Lydia Chin & Bill Smith Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| China Trade | 1994 | Buy |
| Concourse | 1995 | Buy |
| Mandarin Plaid | 1996 | Buy |
| No Colder Place | 1997 | Buy |
| A Bitter Feast | 1998 | Buy |
| Stone Quarry / Bad Blood | 1999 | Buy |
| Reflecting the Sky / Blood Rites | 2001 | Buy |
| Winter and Night / Blood Ties | 2002 | Buy |
| The Shanghai Moon / Trail of Blood | 2009 | Buy |
| On the Line / Out for Blood | 2010 | Buy |
| Ghost Hero | 2011 | Buy |
| Paper Son | 2019 | Buy |
| The Art of Violence | 2020 | Buy |
| Family Business | 2021 | Buy |
| The Mayors of New York | 2023 | Buy |
| First Do No Harm | 2026 | Buy |
Lydia Chin & Bill Smith Short Stories/Novellas Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Body English | 1992 | Buy |
| A Tale About a Tiger | 1998 | Buy |
| Birds of Paradise | 2004 | Buy |
| Chin Yong-Yun Takes a Case | 2011 | Buy |
| Heartbreak | 2012 | Buy |
| Prosperity Restaurant | 2012 | Buy |
| Double-Crossing Delancey | 2013 | Buy |
The Lydia Chin and Bill Smith books are a long-running mystery series by S.J. Rozan, featuring two private investigators working in New York City. Lydia Chin is a Chinese-American PI based in Chinatown, deeply connected to her family and community. Bill Smith is her sometime partner, a more traditional loner detective. The books alternate between their perspectives, with some novels told from Lydia’s viewpoint and others from Bill’s.
The series began with China Trade in 1994 and has grown to sixteen novels, with First Do No Harm scheduled for 2026. Rozan has won nearly every major award in mystery fiction for these books, including the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, and Macavity. The New York City settings are richly drawn, with Chinatown playing a particularly important role. Over three decades, the characters have developed and their relationship has evolved, rewarding long-time readers while remaining accessible to newcomers.