An Ellie McEnroe Investigation Series
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About this series
Iraq vet Ellie McEnroe, injured in combat and recently divorced, is lying low in Beijing. After two years living in China on a semi-expired visa, she’s acquired decent language skills, a sometimes boyfriend, and the hope that someday she can forget what she saw in battle—horrors that haunt her every time she closes her eyes. She’s a stranger in a strange land, her wounded leg is killing her, and her neighbor keeps threatening to report her to the Public Security Bureau, but she’s hanging in there. For now.
Then a chance connection with an Uighur man—a Chinese Muslim minority—plunges her into a world of mysterious government operatives, art dealers, and a dark organization operating in the shadows of a popular online game. When her lover—the artist Lao Zhang—disappears, Ellie needs to figure out who she can trust, and fast. Because the trauma of her past may pale in comparison to the danger she now faces. This taut, gritty thriller brings the complexities of modern urban China visceral life.
“Few writers would be up to the challenge of blending the worlds of urban China, Iraq, and a virtual online kingdom—but Lisa Brackmann wildly succeeds. Prepare to taste the smog, smell the noodles, and rub the Beijing dust between your fingers.” —Eliot Pattison, Edgar Award–winning author of The Skull Mantra
Titles in the series (2)
- Dragon Day
A Seattle Times Best Mystery of the Year: After serving in the Iraq War, a woman finds another kind of danger in China in this “nonstop thriller” (Booklist, starred review). Ellie McEnroe is an Iraq War veteran living in Beijing, where she represents the work of cutting-edge Chinese political artists. She has one bum leg, a taste for dumplings and beer, and a sweet-tempered rescue mutt for a roommate. She also has Chinese Domestic Security on her tail and a dwindling number of Percocets to get her through her bad days. And she’s about to have some bad days. The immensely powerful—and occasionally homicidal—Shanghai billionaire Sidney Cao has asked Ellie to investigate his son’s suspicious new American business partner. Ellie knows she can’t refuse, and is grudgingly swept up into the elite social circles of Sidney’s three children: debauched Guwei, rebellious Meimei, and social climber Tiantian. When a waitress is murdered at one of Tiantian’s parties, the last thing Ellie wants is to get sucked into a huge scandal involving China’s rich and powerful. But Ellie quickly becomes the most convenient suspect. She realizes she’ll have to figure out who really did it—and even that might not be enough to save herself.
- Rock Paper Tiger
An Iraq veteran in Beijing finds herself in danger as shadowy enemies, both online and off, abound in this “electrifying thriller” (Publishers Weekly). Iraq vet Ellie McEnroe, injured in combat and recently divorced, is lying low in Beijing. After two years living in China on a semi-expired visa, she’s acquired decent language skills, a sometimes boyfriend, and the hope that someday she can forget what she saw in battle—horrors that haunt her every time she closes her eyes. She’s a stranger in a strange land, her wounded leg is killing her, and her neighbor keeps threatening to report her to the Public Security Bureau, but she’s hanging in there. For now. Then a chance connection with an Uighur man—a Chinese Muslim minority—plunges her into a world of mysterious government operatives, art dealers, and a dark organization operating in the shadows of a popular online game. When her lover—the artist Lao Zhang—disappears, Ellie needs to figure out who she can trust, and fast. Because the trauma of her past may pale in comparison to the danger she now faces. This taut, gritty thriller brings the complexities of modern urban China visceral life. “Few writers would be up to the challenge of blending the worlds of urban China, Iraq, and a virtual online kingdom—but Lisa Brackmann wildly succeeds. Prepare to taste the smog, smell the noodles, and rub the Beijing dust between your fingers.” —Eliot Pattison, Edgar Award–winning author of The Skull Mantra
Lisa Brackmann
Lisa Brackmann is the critically acclaimed author of the Ellie McEnroe novels—Rock Paper Tiger, Hour of the Rat, Dragon Day—and the thriller Getaway. Her work has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Travel+Leisure and CNET. She lives in San Diego with a couple of cats, far too many books and a bass ukulele.
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