First published 1998
Wheeler Cassidy's privileged life in Brentwood is falling apart. His trust fund shrinks while he drowns his fading looks in alcohol. Then his younger brother turns up dead. The brother was a successful lawyer and political insider, making his mysterious death even more suspicious. Wheeler teams up with Tanisha Williams, an LAPD detective stuck on the Asian Crimes Task Force while Internal Affairs scrutinizes her record. Their investigation pulls them from Los Angeles golf clubs into Hong Kong's dangerous walled city. They uncover a massive Chinese criminal operation involving terrorism, political corruption, and human trafficking. A ruthless Triad boss controls this network, which reaches into the highest levels of American government. Wheeler and Tanisha face violent gangsters, corrupt officials, and deadly international criminals. The conspiracy culminates in a nuclear threat targeting Southern California. Their final confrontation takes place in the sewers beneath LAX airport, where a suitcase bomb counts down toward detonation.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, investigation, unlikely-partners
Setting: Brentwood, Hong Kong, LAX Airport, Los Angeles
Period: 21st-Century
416 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: violence