Arthur Case Wu Скачать все книги 3 Количество книг

Wudu, Ltd. is not exactly a private investigation agency, and the overhead's too high for con men. It's "a closely held limited liability company that does for others what they cannot do for themselves." says Arthur Case Wu — ex-carny, pretender to the Chinese Emperor’s throne, and chief executive officer of Wudu, Ltd. In other words, they solve big problems for big bucks. When German entrepreneur Enno Glimm, who insists upon pronouncing the company name as “Voodoo," arrives in London to strike a deal with Quincy Durant, the arrangement comes just in time to move Wudu's accounts into the black. Glimm's problem: two kinky British hypnotists have vanished, leaving his client, actress-director lone Gamble, in the lurch. Only the hypnotists can prove that the star did not gun down her loathsome billionaire ex-fiancé in his $13-milllon Malibu “beach shack." For Durant and Wu, it means enlisting the help of some old cronies, like the dubious Otherguy Overby, terrorism expert Dr. Booth Stallings, and the overtly sensual Georgia Blue. Together, they must weave a bit of their black magic in the world of excess bounded by Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Malibu. But the stakes double when a whole lot of illicit cash starts flashing in the California sun. And with some of the most dangerous people in the world gathered in such close proximity, Wudu, Ltd. may just start needing some protection... from one of its own.

Shadowy and well-financed interests want to funnel five million dollars to rebels in the Philippine mountains, to fund the violent revolt against the fledgling Aquino government. But the rebel leader trusts no one but Booth Stallings, a terrorism expert who fought by his side during World War II. Stallings isn’t interested in Philippine power squabbles, but he is deeply interested in five million dollars. In order to reroute the cash to his own pocket, Stallings needs the kind of help that can only be provided by the most inventive confidence artists in the hemisphere: the wily Artie Wu, pretender to the throne of China, and his occasionally explosive partner Quincey Durant. The trail to the Chinese mastermind goes through the number one connection in the U.S., Otherguy Overby — a legendary con man in his own right. But before Stallings finds Wu, he discovers that the money men have provided an obstacle. Georgia Blue, the toughest lady bodyguard in Washington, has been assigned to stick to him until he reaches the rebel camp. Throw in a depraved Australian by the name of Boy Howdy, an unpredictably volatile young woman with ties to the rebel leader, a pair of CIA operatives, an assortment of killings, and you have the most intricate labyrinth ever penned by Ross Thomas.

Thus begins what may be the most popular of Ross Thomas’s unique stories. The combination of Wu, pretender to the Imperial throne of China, and Quincy Durant, who has his own colorful past, makes for a heady experience. After starting with the deceased pelican on a California beach, the plot mixes in the disappearance of a large sum of money that should have been buried in Vietnam, and the search for the missing member of a trio of singing sisters from the Ozarks. Only Thomas could have stirred this concoction with the style, humor, and suspense that captures the reader at the very beginning and doesn’t let go until the last word.