Formosa Straits [Mass Market Paperback]

Anthony Hyde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 27, 1996

"[AN] INTRIGUING THRILLER . . . A fast-paced, multilayered plot."

*SanFranciscoChronicle



When Chinese-American entrepreneur Nick Lamp ventures to Taipei to meet with Cao Dai, a shady, influential underground boss, he's hoping for a promise of investment. But dead men don't invest. When Nick finds the murdered man in his apartment, he becomes the prime suspect *and the prey * in a game that threatens to crush more than just his business prospects. . . .



"IRRESISTIBLY ENJOYABLE."

*St. Louis Post-Dispatch



One thing's clear: Nick's been framed and he's the only one who can find out why. From the neon back alleys of seedy Taipei to the desolate mountains of central Taiwan and finally to China, Nick frantically dares to piece together an intricate story woven with sordid secrets, political betrayals, prostitution *and a shattering truth about his own father. . . .



"A FIRST-CLASS THRILLER WRITER . . . There are few North American writers of spy, espionage, or adventure novels who can hold a candle to him."

*USA Today

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hyde (China Lake) publishes rarely?this is only his third novel in 10 years?and it's easy to see why so much time passes between books. An expert craftsman, he makes every word count, carefully constructing memorable characters and, here, a Chinese puzzle box whose innermost chamber holds a politically explosive secret. At the same time, Hyde can tell a ripping tale. This one plunges into intrigue at once, as narrator Nick Lamp retreats from the corpse he's just discovered: the body of Cao Dai, Taiwan's top gangster but an old family friend, shot dead. As businessman Nick goes on the run to escape arrest by overzealous Taiwanese cops as well as possible retribution from Cao Dai's powerful family, his mixed ancestry of a Chinese father and American mother prompts in him many lengthy but always penetrating musings on Chinese mores and ways. Soon, Nick realizes that the key to the killing and to his safety lies in an old photo taken in Shanghai, of several revelers including his father?and Mao's last wife. Able to trust no one except, maybe, his American girlfriend, Nick wends a violent way toward the mainland and that city (as travelogue alone this novel soars) and toward revelations tied through intricate knots to the balance of world power. The final pages serve Nick a fate so poetically just that it rings false, but that's the only significant flaw in this otherwise unusually intelligent and finely wrought thriller.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA?The classic suspense novel dumps a "normal guy" into a vast conspiracy and lets readers cringe and shiver as the protagonist uses luck and wits to survive ominous situations. Nick is the normal guy here, a Chinese businessman raised mostly in the West. He stumbles onto the corpse of a shady Taiwanese billionaire, and the stumbling continues as he tries to figure out why the Taiwanese police and Japanese agents are after him, why an American lawyer is so friendly, and whether his new lover is to be trusted. He scrambles to Hong Kong and Shanghai in search of the secret linking the murder victim to his dead father. Hyde sets himself a tough task in weaving an involved plot out of over 50 years of Chinese and Taiwanese history, and he doesn't entirely succeed: much of the historical exposition is boring, a flaw in a book that must keep readers zipping along. Moreover, the novel's credibility depends on Nick's actions immediately after finding the body, but those actions are too stupid to believe. Still, stupidity and contrivances aside, the writing is smooth, and Hyde generates just the right amount of confusion to keep readers hooked?even through the slow parts.?Chip Barnett, Rockbridge Regional Library, Lexington, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 341 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (November 27, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449225763
• ISBN-13: 978-0449225769
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,031,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Murder IN the Orient, April 2, 2004

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Formosa Straits (Mass Market Paperback)

Nick Lamp, an American educated Chinese, is invited to discuss a business proposition with a Taiwanese underworld boss. When he arrives at the address he was given, he almost stumbles over the body of the boss who has evidently just been murdered.Nick finds himself caught up in an intrigue involving past secrets with former big time politicians and their female companions, and becomes an unwitting pawn in a larger game of international espionage. He is forced into a run and hide situation as the body count grows around him.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Hunt For Buried Treasure, July 13, 2002

By 

Peter Kenney (Birmingham, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Formosa Straits (Mass Market Paperback)

Stripped to its barest essentials this is the story of a hunt for buried treasure. As a novel of international intrigue FORMOSA STRAITS is above average and it is laced with captivating bits of Chinese history. The author also gives us some scandalous morsels about both Mao Tse-tung and Chiang Kai-Shek.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Thriller About Today China, November 2, 1998

By 

Alexander Gitlits (Moscow, Russia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Formosa Straits (Mass Market Paperback)

I ordered this one because i LOVED 'Red Fox'(the BEST thriller about Russia{and I can say- I live in this country}),and I am glad, that I did. It moves at breakneck speed,plot thickens more and more all the time...breathtaking.The characters are complex, which really adds to the experience.If you want a good thriller with beliavable characters and solid writing-get this one.