Five Pieces of Jade, John Ball
Five Pieces of Jade, John Ball
List: $35.99 | Sale: $25.20
Club: $17.99

Five Pieces of Jade

Author: John Ball

Narrator: Dion Graham

Unabridged: 6 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/18/2015


Synopsis

Who murdered the importer? Was it Yumeko, the beautiful half-black, half-Japanese girl who lived with him? Johnny Wu, a rich Chinese-American? Another customer? Or a political enemy from overseas?Homicide detective Virgil Tibbs finds himself in the middle of a deadly situation involving hard drugs, Communist Chinese agents, and the exotic settings of the jade trade as he coolly tracks down the murderer.

About John Ball

John Ball was an American writer best known for mystery novels involving the African-American police detective Virgil Tibbs. Tibbs was introduced in the 1965 novel In the Heat of the Night, which won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America and was made into an Oscar-winning film of the same name.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bill on July 14, 2021

There are only seven novels featuring detective Virgil Tibbs, & as I enjoy them so much I'm trying to read only one a year. This 1972 story starts with the murder of an old Chinese man who deals in rare jade. Tibbs narrows down the suspects, including a beautiful half-black, half-Chinese girl & the r......more

Goodreads review by Robert on September 29, 2021

Fourth in the series and a departure from precedent in a few ways. Book Virgil now inhabits a world where Movie Virgil exists - and he recognizes and jokes about such - but no even minor wealth has accrued to him because of it, which feels odd when Tibbs discusses on a few occasions the limits of a......more

Goodreads review by Mathew on May 15, 2024

It wasn't bad. I enjoy a good mystery myself. This one was an average procedural. Wasn't overwhelmingly suspenseful, didn't necessarily keep me on the edge of my seat, but it did pique my interest. I'm in Virgil Tibbs so I'll go along for the ride with him. The end was kind of vague and cryptic, may......more

Goodreads review by David on December 22, 2024

Ball is a competent detective writer but not a great one, also a moralist who believes in the System, who throws in lots of good-citizen stuff, like a hero who conscientiously wears his seatbelt. Though his views on race now feel dated they were progressive in his time, and while some hold it agains......more

Goodreads review by Ed on August 09, 2012

#4 in the Virgil Tibbs series. Author exhibits his interest in things Oriental through the eyes of Pasadena, CA homicide detective Virgil Tibbs. Interesting look at the world of jade carvings - netsuke figures. Virgil Tibbs investigates the murder of Wang Fu-sen, a respected jade collecter and seller......more