Although Peter’s client, Chi-Chin Ho is legally in the US, he is living with three other men, two of whom may be illegal immigrants. Peter thinks that his client’s disappearance may be related to the fact that Ho belonged to the restaurant worker’s union, which was meeting some opposition with the Chinese community.

Soon after Lydia starts her investigation into the whereabouts of Chi-Chin Ho, a bomb explodes in the office of the restaurant worker’s union. Lydia’s friend Peter is severely injured, and unidentified man is killed. When Peter regains consciousness, he identifies his companion as Chi-Chin Ho, his missing client.

Peter calls Lydia off the case because his client has been found, and it is too dangerous to pursue the quest for the other missing men. Lydia, of course, pays no attention to Peter and redoubles her efforts to locate the men. She is at least as concerned about why the men are missing as she is about their disappearance.

This is a wonderful book for those people interested in Chinese culture, language, and customs. The author gives the flavor of the Chinese language by using Chinese names in Chinese word order (family name first, then given name) when the characters are speaking to each other in Chinese. She explains that since the spoken dialects sound very differently, most Chinese cannot communicate with others that speak a different dialect except by writing. The characters and sentence structure remain the same.

Lydia, an American Born Chinese, has a slightly different outlook on life than her mother who made a heroic effort to leave China for a better life in America. Both however, revere their elders, retain some superstitious beliefs in gods and ghosts, and extol the benefits of good Chinese tea.

Lydia’s partner is an American named Bill Smith. Their relationship as partners, friends, almost lovers makes for an enjoyable side light to the story line. At times, because she is Chinese, Lydia has access to obtaining information that Bill does not. At other times, the fact that Bill is not Chinese gives an added boost to the progress of the investigation. Conversations between Lydia and Bill provide the author with an outlet for her dry humor.

On the negative side, the progress of the plot is significantly slowed by the abundance of information on Chinese Americans. So much time is devoted to explanations of Chinese ways that there are very few action scenes. Those readers interested in page turning suspense should probably look elsewhere for their reading material. With the exception of the bombing in the union office, and a few confrontations late in the story, not much exciting happens.

As insight into Chinese culture and customs, this book is a gold mine. From a description of a dim sum lunch to proper etiquette in speaking to those of greater age or station in life than oneself, the author competently educates the reader. A Bitter Feast is a truly fascinating look at New York’s Chinatown and its inhabitants.

--Andy Plonka