Riding the Snake [Hardcover]

Stephen J. Cannell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 1998

Sweeping from the exclusive golf clubs of Brentwood to the depths of Hong Kong's mysterious walled city, Riding the Snake is a thriller torn straight from the headlines. It's set in a deadly Asian underworld where terrorism, international influence peddling, and illegal immigration converge into a single sinister web with a heartless Chinese crime lord at its center.

To prankster/L.A. playboy Wheeler Cassidy, things look a little bleak. His trust land is dwindling, his good looks are dissolving into the daiquiris, and his life has no direction -- until his golden-boy younger brother, a prominent lawyer and political power broker; is found mysteriously dead. Wheeler joins forces with the beautiful Tanisha Williams, an L.A. cop from South Central who's been parked on the Asian Crimes Task Force while Internal Affairs investigates her career. Together they embark on a dangerous quest for the truth -- against deadly odds.

Tentatively at first, then with growing confidence and passion, the two follow their leads into a labyrinth of violent intrigue and a multibillion-dollar Chinese criminal conspiracy that teaches to the top of the U.S. government. Soon they find themselves up against the most ruthless Triad leader, the Washington Establishment, and violent L.A. gangsters. As Riding the Snake races to a riveting climax in the sewers beneath Los Angeles International Airport, you can almost hear it ominously ticking down -- like the suitcase nuke that's set to incinerate a big chunk of Southern California.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Stephen Cannell's extensive experience as a television writer (he's most famous for creating and scripting The Rockford Files) is readily apparent in Riding the Snake. He's done his homework, so his movement among the worlds of the aging playboy Wheeler Cassidy, the Hong Kong Triad, and the Asian Crimes Task Force of the LAPD is natural and well executed. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Cannell's book, though, is his depiction of Tanisha Williams, a young and gifted African American detective on the LAPD. Tanisha is assigned to Asian Crimes to get her out of the way--she's refused the advances of her superior, and now she's been put under investigation. She eventually crosses paths with Cassidy who is jolted from his wastrel life of alcoholic binges and womanizing by the mysterious disappearance of his brother and the gruesome murder of his brother's secretary. Cassidy and Williams join together to investigate what appears to be a massive infiltration of the U.S. government by powerful leaders of Chinese organized crime; along the way they develop an unlikely romance. The novel blurs reality with fiction, talking about President Clinton's attempts to normalize relations with China and making connections between real campaign scandals and Cannell's fictional Chinese mobsters. While the metaphors are occasionally strained, Cannell is an old-style craftsman who knows how to tell a good story and keep his reader fully engaged until the final pages. --Patrick O'Kelley

From Publishers Weekly

"Riding the snake" refers to the immense underground Chinese immigration?a slave trade of criminals into the U.S. and the heart of this thriller. Cannell, an Emmy Award-winning writer/producer whose TV credits include The Rockford Files, Baretta and The Commish, tells fast-paced, all-plot, no-passion stories. His fourth novel (after King Con) is no exception, delivering international intrigue, a flawed hero who grows up, the gorgeous female cop who comes to love him and a sinister Hong Kong triumvirate of murderous smugglers. Drunken trust-fund jock Wheeler Cassidy is wasting his life and has lost his family's respect?especially when he's compared to his splendid brother, Prescott, a political power broker. When Prescott is murdered, Wheeler pairs up with beautiful Tanisha Williams, an African American detective in LAPD's Asian Crimes Task Force, to investigate. A second murder (the horrible "death of a thousand cuts") sets them against formidable "Willy" Wo Lap Ling, head of the notorious Hong Kong triad, and mainland eminence grise Chen Boda. Their criminal networks reach into the highest levels of the U.S. government with payoffs to politicians (their link to Prescott) and to police forces, all of which facilitate the river of heroin to U.S. gangs, with arms and even nuclear weapons thrown in for good measure. Snappy prose, a vibrant sense of place and strong local cop tales stand in for nuanced characters or ethical overtones. But then readers don't look to Cannell for those refinements. U.K. rights to Michael Joseph; French rights to Editions Flammarion; author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (September 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688158056
• ISBN-13: 978-0688158057
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #921,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never a dull moment - action from first page to the last, October 24, 2003

By 

Schtinky "Schtinky" (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Riding the Snake (Mass Market Paperback)

Wheeler Cassidy is an alcoholic rich boy whose only aim in life is to hang out at the Country Club bar to get drunk and pick up on member's wives. Living off estate money yet often running short, his decline on the steep side after the death of his father, he lives one day just as the last until his up-and-coming, successful, brother Prescott is killed.

