Christopher Bartley introduced his craggy anti-hero Ross Duncan in Every Secret Thing, and now the chain smoking tough guy returns. He leads us on a mesmerising journey through San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1930s, where he encounters every vice he has ever heard of – and a few more besides. Duncan manages to serve several masters who are all hell-bent on getting their hands on an ancient oriental artefact. The dialogue is whip-smart, and the plotting is as complex as anything you will have read since Raymond Chandler put down his pen. Amid the brutality, Ross Duncan shows his compassionate side, and even sheds a tear or two at the injustice and mindlessness of the world he inhabits. Read our five-star review here.
