The Golden Gate

Intricate Mystery..
Set against an evocative and atmospheric Berkeley, California, backdrop in 1944 comes an assassination of a former presidential candidate at the luxurious Claremont Hotel. As investigations commence, past and present collide to form an intricate and powerfully depicted mystery. Detailed and historically colourful, rich in social commentary, cleverly woven threads and populated with a credible cast with a most convincing backdrop.

Set in 1944 Berkeley, mixed race Mexican/American homicide detective Al Sullivan gives this mystery its heart and soul. The novel starts with the assassination of presidential candidate Walter Wilkinson in the posh Claremont hotel.  Sullivan soon realizes that the powerful Bainbridge family is entangled not only in this death but has an unresolved,  mysterious death of one of their heiresses, Iris, who as a child was also found dead at the Claremont. 

The novel is cleverly constructed, many twist and turns, switching between the court testimony of the Bainbridge matriach and Sullivans investigation.  The most likeable characters in the mystery are Ad Sullivan and his half niece whose lives are testament how important  race, gender and social standing were during that time in order to be noticed. Not much has changed...Chua  borrows from actual historical events such as Madame Chiang Kai-Shek mysterious stay in California taking fictional liberties.  Really had a fun  reading  "The Golden Gate",  learning a few historical facts along the way which the author lists in the appendix.

The Golden Gate was one of those unexpected joys of a novel for me. I requested it after seeing an excellent review on twitter and found it to be a compelling, original, atmospheric and immersive novel.
It's set in 1944 in Berkeley California when Presidential candidate Walter Wilkinson is murdered at the Claremont hotel. When Detective Al Sullivan is put on the case he looks at the connection with the wealthy Bainbridge family who suffered their own tragedy at the same hotel many years before.
The style of writing immediately drew me in to the novel and I loved the character of Al Sullivan. His relationship with his niece Miriam is beautifully portrayed and I hope they both return. I really enjoyed the West Coast setting and the historical facts about San Francisco completely brought the novel to life for me. The plot moves along at a good pace for most of the novel and I was completely immersed in it over the course of a weekend.
4.5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

A detective novel in the style of the golden age of detective fiction this debut novel is set in 1944 in California. 10 years earlier 7 year old Iris Stafford died in the Claremont Hotel. Her ghost is said to haunt the hotel. In the present Walter Wilkinson, a wealthy industrialist and former presidential candidate, is murdered in the same hotel. One of the Bainbridge girls is suspected of being the killer, but which one? With some historical fact, such as Madame Chiang Kai-Shek’s visit to San Francisco, mixed in with the fiction I found this a very enjoyable read. I liked the writing style and enjoyed the 1940’s vibe of the book.

Briefly, Detective Al Sullivan is investigating the case and all roads lead back to the 3 Bainbridge sisters, Iris's sister Isabella and cousins Cassie and Nicole. But their grandmother, Mrs Bainbridge, is adamant that they are innocent, and she will swear to that in court.

I loved the relationship between Al and his rather precocious niece Miriam and I though the racial and class prejudice prevalent at this time was well managed. The story had lots of twists and turns and I was constantly changing my mind about who murdered Wilkinson. I enjoyed the two threads of the court testimony of Mrs Bainbridge interspersed with Al’s investigation. All in all a very entertaining read that kept me engaged from start to finish.