Runoff (August Riordan) [Hardcover]

Mark Coggins (Author)

Book Description

Series: August Riordan | Publication Date: November 20, 2007

When her hand-picked mayoral candidate fails even to carry the predominantly Chinese precincts, Leonora Lee--the all-powerful "Dragon Lady" of San Francisco's Chinatown--hires private eye August Riordan to investigate the possibility that someone has rigged the election by hacking the city's newly installed touch-screen voting machines.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

How much does it cost to fix an election? That's the question uppermost in PI August Riordan's mind in his harrowing fourth adventure (after 2006's Candy from Strangers). Leonora Lee, the notorious, near-mythic Dragon Lady of San Francisco's Chinatown, hires Riordan to look into the city's mayoral election after her candidate, Alan Chow, finishes in single digits. Lee suspects someone has been tampering with newly installed touch-screen voting machines. Riordan has until the runoff election, less than a week away, to find the answers. But more than political shenanigans are on hand: the director of elections is found dead in his office, and Riordan soon runs up against Chinatown gang members as well as powerful forces committed to preserving the political status quo. Firmly entrenched in the classic private eye mold of Hammett and Chandler, Coggins exposes the dark underbelly of American politics, but doesn't stoop to political correctness or mindless carnage. (Nov.)
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Review

"Coggins's private investigator August Riordan proves a worthy successor to the iconic Sam Spade... Heartily recommended." -- Library Journal

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: Bleak House Books; First Edition edition (November 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932557539
• ISBN-13: 978-1932557534
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,414,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Coggins studied creative writing with Tobias Wolff and Ron Hansen at Stanford University and wrote the first story featuring his series character August Riordan in a class taught by Hansen. This story, "There's No Such Thing as Private Eyes," was later published in The New Black Mask, a revival of Black Mask, the famous pulp magazine that thrived in the 30s and 40s.

His books have been nominated for the Shamus and the Barry crime fiction awards and have been selected for best of the year lists compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Detroit Free Press and Amazon.com, among others.

Two of his novels have been translated for foreign markets. RUNOFF won the Next Generation Indie Book Award in the Mystery/Suspense category, THE BIG WAKE-UP won the Independent Publisher Book Award in the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category and THE IMMORTAL GAME was optioned for a film. His work has been collected for the California History Room by the California State Library and the San Francisco History Center by the San Francisco Public Library.

Mark lives in San Francisco with his wife Linda and their cat Taki.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, insightful, and smart (mouthed!), March 3, 2008

By 

Russ - See all my reviews

This review is from: Runoff (August Riordan Mysteries) (Paperback)

In the guise of a fast-paced, entertaining and fun murder mystery, author Mark Coggins offers insight into the pitfalls of electronic voting. Rigging an election might be easier today than it was in the days of paper ballots. Also, August Riordan is one smart-mouthed private detective. His sarcastic remarks had me chortling and laughing from beginning to end.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Coggins Homerun, February 28, 2008

By 

Mary Hines - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Runoff (August Riordan Mysteries) (Paperback)

Coggins has hit yet another one out of the ballpark. August Riordan is back, in all his raw, macho and endearing glory, and this time we get to enter the exciting, glamorous and mysterious world of Chinatown-in that beautiful city by the Bay. Runoff has it all---plot, unforgettable characters, suspense, San Fran locales, and romance. August is hired by the "Dragon Lady" (one amazing and complex character, who just happens to have a beautiful daughter) to investigate a possible fixed election...which opens up new worlds of danger and intrigue for Riordan and for us. I did not want this book to end, but alas it did ...so now I must wait once again for Coggins' next thriller. Don't miss Runoff...it's a winner!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Runoff is as fun and entertaining as the first three novels in the August Riordan series., December 1, 2007

By 

Ron Olson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Runoff (August Riordan Mysteries) (Paperback)

Runoff is as fun and entertaining as the first three novels in the August Riordan series.

The story is packed with action, intrigue, romance, countless twists and features a hero who is straight forward and flawed, but always engaging. The author also gives the reader a feeling for the color and ambiance of San Francisco neighborhoods that are off the beaten track.

The plot revolves around the important topic of election integrity and details many of the concerns about electronic voting machines and how the election process might be manipulated by special interests.

Highly recommended.