Kwan's latest follows in the footsteps of his wildly imaginative Crazy Rich Asians but adds even more conspicuous consumption and over-the-top behavior. Readers will rejoin many of the author's amusingly charming (and some not so) characters and meet some new individuals as well. The book is resplendent with gorgeous description, whether it's various locales' natural beauty or man-made palatial homes, restaurants, and private jets. The dialog is always top-notch. There are many fascinating substories; for example, the lovely Rachel Chu finally finds her birth father. Also, former soap-opera star Kitty Pong-now Kitty Pai-hires Corinna Ko-Tung to "remake" her and becomes most respectable. A sprinkling of footnotes adds local expressions, insightful asides, and Kwan's own snarky personal comments. Among the many laugh-out-loud incidents are examples of the extreme cheapness of some of these -ultrawealthy people and tidbits about their staff: "He tried to steal some of his Ah Ma's impeccably trained staff while in Singapore, but those servants were more loyal than the Nazis." The conclusion offers up additional shocks and surprises that will have readers clamoring for more. VERDICT Those who enjoy splendid writing and getting a glimpse at how the other half (probably much less than 50 percent) lives will delight in this book. [See the Q&A with Kwan on p. 65; Prepub Alert, 12/15/14.]- Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

PROUDHON SAID, "PROPERTY ÍS theft"; Balzac said, "Behind great fortunes without apparent cause lies a crime forgotten." Well, if great wealth is a great crime, Kevin Kwan's "China Rich Girlfriend," a sequel to his 2013 "Crazy Rich Asians," slots neatly into the grand tradition of true-crime narratives - those lurid paperbacks that aim to repulse and to fascinate, all in order to keep you turning the page. The opening event of the novel sets the tone: We learn that Carlton Bao, the scion of a billionaire family from mainland China, has gotten into a car accident in London and killed a girl. We follow the family banker, Edison Cheng, as he scrambles to move assets around to pay people off and protect Carlton from legal consequence, altering the official record so that the dead girl never existed. In a different novel, the sheer inhumanity of literally erasing a human being's death would be the core theme. In this one? It's just one of many high jinks that begin the wild tale of how Edison's wealthy aunt learns that the scandalously middle-class woman her son is running away with - Rachel Chu, the protagonist of "Crazy Rich Asians" - is actually Carlton's illegitimate half sister and heir to a bigger fortune than her own. The tangled genealogical web that connects the brooding Carlton Bao, the Singapore-socialite-turned-housewife Astrid Leong, the narcissistic social-media star Colette Bing, the odious social climber Kitty Pong and our unassuming Everywoman Rachel Chu becomes hard to follow. But the soap opera is less important than the black comedy. What I enjoyed most while reading "China Rich Girlfriend" were the moments of nihilistic glee at the self-absorption of the Chinese demimonde, the "American Psycho"-like obsession with designer brands and desirable addresses. Kwan speaks of this culture with the authoritative tone of an insider, and the best passages are his footnotes with anthropological analysis detailing the habits of various subspecies of "crazy rich Asians." It's when the book goes for a more serious tone that it stumbles. The trouble with telling a story about the world's richest people is that they never seem to experience consequences; Astrid Leong's fortune, for instance, gives her an instant golden parachute when she's had enough of her abusive marriage. Similarly, I have no patience for Carlton Bao's feelings of guilt and self-pity over his act of manslaughter, considering no one ever suggests turning him in for it - and no one, not even the author, deigns to give the girl he killed a name. Kwan, like his characters, is more interested in the glitzy surface of the world he describes than the dark depths - his characters all speak with a similar, breezily conversational voice and fit certain well-worn stereotypes. The closest the book comes to hazarding a moral examination of its characters takes place when Rachel's friend points out how billionaires' extravagant spending creates jobs - something about which Rachel, an economics professor, ought to have far more of an opinion than she does. In light of this, the climactic ending, of Rachel "taking down" Colette in a viral video rant for being "spoiled" and "entitled," rings hollow. The bad people are the nouveau riche, like Astrid's insecure husband, or too-extravagant mainlanders like Colette. But when it comes to old-money Singaporeans like Astrid, Rachel's husband or presumably Kevin Kwan himself - people who are cultured and discreet about their privilege - the book is firmly on their side. And that ultimately left this nouveau riche hundred-thousand-aire walking away with a bad taste in my mouth. ARTHUR CHU, an actor, comedian and 11-time "Jeopardy!" champion, has been published in The Daily Beast, Salon and Fusion.