The China Connection

This is volume 3 in the Lieutenant Morales series.  From Florida to China and back, this  mystery shows the extremes some will go to find the attacker.  As a retired twenty-year LAPD veteranD, Morales has found the love of his life in Sun Li, and together they are on a cruise ship working as they travel to different places.  When a stranger interrupts Morales’ sleep and is bludgeoning his wife with his own handgun, he takes action to take him down.  The masked stranger escapes, and Morales is arrested for the attempted murder of his wife.   Morales finds political ties that threaten to keep him in jail and away from the comatose Sun. Morales must learn to rely on help from Rick Chopin, a lawyer and friend, to resolve this unfortunate set of circumstances.  

The political intrigue in “China Connection” is something right out of current headlines, which adds spice to the whole case in general. Morales’s character description at the start was not believable. A twenty-year police veteran should know not to touch the evidence before the police do and how to be observant of a criminal to give a description. Nonetheless, he touches the gun and gives no details of the masked attacker.  This behavior is inconsistent with a police detective. Adding more doubt is when Morales is released on bail with an ankle monitor and staying in his lawyer’s home.  It is a quick read mystery for the beach or lake.

Laura Dinsdale