Book Review: The Golden Gate by Amy Chua

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In 1940s San Francisco, former presidential candidate Walter Wilkinson is found murdered in his room at the Claremont Hotel. Eyewitness accounts are indicative of a woman’s presence in his room before the murder. Three young women from an affluent and well-connected family - Nicole and Cassie Bainbridge and their cousin Isabella Stafford - are among the suspects. In 1930 Isabella’s sister Iris, seven years old at the time, was found dead under suspicious circumstances in the same hotel. Coincidence, or is the recent murder somehow connected to the family tragedy?

Detective Al Sullivan of Berkeley P.D., who is half Mexican but passes for white – a fact that helped him secure his position, is tasked with the investigation. A deep dive into Wilkinson’s life reveals his personal connections to key political figures, affluent families, including the Bainbridge family, as well as some shady dealings. Who killed Walter Wilkinson and why? Political rivalry or personal grudges?

Combining elements of historical fiction, family drama and classic detective fiction, The Golden Gate by Amy Chua is a skillfully crafted novel with well-thought-out characters (a combination of fictional as well as those based on real people) and meticulously researched and vividly described historical backdrop of WWII era America/ 1940s California- the politics, the socio-economic divide, the racism and class distinction and much more. The 1940s timeline is shared from the perspective of Detective Sullivan with the deposition of the girls’ grandmother, Genevieve Bainbridge as she is questioned about her granddaughters’ possible involvement in the murder, interspersed throughout the narrative along with past events from multiple timelines. The pacing is a tad uneven but not so much that detracts from the overall reading experience. The author weaves these multiple threads, characters and timelines into an atmospheric and absorbing narrative. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and would not hesitate to recommend it to fans of historical fiction and/or fans of hardboiled detective fiction set in that era.

Do read the Author’s Note wherein she discusses the research that went into crafting this story and the different people and historical events that inspired this novel.

I combined my reading with the audiobook narrated by Robb Moreira, Suzanne Toren, and Tim Campbell, who have done an incredible job of voicing the characters and bringing the story to life.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the digital review copy and the ALC of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.