Nine Dragons (novel)
 Hardcover edition | |
| Author | Michael Connelly |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Harry Bosch, #14 |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Little Brown |
Publication date | October 13, 2009 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback), e-book |
| Pages | 544 pp. |
| ISBN | 978-0316071048 |
| Preceded by | The Scarecrow |
| Followed by | The Reversal |
Nine Dragons is the 14th novel in the Harry Bosch series and the 22nd book (21st novel) by American crime author Michael Connelly. It was published in the U.K. and Ireland on October 1, 2009, and worldwide on October 13, 2009.
The novel is partly set in Hong Kong, where Bosch's daughter Maddie and ex-wife Eleanor Wish are living. The main plot involves Maddie being kidnapped by a Chinese Triad (crime syndicate). Bosch believes this is because he has been investigating a murder in Los Angeles in which his primary suspect is a member of a triad that was shaking down the victim. Bosch heads to Hong Kong in an effort to rescue his daughter. [1] The name of the most populated region of Hong Kong, Kowloon, means "nine dragons" in English.
Plot
[edit]During a slow work night, LAPD detective Harry Bosch is asked to investigate a shooting in a "rougher", "Bronx-like" section of Los Angeles. Harry and his partner, Ignacio Ferras, grudgingly take an assignment that would normally be handled by the gang unit and learn that a Chinese-American convenience store owner was murdered behind his own counter. The case draws Bosch's interest because the victim had shown him kindness during an earlier investigation. Bosch assures the owner's son, Robert Li, that he will catch the culprit.
Bosch starts to realize that the supposed robbery was possibly an execution by a Triad hitman. With the help of Detective David Chu of the Asian Gangs Unit, Bosch starts to zero in on a suspect, Bo-Jing Chang, a Triad associate. He soon receives a threatening call telling him to back off.
Initially ignoring the threat, Bosch receives a video showing his daughter Maddie as a captive in Hong Kong, apparently having been kidnapped. He believes this act was related to his investigation. Bosch rushes off to save her, realizing that if he is not back within 48 hours, the suspect in the shooting will be set free. Because of the length of the flights, Harry will have less than 24 hours to find Maddie in Hong Kong.
Upon arriving in Hong Kong, Bosch is aided by Maddie's mother, his ex-wife Eleanor Wish, and her Chinese boyfriend, Sun Yee, who worked on security at the same casino as where Wish plays high stakes cards. Through examination of the video, Bosch and Wish determine which hotel may hold Maddie. However, Wish is killed by thieves who accosted them there.
Bosch and Yee continue the search. They connect the kidnapper to Dennis Ho, owner of North Star Imports, Bosch kills Dennis Ho before he takes Maddie to the shipping boat meant for her and narrowly rescues her from the trunk of Dennis Ho's Mercedes and takes her back to Los Angeles. The Chinese government sends agents to extradite Bosch, but his half-brother, lawyer Mickey Haller, forces the Chinese agents to drop this attempt.
Bosch and Chu determine that there is no connection between Maddie's abduction and the murder investigation. Instead, the evidence points to the son Robert Li and his best friend and assistant manager, Eugene Lam.
Bosch and Chu arrest Lam, leaving Ferras to follow Robert Li. Lam reveals that the murder was a plot concocted by Mia Li, the victim's daughter, to relieve her of the burden of caring for her parents. Robert had thought up disguising the murder as a triad killing.
When Bosch and Chu inform Ferras, he decides to single-handedly arrest Robert as an act of defiance against Bosch. He is instead killed by Mia, who commits suicide.
After Ferras' funeral, Maddie confesses to Bosch that her "kidnapping" was staged with friends to get her mother to agree to let her live with Bosch. But Maddie's accomplice in the scheme made a deal to sell her to the Triad. a fate from which Harry saved her.
Maddie blames herself for the deaths that followed: her mother, her friends and their mother. Harry consoles her, promising to show her how they can make up for their mistakes.
Recurring characters in Nine Dragons
[edit]- Ignacio Ferras – Bosch's current partner
- Eleanor Wish – Former FBI agent and Bosch's ex-wife
- Madeline "Maddie" Bosch – Wish and Bosch's daughter
- Mickey Haller – Defense lawyer and Bosch's half-brother
- Carmen Hinojos – Psychologist for the Los Angeles Police Department
- Jack McEvoy and Judge Judith Champagne are referred to but do not appear
Other characters
[edit]- David Chu – LAPD Detective with the Asian Gangs Unit, formerly known as the Asian Crimes Unit
- Sun Yee – current lover of Eleanor Wish, employed as security by the casino, and Bosch's unexpected partner in Hong Kong
- John Li – Proprietor of Fortune Liquors
- Robert Li – John Li's son and manager of Fortune Fine Foods and Liquor
- Mia Li – John Li's daughter
- Bo-Jing Chang – Bagman for the triad group Yung Kim
- Larry Gandle – LAPD Lieutenant and Bosch's boss
- Peng He – A friend of Madeline
- Peng "Quick" Qingcai – Older brother of Madeline's friend Peng He
- Eugene Lam – Assistant manager of Fortune Fine Foods and Liquor
References
[edit]- ^ 9 Dragons preview on Michael Connelly's web site. Referenced on 28 May 2009.