10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A confident and entertaining debut, February 19, 2007
San Francisco comes alive in Tim Maleeny's engaging and confident debut thriller, Stealing the Dragon, a dark but witty book that showcases a new talent that is likely to please many readers.
When a container ship filled with illegal Chinese immigrants runs aground on Alcatraz Island, the crew slaughtered like cattle, private investigator Cape Weathers decides to find out what happened. His motives aren't mercenary, but personal. He's afraid that his friend Sally, a woman with a shadowy, hidden past, might have been the killer.
Weathers' investigation takes him into Chinatown where he runs up against the Triads, a local leader with his eyes on the mayors' office and an exiled mob boss improbably named One-Eyed Dong. The colorful characters are just part of the fun in this fast-paced story. Even better are the flashbacks to Sally's life growing up in a Hong Kong school for assassins.
Stealing the Dragon is an entertaining story that combines a gumshoe mystery in the tradition of Dashiell Hammett with the exotic action of Trevanian. If the detective story isn't as interesting as the other aspects of the plot, it is still refreshing to see an author trying to do something different in the PI genre.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Story, April 11, 2007
A ship runs aground in San Francisco full of Chinese refugees and the crew has been murdered by an unknown unseen assassin. Enter Cape Weathers a private eye, whose friend on the SFPD clues him into helping the authorities solve the case. Cape is called upon not so much for his reputation as that of his friend, Sally, who was raised and trained from a young girl by the Triads. There's the body count, especially the one Cape finds in the trunk of his car which he keeps on ice, literally. There's the mystery of all the unknown possible suspects, and there's this alternate story of Sally's life entwined in the story. How Sally grew up, and where, and all about her special training and skills. You might be a little like me while reading this and say, "Wow, this is Maleeny's first book?" And the best part is the promise of more Cape Weathers to come. At times funny, and other times thrilling, this book was not a disappointment and one I found hard to put down. I'm now anxiously awaiting the 2nd in this series about Cape and Sally.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smart, Fun Thriller, July 8, 2007
This book was entertaining from the first page to the last, introducing us to a new set of interesting and endearing characters. I have found another writer to add to my list of favorites. I eagerly await the next installment, Beating the Babushka!
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