Saturday, July 2, 2011

Screams and Whispers-Randall Peffer

Screams and Whispers
Randall Peffer
Tyrus Books, Jul 26 2011, $24.95
www.tyrusbooks.com
ISBN: 9781935562368

Failed public defender and Cape Cod fisherman Michael Decastro receives an email from Tran that leads to the former getting drunk. Trans explain that his half sister, Michael’s former client and ex lover, Tuki Aparecio is in trouble in Ho Chi Minh City. Tuki vanished from Michael's life over a year and a half ago.

Vicious Dragon Lady Wen-Ling demands the half-Vietnamese, half-African American hand her the valuable Heart of Warriors ruby or else. Michael decides to go to Viet Nam to rescue Tuki though he will be on the Dragon Lady’s turf. His father Caesar, a Vietnam War veteran who speaks Vietnamese fluently, accompanies him to Saigon as the older man calls the city with plans to assist his son and make a side trip. Neither Decastro really knows what they are diving into as the souls of everyone they cherish including themselves isn peril.

Combining history especially the Nixon Era with a gritty urban noir in a Southeast Asian country refreshes the latest Cape Islands Mystery (see Provincetown Follies and Bangkok Blues). The story line is fast-paced from the moment the Decastro father and son arrive at Club Saigon and never slows down as several stunning twists accelerate the pace. Readers will never look at tea the same way as Randall Peffer provides an exhilarating thriller.

Harriet Klausner

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