Hubris

P.A. Wilson

Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)

For Charity Deacon, a private investigator with a nose for trouble, danger is just a way of life. She witnesses a car crash that hides a brutal murder. The police don't talk to PIs, but maybe they'll explain why the victim had a bullet hole in his head in exchange for the photos and video she collected right at the scene. Her latest client is a young streetwalker named Val. She's used to fending for herself, but her sister Emma has fallen into something big, and anyone who shows too much interest in this particular business is liable to catch a sudden case of death. She needs the help of a pro, and soon, or Emma may not survive to be rescued. As Charity traces each lead with Val in tow, they get closer and closer to the most dangerous criminals in the city — the Chinese gangs that like to kill anyone who gets too curious. Fast-paced and terrifying from beginning to end - it's a blend of the best kind of visceral action and edge-of-your-seat danger.

Review by Paul Lappen (310816) Rating (8/10)

Review by Paul Lappen
Rating 8/10
Charity Deacon is a private investigator and occasional free-lance journalist in present-day Vancouver. One night, she witnesses a motor vehicle accident downtown (with a fatality). Amid all the hubbub of police, ambulance personnel, and gawkers wanting to record it all on their smartphones, Charity sees two Asian men standing off to the side. It's almost as if they are making sure that the accident went off without a hitch.

Charity asks her friends about them, and learns that they are part of the Chinese mafia. They are the sort of people who have no problem with killing anyone who gets too close. Even Hell's Angels are nervous and apprehensive around them.

Meantime, Charity is approached by Val, a teenage prostitute who hires her to help find Val's sister, Emma, another prostitute, who has been missing for the past couple of days. Inquiries among the local prostitutes yield nothing. From one minute to the next, Val shows herself as a scared teenage girl whose parents are dead (murdered by the same Chinese mafia), or as a tough, streetwise veteran with enough attitude for ten people.

Charity's inquiries about the two Asian men get her a trip to the hospital, beaten up by one of them. It also gets her houseboat ransacked. Released from the hospital, but hardly recovered from the beating, Charity gets word of a shipment of trafficked Chinese women coming to a local warehouse. With Val outside as lookout, Charity hides herself inside the warehouse, looking for enough evidence to put the Asian men away for a long time. Does Charity succeed? Is Emma found?

This would make a really good movie. It has plenty of dirt, grime and action. This story is also very well done and easy to read.
Paul Lappen (31st August 2016)