Advance Praise
“A tight, taut, terrific thriller.”
—Steve Berry, Bestselling author of The Amber Room, The Romanoff Prophesy, and The Emperor’s Tomb
“Eric D. Goodman writes the kind of fiction a reader can love and a writer can admire. The Color of Jadeite is as tense, romantic and obsessed as the great noir thrillers.”
—Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean
“The adventures of Clive Allan, a gumshoe as irreverent as Sam Spade and wry as Mike Hammer, take the reader through the wonders of China in search of a priceless jadeite treasure. Clive’s partner is the beautiful Wei Wei, a woman with a past. Together they outwit their rivals and discover one another. In a world where nothing is what it seems, Eric D. Goodman leads the reader through an escapade that turns out to be a literary novel in disguise.”
—Tom Glenn, author of Last of the Annamese
“This novel is full of intrigue and romance, a treacherous femme fatale, thugs straight from a James Bond thriller, and interesting insight into the mysteries of Chinese art and culture. Clive Allan, suave as any Dashiell Hammett detective, accompanied by partners Salvador and Mackenzie, takes on the dangerous mission of tracking down the lost jadeite tablet of Emperor Xuande of the Ming dynasty. A fool’s errand? The search takes them to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and elsewhere, with rickshaw chases, gunfights and betrayal throughout. This is a book that’s hard to put down.”
—Charles Rammelkamp, author of Mata Hari: Eye of the Day and Catastroika
‘This fast-paced adventure through modern China packs mystery, history, intrigue and a cast of unforgettable characters in a clue-lead hunt for a priceless ancient artifact. A clever, witty, captivating read!”
—Toby Devens, author of Barefoot Beach and Happy Any Day Now
“I never thought I’d use the words “literary” and “thriller” in the same sentence, but that was before reading The Color of Jadeite by Eric D. Goodman. This one has everything a great thriller needs: fascinating heroes, vicious villains, nail-biting suspense and a twisting, surprise-laden plot. But what sets it apart is Goodman’s mastery of the language that makes this a treat you’ll want to savor, even as the story yanks on you to rush forward. The Color of Jadeite is this year’s literary breath of fresh air.”
—Austin S. Camacho, author of Blood and Bone, Collateral Damage, and The Wrong Kind
“The Color of Jadeite has all the fixings for a crime thriller with old school charm in a modern and daring setting: a charming and irreverent private eye, a femme fatale full of secrets, sidekicks with issues, and bad guys around every serpentine curve. All while we learn about fascinating China. This page turner will keep you holding your breath as we whirl along with PI Clive Allan and his colleagues on a quest, and learn along with them, about Chinese culture and art. We can only hope that author Eric Goodman has plans to write a series of Clive Allen thrillers that will take us to new settings, both familiar and exotic.”
—Lucrecia Guerrero, author of Tree of Sighs, and Chasing Shadows
“Eric D. Goodman’s delightful thriller The Color of Jadeite reads like hard-boiled mystery fiction and has the pace of a Saturday morning Republic Pictures serial from the 1950s. It’s The Maltese Falcon on high-octane. Plan on staying where you are when you sit down to read this one—Goodman isn’t letting you move until you’ve turned all these nimble pages.”
—Jerry Holt, author of The Killing of Strangers
“Eric D. Goodman’s latest work, The Color of Jadeite, will keep readers captivated and entertained, following the clues and twists of this Clive Allan thriller from its action-packed beginning in Boston’s Chinatown to its finale atop China’s Great Wall. In between, readers are taken on “an unexpected vacation halfway around the world” as Clive Allan tracks the mysterious path of the jadeite tablet through many of historical settings, including Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Jade Temple, and the People’s Park. Drama, action, mystery, and romance intertwine along the Chinese journey, as a lively cast of characters reveal the human emotions that drive and “color” curiosity, loyalty, revenge, love, and longevity—throughout differing centuries, societies, landmarks, and geographies.”
—Katherine Cottle, author of The Hidden Heart of Charm City and My Father’s Speech
The Color of Jadeite
a Clive Allan thriller
Eric D. Goodman
The Color of Jadeite
a Clive Allan thriller
Eric D. Goodman
Copyright © 2020 by Eric D. Goodman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the publisher (except by reviewers who may quote brief passages).
First Edition
Casebound ISBN: 978-1-62720-285-5
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-62720-286-2
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62720-297.9
Printed in the United States of America
Design by Erica Argilan
Editorial development by Lauren Battista
Promotion plan by Lauren Battista
Published by Apprentice House Press
Apprentice House Press
Loyola University Maryland
4501 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21210
410.617.5265
www.ApprenticeHouse.com
Also by Eric D. Goodman
Setting the Family Free
Womb: a novel in utero
Tracks: A Novel in Stories
Flightless Goose
Learn more about Eric D. Goodman and his work at
For my parents, Clarke and Linda,
who instilled in me a yearning for travel and adventure.
Contents
1 A Little Trouble in Little China 1
2 Of All the Noodle Joints 6
3 Mysterious Things of Beauty 15
4 Forbidden Messages 21
5 Begin with the End in Mind 31
6 Heavenly Hunt 36
7 Abundant Harvest 40
8 Dragon Lady 46
9 Floating Marble 51
10 Hanging in the Hutong 58
11 Wangfujing has the Cure 66
12 Bye-Bye Beijing 73
13 Where the Chicken Hangs, the Frog Bleeds 80
14 Linger 89
15 Something Silky This Way Comes 96
16 This Time it’s Personal 101
17 Strangers in the Night 105
18 Iron Curtain 109
19 Talking ’Bout Yu and Tea 117