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

The city of Shanghai was a city on edge. The multi-national port city was beset by an invading Japanese army looking to plunder and pillage. The underworld had made the city ground zero for lawlessness and corruption. The story of two men, Jack Riley and Joe Farren, both running from their pasts and seeking fortune make up City of Devils. Jack Riley is a wanted man in the US, having escaped from prison. The lure of easy money in the guise of the one-armed bandits aka “slot machines” turns him into an entrepreneur. Joe Farren has escaped an increasingly anti-Semitic Europe and is a talented dancer eyeing his own produced dance productions. Their talents bring them to prominence in Shanghai. Joe and Jack run in some of the same circles, eventually leading to a partnership in one of the nightclubs. Joe has connections in the underworld which leads to a venture with US gangsters. The partnership is soon torn asunder by greed and jealousy. As the war looms, Riley and Farren’s worlds blow apart in a stunning excess of death and destruction. Will they ever be the same? Will Shanghai?

City of Devils reads as the hottest of fiction. The narration of the charged atmosphere of Shanghai is sharp and eye-catching. The characters are various, but enthralling, the action changing every minute. An engrossing read for every page.