Not believing that her close friend and coworker, movie producer Tom Abrahams, would take his own life by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge, Grace Calloway hires P.I. Cape Weathers to prove that it was murder -- not suicide, which the San Francisco police have ruled it. Grace has been unable to convince the police to investigate further, but her resolve and persistence pay off with Cape, who agrees to look into the matter. Grace doesn't care that the added publicity might put the expensive movie production she's working on in jeopardy; she can't let the truth be covered up.

Cape's police contacts are hesitant to help, since they're busy dealing with a drug war involving the Tongs. It doesn't take long for the bad guys to show up at Cape's door, starting with two sinister Russian mobsters who try to intimidate him into dropping the case. That just makes Cape even more determined to find out what's really going on. With millions of dollars at stake for a major film studio, as well as the Russian mob's involvement, Cape soon finds his meddling has made him a sniper's target. With research help from a couple good pals and backup from Sally, his silent and deadly partner who's a Triad-trained assassin, Cape is faced with the biggest challenge of his career -- staying alive long enough to solve his case.

Tim Maleeny's second mystery-solving adventure for journalist-turned-P.I. Cape Weathers and his sidekick, Sally, is just as fast-paced, action-packed and exciting as his debut, STEALING THE DRAGON (3/07). I really like this author's clean writing style, and the vivid characters he creates further enrich the suspenseful plot, providing a perfect reading experience.

Book Summary

When a movie producer hurtles to his death from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, an apparent suicide, it shocks the film community and puts a two hundred million dollar production in jeopardy. A female colleague comes forward claiming it was murder, but the police are skeptical. Preoccupied by a sudden drug war between the tong gangs of Chinatown and the mob, they listen to her story and send her packing.

She turns to private detective Cape Weathers, who believes her just enough to let her pay his day rate. Then two Russian gangsters show up on his doorstep and tell him to drop the case or die. Cape and his partner Sally—a female assassin raised by the Triads—take on the Russian mob, a major movie studio, and a recalcitrant police department by enlisting the help of rogue cops, computer hackers, and an investigative journalist who just doesn't give a damn. But with a sniper on their trail, the challenge will be staying alive long enough to learn the truth.