Jill-Elizabeth Facebook Group
Jill-Elizabeth LinkedIn
About the Book
When a helicopter crashes through the skylight of the Asian Art Museum, an audacious heist turns into a tragedy. The only witness to the crash is eleven-year-old Grace, who watches in horror as her uncle is killed and a priceless statue stolen by two men and a—ghost? At least that’s how the eerie, smoke-like figure with parchment skin and floating hair appears to Grace. Scared almost to death, she flees into the night and seeks refuge in the back alleys of San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Grace is found by Sally Mei, self-appointed guardian of Chinatown. While Sally trains Grace in basic survival skills, her erstwhile partner Cape Weathers, private detective and public nuisance, searches for the mysterious crew behind the robbery before they strike the museum a second time. As the clock winds down, Cape enlists aid from some unlikely allies to lay a trap for a ghost who has no intention of being caught—nor of leaving any witnesses alive to tell the tale.
My Review
I really like this one! Maleeny does a fantastic job mixing witty and smart dialogue with compelling characters and non-stop action. The result is a wild ride that I found engaging and entertaining from the opening gambit. And now that I know how much I like his writing, I’ve gone ahead and ordered the four Cape Weathers books to catch up on the backstory! I hope he keeps writing in this universe, as I really enjoyed the characters and their antics!
It was a little gruesome at times, but never in a way that detracted from the story or felt gratuitous – it is a violent world that Cape and Sally inhabit, and the results of that violence are often horrific. Still there is an inherent humanity in these characters – including, oddly enough, the villains of the piece – such that, even at their most violent, I found them surprisingly endearing. It really helped me connect with their world and made fire a very robust read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
Leave a Reply