Welcome to Dim Sum Asylum: a San Francisco where it’s a ho-hum kind of case when a cop has to chase down an enchanted two-foot-tall shrine god statue with an impressive Fu Manchu mustache that’s running around Chinatown, trolling sex magic and chaos in its wake. Senior Inspector Roku MacCormick of the Chinatown Arcane Crimes Division faces a pile of challenges far beyond his human-faerie … human-faerie heritage, snarling dragons guarding C-Town’s multiple gates, and exploding noodle factories. After a case goes sideways, Roku is saddled with Trent Leonard, a new partner he can’t trust, to add to the crime syndicate family he doesn’t want and a spell-casting serial killer he desperately needs to find.
While Roku would rather stay home with Bob the Cat and whiskey himself to sleep, he puts on his badge and gun every day, determined to serve and protect the city he loves. When Chinatown’s dark mystical underworld makes his life hell and the case turns deadly, Trent guards Roku’s back and, if Trent can be believed, his heart… even if from what Roku can see, Trent is as dangerous as the monsters and criminals they’re sworn to bring down.
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I first read the short version of Dim Sum Asylum in Charmed and Dangerous. I loved it, but wasn’t sure I should spend money on the full length version. I am so happy I took a chance, it’s absolutely worth your money and time. It thought the short version was good, but this full length version absolutely blew me away. If you like Rhys Ford’s stories, you’re gonna love this one. Although it has dragons and fae, the story feels like how I imagine China Town is (or could be) in the here and now, with insane traffic, a maze of small streets and shops, opposing Yakuz clans, small sweet but dangerous grandmothers, not so sweet and dangerous grandfathers, crazy but very loyal cops and dim sum, shiploads of dim sum! I really hope this story will turn into a series. I would love to read more about Trends old unit and Roku’s family, friends and colleagues. Highly recommended.
*** AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ***
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Angela –
Dim Sum Asylum is one of my favorite audiobooks, especially when I’m in the mood for fantasy. I have long been fascinated by the fae, so Rhys Ford had my complete attention with Roku’s human-faerie heritage. The cherry on top was that the audiobook was narrated by my favorite narrator, Greg Tremblay. How could I resist? I couldn’t. My mistake was in not writing up my review as soon as I finished listening to the book the first time. Yeah, you read that right, the first time. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to Dim Sum Asylum over the past several months, hence its five-star rating.
“I hated running first thing in the morning.” Not only does Ford insure that I’ll love Roku right off the bat with this thought, but we’re dropped right into the middle of the action as the book begins with Roku chasing down a suspect who’s stolen a clutch of dragon eggs. A very valuable clutch of dragon eggs. And the thief is his partner on the force. The chase is exciting until Arnett demonstrates just how dirty of a cop he is and murders an innocent bystander in an attempt to escape. While the murder is tragic, Ford uses it as a way to show just how good of a man Roku is and why he works so hard to right the world’s wrongs instead of embracing his father’s Yakuza ties and stepping into the role his grandfather would like to groom him for. But that’s merely the tip of the iceberg in this novel as Roku has to train Trent, his new partner, keep his ghosts at bay, track down a magical serial killer, avoid his grandfather’s continued overtures to join the family’s criminal enterprises, resist the temptation of his new partner, and still get home in time to feed his cat, Bob – who I absolutely freaking adored, especially at the very end. Fortunately for me, Roku succeeds at the right tasks, fails at the tasks he needed to, and averages 50/50 on the cat (lol). One of the things I enjoy most about Dim Sum Asylum is that even after repeated listens, I realized that Ford doesn’t telegraph who the serial killer is. The reader or listener isn’t meant to “solve” the case before Roku and Trent do, they’re meant to enjoy the ride – and I do every single time I cue it up.
For me, this is possibly one of my favorite performances by Greg Tremblay. Between the Asian accents, the Scottish accents, and the American accents – both male and female – Ford certainly kept him busy and Tremblay demonstrates that he was up for the challenge. Roku is such an emotive character and the narration clearly conveys his frustration, irritation, sadness, grief, happiness, attraction, and most importantly, his determination. There’s a scene in the book where Roku is talking things out with the morgue tech and I felt like I could actually hear the gears grinding in his head and see him pacing the room as he reasons through what they know, attempting to connect the dots back to the killer. Once again, Tremblay has impressed me with his ability to breathe life into an author’s words, bringing Ford’s world and characters to life in such a way that I get lost in the story, forgetting for several hours that dragons and faeries and magic aren’t real – at least, not in my world. Thank goodness for re-listens, so I can return to Dim Sum Asylum anytime I want.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free audiobook copy of Dim Sum Asylum by Rhys Ford, narrated by Greg Tremblay to listen to and review.