The Snakehead by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Snakehead

An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream

Patrick Radden Keefe

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Print & ebook · July 27, 2010

In this thrilling panorama of real-life events, the bestselling author of London Falling investigates a secret world run by a surprising criminal: a charismatic middle-aged grandmother, who from a tiny noodle shop in New York’s Chinatown managed a multi-million dollar business smuggling people. “Reads like a mashup of The Godfather and Chinatown, complete with gun battles, a ruthless kingpin and a mountain of cash.

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Who it’s for
A propulsive, city-scale story of power, ambition, and the American dream’s underside.
Themes
immigration, crime, American Dream
Pacing
Fast

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About this book

In this thrilling panorama of real-life events, the bestselling author of London Falling investigates a secret world run by a surprising criminal: a charismatic middle-aged grandmother, who from a tiny noodle shop in New York’s Chinatown managed a multi-million dollar business smuggling people. “Reads like a mashup of The Godfather and Chinatown, complete with gun battles, a ruthless kingpin and a mountain of cash.

Continue reading

Except that it’s all true.” —Time Keefe reveals the inner workings of Sister Ping’s complex empire and recounts the decade-long FBI investigation that eventually brought her down. He follows an often incompetent and sometimes corrupt INS as it pursues desperate immigrants risking everything to come to America, and along the way, he paints a stunning portrait of a generation of illegal immigrants and the intricate underground economy that sustains and exploits them. Grand in scope yet propulsive in narrative force, The Snakehead is both a kaleidoscopic crime story and a brilliant exploration of the ironies of immigration in America.

Underworld Pulse

A propulsive, city-scale story of power, ambition, and the American dream’s underside.

Come here for

  • Chinatown underworld energy
  • Big-canvas political reporting

Expect

  • Sustained narrative drive
  • History with a thriller pulse

Where it sits

Organized Crime89%
Immigration & Emigration74%
Criminals & Outlaws56%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Immigration & Emigration
  • Asian American Studies
  • Organized Crime
Authors
Patrick Radden Keefe
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published
July 27, 2010
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
immigration · crime · American Dream
Reading lane
Immigration & Emigration