City of Devils, Paul French
City of Devils, Paul French
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

City of Devils
The Two Men Who Ruled the Underworld of Old Shanghai

Author: Paul French

Narrator: Paul Chan

Unabridged: 9 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/03/2018


Synopsis

By Paul French, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight in Peking—winner of both the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction—comes a rags-to-riches tale of two self-made men set against a backdrop of crime and vice in the sprawling badlands of Shanghai. City of Devils is a dynamic audiobook that will captivate listeners everywhere.

Shanghai, 1930s; it was a haven for outlaws from all over the world: a place where pasts could be forgotten, fascism and communism outrun, names invented, and fortunes made—and lost.

“Lucky” Jack Riley was the most notorious of those outlaws. An ex–U.S. Navy boxing champion, he escaped from prison and rose to become the Slots King of Shanghai. “Dapper” Joe Farren—a Jewish boy who fled Vienna’s ghetto—ruled the nightclubs. His chorus lines rivalled Ziegfeld’s.

In 1940, Lucky Jack and Dapper Joe bestrode the Shanghai Badlands like kings, while all around the Solitary Island was poverty, starvation, and war. They thought they ruled Shanghai, but the city had other ideas. This is the story of their rise to power, their downfall, and the trail of destruction left in their wake. Shanghai was their playground for a flickering few years, a city where for a fleeting moment even the wildest dreams could come true.

About Paul French

PAUL FRENCH was born in London and lived and worked in Shanghai for many years. His book Midnight in Peking was a New York Times Bestseller and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. He received the Mystery Writers’ of America Edgar award for Best Fact Crime and a Crime Writers’ Association (UK) Dagger award for non-fiction. His book City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir received much praise with The Economist writing, ‘…in Mr French the city has its champion storyteller.’ Both Midnight in Peking and City of Devils are currently in development for film.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Katie

It's the 1930s and 40s and Jack Riley and “Dapper” Joe Farren are big players in Shanghai's seedy underworld. American Jack Riley escaped prison and came to Shanghai and now runs a gambling empire. “Dapper” Joe Farren, originally from Vienna, finds his way to Shanghai with dancing and romantic partn......more

It is often commented by readers that they wish to be able to read a true crime story as easily as they can a crime fiction one, Paul French has accomplished that in my eyes. This was an endlessly compelling tale and proves that it's true what they say - the truth certainly is stranger than fiction!......more

Goodreads review by Paul

Paul French charts the rise and fall of Jack Riley and Joe Farren in the wild and seedy Shanghai in the 1930’s and 40s. It’s a world with little law and order, where passports can be bought, where drugs are freely available, and where one can make one’s fortune by running nightclubs and gambling joi......more


Awards

  • Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year