Shanghaied (Ray Sharp Novels) [Paperback]

Eric Stone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2009 | Series: Ray Sharp Novels (Book 4)

Hong Kong s been handed back to the Chinese. Ray Sharp s whole world is changing. Carnivorous Tibetan monks are worried about what a Chinese bank is doing with their money. A murderous, sociopathic veteran of the U.S. invasion of Grenada, along with his twin kung-fu bodyguards, Floss and Betty, muddy the waters. Adding to it all is a painful dumpling accident, drugs, sex and rock and roll; along with the usual coterie of business moguls, hookers, friends and foes. And the return of Ray s Chinese-Mexican colleague and pal, the diminutive Ms. Wen Lei Yue.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set soon after the 1997 Chinese takeover of Hong Kong, Stone's fourth novel to feature PI Ray Sharp (after 2008's Flight of the Hornbill) may dismay series fans with the apparent demise of an important character. A group of monks hire Sharp to look into the operations of BC, a multinational bank headquartered in Shanghai to which their financial adviser has moved their account, because BC is rumored to engage in sweetheart loans and creative accounting. After starting a due diligence investigation to assess the safety of the monks' millions, Sharp learns that BC hasn't enough cash to honor clients' checks—and it's been laundering money for Chinese criminals. The trail leads him to Homer Bellevue, a wheelchair-bound veteran of the Grenada invasion, who has bodyguards straight out of a bad Bond film, twin sisters named Floss and Betty. Ray's Chinese-Mexican pal, Wen Lei Yue, lends support. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Like Ray Sharp, Stone breaks all the rules and gets away with it. There's nothing normal about this book yet it's the abnormal that makes it sensational. --Colin Cotterill, award-winning author of the Dr. Siri series

Stone puts real people square in the middle of a steamy, photographically real Asia, and cranks the velocity all the way up to THRILL. I enjoyed every moment. --Timothy Hallinan, author of The Fourth Watcher

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bleak House Books (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1606480316
• ISBN-13: 978-1606480311
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,196,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I worked for many years as a journalist in the U.S. and Asia, covering everything from economics to crime; politics to art, rock music to sex. I once wrote an advice to the lovelorn column in a bilingual Chinese-English fashion magazine based in Hong Kong. I currently live in Los Angeles, where I was born, and which is the most culturally and ethnically diverse place I've ever been.

My most recent book is SHANGHAIED, the fourth book in the Ray Sharp series of detective thrillers set in Asia and based on true stories. The previous books in the series are, going back from book three to one, FLIGHT OF THE HORNBILL, GRAVE IMPORTS and THE LIVING ROOM OF THE DEAD. I also wrote WRONG SIDE OF THE WALL, a true crime / sports biography.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Write as if your readers are dead! (Spoiler Alert), December 16, 2009

By 

Joseph Kohout Jr. "The Art of War" (NJ, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shanghaied (Ray Sharp Novels) (Paperback)

The tag line is taking from a blog that the Author participated in. While I am not privy to sales figures, in my old neighborhood we would likely state that Eric Stone has "got a set of plums" re: killing off the proverbial "golden goose." With libraries starting to carry the hard cover versions of his latest, it does seem like a risky maneuver. First and foremost, Mr. Stone is very assessable to fans of his work and has obviously put in "the time" via research and/or real life experience on his previous 3-novels. Even before the central character was rather unceremoniously cast aside, I was beginning to have some issues with "Shanghaied."

1.) The story line of the Accountant/Monk going AWOL in HK and experiencing "pleasures of the flesh" was an interesting premise. However, there wasn't enough time to develop the angle and put any type of "face" on the character before he was killed off

2.) The disabled American factory owner/manager with a set of smoking hot female triad kung-fu expert bodyguards is very "James Bond-ish"

3.) The lack of explanation re: the side kick was simple not killed in lieu of being held and addicted to heroin

4.) The blossoming lesbian relationship that didn't seem to add anything to main plot

Essentially, it is like reading 2-books under one cover with neither having reached a conclusion. It took me much longer to finish "Shanghaied" versus the Author's other 3-novels, which very hard to put down.

Here is hoping for a "soap opera" like re-emergence of Ray Sharp!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Reader's Been Shaghaied, September 26, 2009

By 

Michael Langmaid "Michael Langmaid" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shanghaied (Ray Sharp Novels) (Paperback)

This is the latest novel published in the Ray Sharp series. It is a great disappointment from which I am not about to recover.

I've had issues with the whole series, which I'll get to later, but this novel, halfway through, definitely slapped the reader across the face with a plot twist that did little to enhance the narrative or character development let alone this reader's interest. Whereas Stone has wonderful descriptive prose which has allowed a reader in each of the four novels to feel and absorb Indonesia, China, Thailand, etc., and he definitely paints a picture of places, cultures, and customs that alternately entice and horrify, this gifted prose does not always compensate for some of the lame plot devices, deus ex machinas, and gratuitous but unbelievable sex scenes. It's hard to believe that Ray Sharp is so irresistible to women, but in every book there is always some delectable young thing eager to pleasure him at a moment's notice.

The sadomasochism thread running through every novel is also here. It's tiresome after awhile because it often seems a diversion from the narrative rather than a driver to the action. Most of the sex and violence of these four books seem imposed rather than organic to the characters. And Ray Sharp has to be one of the densest, slow-witted gumshoes around.

I have read more novels than I could ever remember but I can't ever recall encountering any where, halfway through the book, the reader is treated to a reversal like this one. It was unexpected, inexplicable, and disappointing. It was as if Stone had written parts of two books and decided to paste them together, with the resolution of the conflicts never consummated. The open-ended finale leaves Stone with an easy segue to his next novel with his new protagonist. For what it's worth, I won't be traveling with him. This novel has ended any interest I have in Eric Stone the writer.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!, January 21, 2010

By 

CML "cmiral" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shanghaied (Ray Sharp Novels) (Paperback)

I haven't read any of Stone's earlier books, so I can't compare. However, I really enjoyed this book. The surprise ending was upsetting, and I hope the situation will be remedied in the next book.