A Paul Chang Mystery Series

Wilmington, Delaware is one of those cities that feels more like a small town. Neighbors know one another, and businesses cater to the needs of the citizenry. But what happens when the local car salesman suffers one lost sale too many, when one more customer decides to buy from the competition because the price is too high, interest rates aren’t friendly, or that shade of blue just won’t work? In J. Gregory Smith’s electrifying thriller, Final Price, Shamus Ryan’s frustration works like a thorn under his skin until psychotic urges take over and he commits murder—serial murders, in fact—his victims chosen from prospective clients who dared to walk away. With Smith’s chilling scenes of massacre, readers are pulled into the vortex of a warped mind, one man justifying heinous acts, and two detectives running a race against time, trying to solve seemingly random killings. Paul Chang, a Chinese-American homicide detective, is struggling to understand why these murders are taking place. Assisted by his neurotic partner, Nelson Rogers, Chang goes after the killer with logic, tenacity, and no small measure of fear. Written from the perspectives of Detective Chang and Shamus Ryan, readers quickly find themselves seeing the world in unique—and often disturbing—ways they never expected. With dark humor and gritty suspense, Smith has crafted a refreshing and surprising thriller.

For former NYPD and Delaware State Police detective Paul Chang, retiring to open his own agency with former partner Nelson Rogers should mean leaving behind politics and scapegoating. Instead, corrupt Colonel Byrd of the state police and his lackey Clyde Foley harass Chang at every turn, and their unwanted attention puts his fledgling business on the brink of bankruptcy. With the police on his back and the agency taking sleazy cases he never thought he’d have to, Chang erupts under the job’s pressures and sees his personal demon, an alter ego he calls the dragon, emerge. Only the training from his martial arts teacher and old friend Shu can keep Chang sane. But when someone tries to frame him for the stalking of his ex-wife and a journalist, the harassment turns deadly and the lives of everyone close to him are in danger. Unable to wait for events to take their course, Chang must unleash the dragon. The second installment of J. Gregory Smith’s Paul Chang mystery series, Legacy of the Dragon is a riveting exploration of the profound impact the sins of the past have on our present.

TV news anchor Laura Stark thought she was finally free of Max, her bizarre ex-husband. But a series of sinister pranks convinces her that Max—a trained circus clown—is stalking her again. Since she broke a controversial news story that made her a persona non grata with the New York City Police Department, Laura turns to a pair of quirky Delaware private detectives for help. Paul Chang, a former NYPD cop with a mean streak, and his prescient, scrawny sidekick, Nelson Rogers, are convinced that Max is up to no good. But they can’t be sure exactly what the prankster wants from Laura. Meanwhile, Laura scores scoop after scoop from an anonymous tipster, breaking big stories about a billionaire’s murder and an unlikely peace treaty brokered by the mayor of New York. Chang suspects Max has some connection to the exposés—and a grandiose plan that goes far beyond simple stalking. Can Chang and Nelson catch Max before the mad jester turns the city into his own three-ring circus? The third novel in the Detective Chang mystery series, Send in the Clowns juggles a twisted tale of obsession and political intrigue.