Solve a Mystery with Cape Weathers

I stumbled across the mysteries by author Tim Maleeny, because I really enjoyed the cover of his first book, Stealing the Dragon. The cover features the back of a woman covered by an intricate dragon tattoo. The art hooked me instantly! The author mixes wry humor and a serious plot in his third Cape Weathers mystery, Greasing the Pinata, which was published in 2008 (the second book in the series is 2007's Beating the Babushka). In this book, Jim Dobbins, a recently retired California state senator, and his drug-addict son, Danny, disappear in Mexico and Dobbins's estranged daughter hires San Francisco reporter-turned-private investigator Cape Weathers to find them. Weathers travels to Mexico only to learn that the mutilated bodies of both father and son have surfaced in a Puerto Vallarte golf course's alligator-infested pond. Aided by Sally Mei, his Triad-trained associate, Weathers pursues a case that reaches from a Mexican drug cartel to the San Francisco mob as well as the city's boardrooms. This series features an appealing hero, well-crafted villains, snappy dialogue and an energetic plot. The most fascinating part of these books is Cape Weathers association with the Triad through Sally Mei. Sally is deadly but charming, and the reader can't help but be drawn in to her life and how she sees the world.