Pacific Edge

Derek Cheney #1

by Stephen Smoke

Deadly secrets and a vengeance that transcends time, continents…and blood. Gerald Yamaguchi – One of the world's richest men, this Japanese billionaire fears no man. Except one. An unknown assassin who kills with impunity, inching purposely closer to his ultimate Yamaguchi himself. Derek Cheney – The retired LAPD chief of detectives lives a comfortable life, playing golf at the Riviera Country Club, foraging the West Side for good-quality-under-$15-a-bottle chardonnays, and enjoying retirement with his wife, a psychiatrist. When members of Yamaguchi's family start turning up dead, and the billionaire resists LAPD involvement, Cheney is tapped by current brass to work the case "off the books." While Cheney has seen a lot in his years on the street, he has never seen victims this brutalized and humiliated. Nor has he encountered a killer this good. Tommy Ming Lee – From the day of his birth he was trained to kill. Not indiscriminately or with brute force. But with cunning and purpose. He has lived his life for this moment. To finally make things right. His goal was never the kill Yamaguchi. His goal was always to destroy the man and make him suffer…as others have suffered.

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Aka Hamilton T. Caine

Stephen Smoke is the author of 20 novels, including Black Butterfly, Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Blues, Trick of the Light, The Prince of Palos Verdes, and Cathedral of the Senses under his own and other names. He has also written eight non-fiction books.

Stephen has written and directed feature films, including "Street Crimes" (starring Dennis Farina) and "Final Impact," and has written screenplays for others, including "Magic Kid."

In 2011 he published the first novel with its own embedded soundtrack: "Cathedral of the Senses." The songs on the album of "Cathedral of the Senses," were written by Stephen and recorded mainly by musicians and singers living in Sedona.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a First Reads copy of this book. Stephen Smoke has cleverly created an intricate and riveting novel about secrets and revenge. The reader gets a fascinating insight into each character, no matter how evil they seem. It was great being able to read each character's perspective. Be warned, this book is not for the faint of heart - the revenge scenes are very disturbing - however I thoroughly recommend it.

[Jacq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book by Stephen Smoke through GoodReads giveaway.
I recommend this book but a warning that the revenge parts of this book may be unsettling.

[Shadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mystery/thriller with deadly assassins and Asian motifs, in the style of Eric van Lustbader and Marc Olden novels that were so popular in the 1980s. There's some disturbing violence, decent detective work, and a dark secret dating back to the Eastern theater in World War II. The philosophical monologues and melodramatic dialogues got tiresome, and the action wasn't all that convincing, but the dramatic surprise ending made up for some of the book's flaws. Not bad if you like this genre. Three stars.

[Courtney Hengel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won this through a Goodreads giveaway and read it and thought it was really good. It was okay but I would say that I liked it and would recommend to a friend