Shortly following his death, his secretary Angie Wong is brutally murdered; and beautiful black Tanisha Williams from the LAPD Asian Crimes unit is called to the scene. Tanisha grew up in the gang infested streets of the LA `hoods' and watched her five year old sister die from a gunshot wound. She wanted to fight back by becoming a police officer but soon became untouchable on the force and under IA investigation when transferred to the Asian Crimes unit, the worst place for a black female officer.

Tanisha and Wheeler make a very unlikely team as the hunt begins for Prescott and Angies murderers; both of them out of luck and out of time and out of patience. From LA to Hong Kong they search for clues to the murders, soon becoming targets themselves.

Interwoven into their desperate man hunt is the story of Fu Hai, an innocent man imprisoned for crimes his father did not even commit. He finally frees himself from Khotan and step by step begins his journey to America, trying to `Ride The Snake' as an illegal immigrant. His journey is brutal and degrading and yet filled with hope that he will be able to someday also free his sister who is trapped in poverty. Fu Hai must sell himself to the tongs to ride the snake, and so his journey is a long series of hardships, deceptions, beatings, and illness.

With amazing descriptions of Hong Kong harbor, streets and ghettos, palaces and The Walled City, Mr. Cannell takes you on an incredibly face paced adventure in this non-stop action novel. The suspense stays with you right to the ending, each page packing a punch. Great book for airplane travel or a weekend snuggled in your favorite chair.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really, really good!, May 8, 2004

By 

DeQuaina Washington (A small, boring town in Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Riding the Snake (Mass Market Paperback)

I, being a very fickle reader--meaning that if I don't like something about the book, or something about it rubs me the wrong way--or if it is unbearably boring, I will stop reading it--found this book to be almost perfect. It kept me held tight until the last page. I bought it because I buy anything with a multi-cultural character make up--and I was even happier to discover that there was an IR relationship involved. But like another reveiwer said, the IR relationship took a backseat to the general greatness of this books' plot. It was really good, interesting, fast paced, and I loved the characters--all of them. I especially loved Fu Hai's journey for freedom, for wealth, for something different from the hardship he'd been accustomed to his entire existence. Cannell's writing is airtight, and he knows what he's talking about--which is another plus. My only qualms, which constituted removing one star from my rating--was the horrible slang he used for the South Central characters--including the main character Tanisha's dialogue at times. It was laughable, and I, being an African American female, didn't know what the people were talking about half the time because they were saying things I've never even heard before. But, I didn't grow up anywhere like South Central L.A. either so maybe I'm just not hip enough... Anyway, the book was great, go get it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thrill ride - and a joy to read, March 22, 2006

By 

DWD "DWD's Reviews" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Riding the Snake (Hardcover)

After having slogged my way through a couple of books lately this one was a real pleasure. Now, don't get me wrong with the 5 star rating here - it's not a life-changing book. It's just a whole lot of fun.

And it should be since it comes from famed television producer and writer Stephen J. Cannell. One can tell that he has plenty of experience (what kind of experience? How about working on 'Adam-12' and 'Columbo', creating the 'Rockford Files', 'Baretta', '21 Jump Street', 'The A-Team' , 'The Greatest American Hero' and at least a dozen more) with creating likeable, interesting characters and putting them over their heads in difficult situations.

In this case, a white ne'er-do-well playboy from Berverly Hills and a black female street-hardened cop from South Central team up to take on the Chinese Triad criminal syndicate.

Sound hoaky? sure, it does.

But, it works anyway.

Lots of fun and a breeze to read means that this reader gives this one an 'A'.