Customer Reviews

Stealing the Dragon (The Cape Weathers Investigations)

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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.

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.

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!

A must read for any suspense and thriller reader and to know that this book is Tim Maleeny's debut novel in this direction - what can we look for next! I literally had a hard time putting the book down. Read it for a refreshing change in our genre.

A wonderful read; think "Chinatown" with a better sense of humor. Reminiscent of Elmore Leonard at his best. Great characters, fantastic story that hummed along to an extremely satisfying finish. Hard to believe this is his first book; can't wait to read the next!

Following the traditions of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Tim Maleeny's debut novel, Stealing the Dragon, is great action brought to life with colorful characters and great wit. It's a fun and exciting ride through the intriguing backstreets of San Francisco's Chinatown. If Maleeny keeps up the pace and quality, PI Cape Weathers could find himself in the company of such notable characters as Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch.

My only warning to readers is that at the beginning of the book you might feel a bit whip lashed bouncing your brain back and forth between present day and the past as you're treated to tasty scenes from Sally the assassin's background in China, but hang in there. In short order, you will become accustomed to the change and will enjoy it.

Wow! What a great read!! It had me from the first chapter and didn't let go until I finished reading the last paragraph. The vivid description of people and places, together with the colorful dialog made the characters come to life. I felt as though I was watching a movie. It definitely left me wanting more! If you enjoy mystery and intrigue coupled with edge of your seat suspense, then this book is definitely for you.

The is the first of Tim Maleeny's Cape Weather mystery series, and, so far, the only one I've read. It was a very enjoyable read, so I'll be checking out the next in the series.

Superhuman ninja assassins can be way cliche, so, for me, a book including them has to have something else backing it up. In "Stealing the Dragon", Cape's best friend, Sally, is an escaped Triad graduate, and she and other characters have the too-good-to-be-true ninja abilities, not to mention sensibilities. The book is full of references to eyes that are black pools of inhuman mystery.

But in Maleeny's hands, there is enough diversity of characters and twists of plot, not to mention the very likeable Cape himself and his occasional humor, that it got past my bias against ninja-ho-hum, and became a really fun read. It's got touches of noir and touches of comedy.

Cape is a San Francisco private eye. You will never guess what Cape is a nickname for, and you'll have to read the book to find out. One night, a container ship runs aground on Alcatraz Island. The crew had been slain, and the hold is full of Chinese immigrants. Illegal immigrants, probably heading for enforced labor in Chinatown.

The thing is, the crew was slain by someone killing without a gun, and the immigrants refuse to say who, though it's clear they know more. The Feds and local Homicide cops are interested in Sally. When they can't find Sally, they go to Cape, Sally's friend, and that's how Cape gets involved. Basically, he just wants to be sure Sally is OK, but he needs to juggle Homicide and the Feds to avoid some important things, like losing his license. And, as the tale progresses, losing his life.

The story does a good job of jumping between Sally's early life, the backstory, and what happens today. Not all the actions taken are realistic, but there is so much energy in the story that it swept me along. Once I started the book, I couldn't put it down.

Recommended reading!

Tim Maleeny's Stealing the Dragon is the first in a new series featuring private detective Cape Weathers. In this outing, a ship filled with refugees being smuggled into the states from Fuzhou Province in China has run aground on the island of Alcatraz. The crew of the boat are found murdered, but the refugees didn't do it: the carnage on board is clearly the work of highly skilled assassin. Since Cape happens to know just such an assassin, and she happens to have gone missing, he's a little worried that she might be in trouble. Cape's investigation into the refugee ship murders takes him into the underbelly of San Francisco's Chinatown and involves him in the ancient traditions of a secret Chinese organization and the messy business of the city's upcoming mayoral election.

Stealing the Dragon reads almost like two different books sewn together. There are the chapters featuring Cape, who is, frankly, fairly mundane: a likable enough PI who under-dresses and annoys the local police and the Feds with his wise-cracking antics. But Cape is informally partnered with Sally Mei, the aforementioned assassin, who spends her time teaching martial arts and watching Cape's back when she's not killing people. Much of the book focuses on Sally's backstory, her training from the age of five with the Triad, her first forays into murder. These sections of the book are both unusual and very well done. Sally is extremely competent and endowed with a conscience, and thus a very compelling character. The two parts of the book eventually meet--the story of the refugees is of course bound to Sally's story. Still, the connection between Sally and Cape, the juxtaposition of their respective styles, is jarring. The effect is like watching a Shakespearean actor perform alongside some Tiger Beat pinup,* say, or listening to a duet by Pavarotti and Jimmy Buffett. One wonders how Sally can possibly have become hooked up with Cape.

Doubtless that question will be answered eventually in a subsequent Cape Weathers installment. The second book in the series, Beating the Babushka, was released in October of 2007.

* For precisely that effect--impressive, in this context--see Love and Death on Long Island, starring John Hurt and Jason Priestley.

This books rocks. I've read it on a plane, finished it in only a few hours. Cape Weathers (main character) is aces. His character is candid, his thoughts are quick, his story is thrilling. Just like 'his' city - San Francisco. I can strongly recommend this page-turner to everyone who is looking to find a fresh approach to mystery writing. Whether you are from the Bay Area or simply enjoying crime fiction, this new Cape Weather's investigation series is surely entertaining. And while you're at it, go and get Maleeny's second Cape Weather investigation "Beating The Babushka", too.