City of Devils

City of Devils reconstructs the criminal underworld of 1930s Shanghai through the parallel stories of two kingpins - "Lucky" Jack Riley and "Dapper" Joe Farren. The narrative follows their rise in a lawless city where mobsters, gamblers, and racketeers operated with impunity in the period between world wars. French draws from police reports, newspaper archives, and intelligence files to document how these two men built their empires in Shanghai's nightclub district and International Settlement. Riley controlled the slot machine trade while Farren ran elaborate nightclub shows, both navigating a complex web of alliances with local gangs, corrupt officials, and rival crime bosses. The book captures Shanghai at a pivotal moment when the city served as a refuge for stateless migrants and outcasts from around the world. The approaching Japanese invasion and increasing international tensions form the backdrop to this tale of crime and survival. Through this dual biography, French examines how extreme circumstances and the absence of law can transform ordinary people into criminals. The book raises questions about identity, reinvention, and moral compromise in a time and place where conventional rules ceased to apply.

Readers highlight French's detailed research and noir atmosphere depicting 1930s Shanghai's criminal underworld. Many note the book reads like a crime thriller while delivering historical facts. Likes: - Vivid recreation of time and place - Complex characters based on real figures - Integration of photos and documents - Fast-paced narrative style "Feels like you're walking through old Shanghai" - Goodreads reviewer "The level of detail is incredible" - Amazon review Dislikes: - Dense historical details can overwhelm the story - Too many characters to track - Confusing timeline jumps - "The writing tries too hard to be hardboiled" - Goodreads review - "Gets bogged down in minutiae" - Amazon reviewer Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (3,900+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (580+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.9/5 (190+ ratings) French's narrative nonfiction approach resonates with true crime fans but frustrates readers seeking a more straightforward history.

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📚 The book's protagonist, Jack Riley, was a real-life escaped convict from Oklahoma who became Shanghai's gambling kingpin, known as "Lucky Jack." 🏙️ Shanghai's Badlands district, where much of the story takes place, was a stateless zone where no single authority held jurisdiction, making it a perfect haven for criminals and outlaws. 🎭 Many of the characters in the book were White Russians who fled the Bolshevik Revolution, reinventing themselves in Shanghai's underworld with false identities and elaborate backstories. 🗞️ Author Paul French spent over two decades collecting materials for the book, including police reports, newspaper articles, and court documents from archives across multiple continents. 🎬 The nightclubs and casinos described in the book were forced to close when Japanese forces occupied Shanghai in 1937, effectively ending the era of "Old Shanghai" chronicled in City of Devils.