FAST-PACED SPY THRILLER.
ASSASSINATIONS, CYBER WARFARE, ESPIONAGE, AND INTRIGUE ENDS IN DISASTER FOR THE CHINESE MILITARY SECURITY SERVICE (MSS).
Jim Murphy and detective Pham "Flower" Chi Hai from the novel, "Awakening of The Golden Phoenix," again team up in this fast-paced action Chinese spy thriller. Murphy and Pham receive a wedding invitation from Maui Hue, the granddaughter of his old South Vietnamese friend, Bui Hop. Jim Murphy's flight from Costa Rica to Myrtle Beach, SC, was diverted to Raleigh, NC, on Monday, September 17, 2018, as Hurricane Florence struck the Carolina Coast. Murphy rents a vehicle in Raleigh and, against rental agency advice, drives to Myrtle Beach. Due to coastal flooding from the hurricane, a mandatory evacuation order was in effect. Murphy became immersed in heavy out-going traffic on SC Highway 501. After several attempts to find an alternate route drives his car down a side road off of Highway 22 called Wild Swamp Lane, out of Conway. Murphy's vehicle comes to the attention of the Chinese MSS, which is operating a covert operational center nearby. The MSS track Murphy by his rental vehicle information to the Holiday Inn at The Boardwalk on the Beach. The MSS security records list Murphy's background in prior covert operations and erroneously conclude he is in Myrtle Beach to spy on them. After a fumbled attempt to search his room, two of their agents end of dead. That event escalates into a series of failed attacks on Murphy, Pham, police, and personal friends. Before the dust settles, local police, state, and federal agencies (FBI, ICE, DIA) form a joint-investigative task force. Poor tactical decisions by the Chinese MSS eventually lead to the destruction of Carolina operations in Charleston, Greenville, and Myrtle Beach. Two MSS competing Hong Kong Triads are involved which results in reduced money laundering, smuggling, and drug sales. The Mexican Cartel and the renegade MSS regional leader jointly participate in off-the-book drug sales and petty crimes, further reducing MSS operational income. The participating cartel members subsequently end up killed, arrested, or deported.By the time this thriller concludes, the K-14 Triad destroys the Imperial Avengers Triad in Hong Kong. A ranking MSS official becomes assassinated in Washington, DC. The Carolina MSS regional leader, Jian Wei, returns to Hong Kong and ends up dead in a most gruesome manner.
As with all of the Jim Murphy novels, he collects an assortment of exciting friends, associates, and characters that aid in his success. Murphy doesn't start the trouble, but by teamwork and ingenuity, he gets the job done. A typical USMC approach to problems. Semper Fi!