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Lisa Brackmann

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

Soho Crime

An Ellie McEnroe Investigation

Rock Paper Tiger

An American woman is caught up in Chinese intrigue in this New York Times–bestselling series: “One of the best thrillers of the year” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer).
 
 A Los Angeles Times Summer Page Turner
 
 Iraq War veteran Ellie McEnroe has a pretty good life in Beijing, representing the work of a controversial dissident Chinese artist—even though the authorities have been keeping an eye on her, and even though her born-again mother has come for a visit and shows no signs of leaving. But when her mom takes up with “that nice Mr. Zhou next door,” Ellie decides it’s time to get out of town—given her mother’s historically poor choices in men, no good can come of this.
 
 An old army buddy gives her the perfect excuse. His unstable brother has disappeared in picturesque Yangshuo, a famous tourist destination, and though Ellie knows it’s a long shot, she agrees to try to find him. At worst, she figures she’ll have a few days of fun in some gorgeous scenery.
 
 But her plans for a relaxing vacation are immediately complicated when her mother and the new boyfriend tag along. And as soon as she starts asking questions, Ellie realizes that she’s stumbled into a dangerous conspiracy that may or may not involve a sinister biotech company, eco-terrorists, an art-obsessed Chinese billionaire, and lots of cats—one that will take her on a wild chase through some of China’s most beautiful, and most surreal, places—in a novel with “twists and turns galore” (Publishers Weekly).

Hour of the Rat

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.