A spellbinding and dramatic account of Shanghai's lawless 1930s and two of its most notorious criminals, by the author of the prize winning Midnight in Peking

'Shanghai's champion storyteller - He grips his reader to the end' Economist
'Gripping, breakneck ultra-noir reminiscent of vintage Ellroy' David Peace, author of Red or Dead
'If you love Richard Lloyd Parry and David Grann, don't miss City of Devils' Megan Abbott, author of Dare Me

1930s Shanghai was a haven for outlaws from all over the world: a place where pasts could be forgotten, oppression outrun, fortunes made - and lost.

This is the story of 'Lucky' Jack Riley, the Slot King of Shanghai, and 'Dapper' Joe Farren, owner of the greatest clubs and casinos. It tells of their escape from American prisons and Vienna's ghetto, their rise to power, and the trail of destruction they left in their wake. Shanghai was their playground for a flickering few years, a city where for a fleeting moment even the wildest dreams seemed possible.

A love song to Shanghai . . . Knowing, cynical, slangy and carrying a crafty sting in its tail, this is the voice in which City of Devils is narrated throughout, as though it's being told over strong drinks in a dive bar. French channels the hard-boiled prose of Chandler and Ellroy in a rhythmic, tough-guy patter . . . Recounts with great panache an extraordinary period