Riding the Snake by Stephen J. Cannell

Description

Bibliographic Details

• Author: Stephen J. Cannell
• Title: Riding the Snake
• Publisher: ‎ William Morrow and Company, Inc.; First Edition (September 16, 1998)
• Language: ‎ English
• Format: Hardcover – 383 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 0688158056
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0688158057
• Item Weight: ‎ 1.55 pounds
• Dimensions: ‎ 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.75 inches
• Book Condition: Used – Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Edition: First Edition

Synopsis:

Sweeping from the exclusive golf clubs of Brentwood to the depths of Hong Kong's mysterious walled city, Riding the Snake is a thriller torn straight from the headlines. It's set in a deadly Asian underworld where terrorism, international influence peddling, and illegal immigration converge into a single sinister web with a heartless Chinese crime lord at its center.

To prankster/L.A. playboy Wheeler Cassidy, things look a little bleak. His trust land is dwindling, his good looks are dissolving into the daiquiris, and his life has no direction — until his golden-boy younger brother, a prominent lawyer and political power broker; is found mysteriously dead. Wheeler joins forces with the beautiful Tanisha Williams, an L.A. cop from South Central who's been parked on the Asian Crimes Task Force while Internal Affairs investigates her career. Together they embark on a dangerous quest for the truth — against deadly odds.

Tentatively at first, then with growing confidence and passion, the two follow their leads into a labyrinth of violent intrigue and a multibillion-dollar Chinese criminal conspiracy that teaches to the top of the U.S. government. Soon they find themselves up against the most ruthless Triad leader, the Washington Establishment, and violent L.A. gangsters. As Riding the Snake races to a riveting climax in the sewers beneath Los Angeles International Airport, you can almost hear it ominously ticking down — like the suitcase nuke that's set to incinerate a big chunk of Southern California.

About the Author:

Stephen J. Cannell was an American television producer, writer, novelist, and occasional actor, and the founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios.

Cannell created or co-created several successful TV series from the 1970s to the 1990s. Creations included The Rockford Files, The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, 21 Jump Street, and The Commish.

He was an Emmy winner and was awarded The Eye – Lifetime Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America.

Cannell’s success was made even more remarkable by the fact that he suffered from extreme dyslexia.

He died in 2010 from complications with melanoma.