Fifteen year old Yu Ma comes to the office of Bai Jiang to seek help in finding her friend, Jia Yan who is missing. Located in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Bai is the granddaughter of a triad overlord, and is well known for her skills as a people finder and with knives. She received a huge inheritance and that allows her to pick and choose which cases she wants to become involved in. With the help of her partner Lee Li, Bai finds out Yu has been sold into sexual slavery. She also finds out someone has put a hit on Bai.

Lee is Chinese and an unusually tall six-foot, two-inches. Jason is a triad assassin and the father of Bai’s 12-years-old daughter. Although Bai is a Buddhist and tries to live as a pacifist, that lifestyle goes against the skills she must use to save the young girl’s life. She must fight an unseen enemy who wants her dead as she also struggles with the anger and fear for the young girl that turns into rage.

During the investigation she fights young gangsters trying to make their mark in Chinatown; while battling flesh peddlers, trained assassins, and triad hatchet men. She must also navigate land deals gone wrong. In her quest to right the wrongs of others, she travels from San Francisco and Vancouver where she faces a life and death showdown.

White Ginger is the debut novel in a new series written by Thatcher Robinson. He has created strong characters with enough depth to carry readers through to the next installment while waiting to learn more about the dynamic and aggressive-assertive Bai, best friend and protector Lee, and sexy ex-partner Jason.

The fast-paced novel is full of energy and will keep readers turning pages far into the night. This is not an easy book to lie down. Fans of strong women protagonists will enjoy watching Bai as she takes down the enemy forces coming up against her. She also comes across as relatable, someone we could talk to if she weren’t so busy quenching bad guys.

This is an enjoyable read that will apparently continue according to the author. I, for one, will be keeping my eyes open, waiting with anxious anticipation until the next installment comes around. The book as that good.

A special thank you goes to Seventh Street Books for providing us with a complimentary copy of White Ginger. If you are interested in picking up this book, it is available at Amazon.com.