[.ca] Riding the Snake (ISBN 0380800160)

From Amazon.com:
Stephen Cannell's extensive experience as a television writer (he's most famous for creating and scripting The Rockford Files) is readily apparent in Riding the Snake. He's done his homework, so his movement among the worlds of the aging playboy Wheeler Cassidy, the Hong Kong Triad, and the Asian Crimes Task Force of the LAPD is natural and well executed. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Cannell's book, though, is his depiction of Tanisha Williams, a young and gifted African American detective on the LAPD. Tanisha is assigned to Asian Crimes to get her out of the way--she's refused the advances of her superior, and now she's been put under investigation. She eventually crosses paths with Cassidy who is jolted from his wastrel life of alcoholic binges and womanizing by the mysterious disappearance of his brother and the gruesome murder of his brother's secretary. Cassidy and Williams join together to investigate what appears to be a massive infiltration of the U.S. government by powerful leaders of Chinese organized crime; along the way they develop an unlikely romance. The novel blurs reality with fiction, talking about President Clinton's attempts to normalize relations with China and making connections between real campaign scandals and Cannell's fictional Chinese mobsters. While the metaphors are occasionally strained, Cannell is an old-style craftsman who knows how to tell a good story and keep his reader fully engaged until the final pages. --Patrick O'Kelley

This book is a lot like an amusement park ride.:
Extremely fast paced, with lots of adventure and excitement, this book will keep you on your toes, always wondering what will happen next. Our main character, Wheeler Cassidy, is well developed, and stronger than his initial description leads us to believe. He is the brother of Prescott Cassidy, who is murdered in his office. Wheeler must find the strength and the courage to avenge his brother's murder, but he has no idea what he is getting himself into. Teaming up with a tough lady cop from Asian Crimes Division, Wheeler sets out on a journey that will have international repercussions. Wheeler's mother is a strong character that will stay with you. The story takes you up many roads, bumpy and directionless, blindfolded. You will enjoy excitement and adventure while getting your money's worth. The only problem I had with this book was keeping all of the characters straight. Once the author gets into China and Hong Kong, you'd need a listing in front of you to understand who everyone is. Still, the plot is great, the story well written, and it's a very good read.

Some improvement:
There is a real novelty in this book: for the first time ever in Cannel's cosmology, a Latino character (Ramón) is not directly associated with crime, dirt and grease altogether. Well ... he is an illegal immigrant, but hey!, you can't have it all.

Really, really good!:
I, being a very fickle reader--meaning that if I don't like something about the book, or something about it rubs me the wrong way--or if it is unbearably boring, I will stop reading it--found this book to be almost perfect. It kept me held tight until the last page. I bought it because I buy anything with a multi-cultural character make up--and I was even happier to discover that there was an IR relationship involved. But like another reveiwer said, the IR relationship took a backseat to the general greatness of this books' plot. It was really good, interesting, fast paced, and I loved the characters--all of them. I especially loved Fu Hai's journey for freedom, for wealth, for something different from the hardship he'd been accustomed to his entire existence. Cannell's writing is airtight, and he knows what he's talking about--which is another plus. My only qualms, which constituted removing one star from my rating--was the horrible slang he used for the South Central characters--including the main character Tanisha's dialogue at times. It was laughable, and I, being an African American female, didn't know what the people were talking about half the time because they were saying things I've never even heard before. But, I didn't grow up anywhere like South Central L.A. either so maybe I'm just not hip enough... Anyway, the book was great, go get it.

Never a dull moment - action from first page to the last:
Wheeler Cassidy is an alcoholic rich boy whose only aim in life is to hang out at the Country Club bar to get drunk and pick up on member's wives. Living off estate money yet often running short, his decline on the steep side after the death of his father, he lives one day just as the last until his up-and-coming, successful, brother Prescott is killed. Shortly following his death, his secretary Angie Wong is brutally murdered; and beautiful black Tanisha Williams from the LAPD Asian Crimes unit is called to the scene. Tanisha grew up in the gang infested streets of the LA 'hoods' and watched her five year old sister die from a gunshot wound. She wanted to fight back by becoming a police officer but soon became untouchable on the force and under IA investigation when transferred to the Asian Crimes unit, the worst place for a black female officer. Tanisha and Wheeler make a very unlikely team as the hunt begins for Prescott and Angies murderers; both of them out of luck and out of time and out of patience. From LA to Hong Kong they search for clues to the murders, soon becoming targets themselves. Interwoven into their desperate man hunt is the story of Fu Hai, an innocent man imprisoned for crimes his father did not even commit. He finally frees himself from Khotan and step by step begins his journey to America, trying to 'Ride The Snake' as an illegal immigrant. His journey is brutal and degrading and yet filled with hope that he will be able to someday also free his sister who is trapped in poverty. Fu Hai must sell himself to the tongs to ride the snake, and so his journey is a long series of hardships, deceptions, beatings, and illness. With amazing descriptions of Hong Kong harbor, streets and ghettos, palaces and The Walled City, Mr. Cannell takes you on an incredibly face paced adventure in this non-stop action novel. The suspense stays with you right to the ending, each page packing a punch. Great book for airplane travel or a weekend snuggled in your favorite chair.

Another good Cannell read:
Again, Cannell does not disappoint. He writes a fast-paced enjoyable book with plenty of twists. He really is a master storyteller. His style is grittier than Nelson DeMille but he weaves his plots in a similar way. The sexual tension between the two main characters was a bit to formulaic but it doesn't detract from a very enjoyable read and an interesting, if not frightening insight into Asian crime rings. If you have a rodent phobia, beware!