lingo, and food preferences.

Turns out SJ Rozen, an Edgar Award winner (meaning she has the chops) has nearly a dozen and a half books to her credit. Mostly Lydia Chen/Bill Smith mysteries. Paper Son was a reasonable diversion after the heavy lifting from up on Bull Mountain. Easy reading, somewhat lighthearted, not overly violent, and well developed. Even with all the various generations, cousins, 2nd cousins twice removed, etc. When the reading bug hits and one is looking for something that won’t drag you down into a filthy gutter, a Chen/Smith book just might be just the ticket.

ECD

Where does the title come from? In the late 1800s, before laws forbidding the Chinese from coming to the US (yes, that did happen), Chinese immigrants would get established in the US, then send for relatives (usually a son of relatives wanting a better life for the child) who’d stayed in China. Papers would be purchased that confirm that the boys were indeed the children of the immigrants and they were admitted as their children. Thus the term, Paper Son. Sort of the 19^th century version of today’s ‘anchor babies.’