Catherine Cho
is a literary agent and the founder of her own literary agency. She wrote a
critically acclaimed memoir that was shortlisted for the Sunday Times'
Young Writer of the Year Award, the Jhalak Prize, and a New York Times' Editor's Choice. Her debut novel,
The Devoted (Washington Square Press, July 14, 2026) is a compelling
tale of a young woman who is born into the shadow of transnational crime
syndicates and has to decide what she will do about it. I found her character
to be similar to a young Michael Corleone who also was determined to move
outside his family’s lawlessness.
Told in
flashbacks between childhood and maturity, the story describes Eunha growing up
with her older brother in Hong Kong in the care of her grandmother, her
mother’s mother, in an isolated cottage. Her mother is institutionalized for
some vague illness. A caretaker whom Eunha eventually realizes is a personal
security officer assigned by her father is omnipresent. His nephew appears
periodically and joins the family. Eunha’s father visits occasionally, focusing
his attention on his son.
By the time
Eunha reaches her late teens, she understands that her father is a Dragon, the
head of a Triad, and that her brother will follow her father into the world of
organized crime. She marries into what she believes is an ordinary family but
she learns when her son is kidnapped that the shadow of her family and its
activities is far-reaching.
Cho’s writing
is lavish with imagery and opulent turns of phrase. It’s often at odds with the
gritty world it describes. The cultural melting pot of Hong Kong simmers in the
background, contrasting mainland Chinese, British colonialists, and immigrants from
elsewhere in the East, all of whom settled on the island that serves as a bridge
between East and West. Hong Kong’s status as a financial nucleus in the East is
a magnet for many, including the Triads.
The
Devoted is a compulsive piece of crime fiction and I expect to see it on
many of the nominations lists for 2026 awards. Starred reviews from Library
Journal and Booklist.
·
Publisher: Washington Square Press
·
Publication date: July 14, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 256 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1668099462
·
ISBN-13: 978-1668099469
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4aNsCXA
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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