William D. Pease
The Monkey's Fist 28 August 1997
About the Author
Bibliography

 The Monkey's Fist
First British Publication
Paranoia and deception abound in this fierce, funny and stylish thriller that is as intricately plotted as the sailor's knot it is named after. The Monkey's Fist is one post cold war thriller that will surely remind readers of le Carre.
"Man, you're hired by someone who doesn't exist to find some credit cards of a lady who gets killed in a shootout by an untraceable 9mm manufactured in Poland that's used to whack her old man, who just happens to be overloaded on some exotic nerve depressant. Then some local doper tells you he found the cards on the street, gives them to you and gets whacked with your gun. Next we have your standard hired gun who may have spent time in a Russian prison and who doesn't carry any identification trying to kill you over the same credit cards and with another 9mm, which the original victim had probably fired at him. And then, all of a sudden, the case files are pulled because of some unexplained inquiry from the feds and an FBI agent no one's heard of comes to visit you in the hospital."
After 25 years as a Washington D.C. homicide detective, Eddie Nickles is drawn out of retirement for an apparently simple job investigating the death of Trevor Grehm and his wife. Unknown to Eddie the deceased were connected to the money making front of a U.S, government agency - The Special Projects Directorate (SPD) - so secret, it doesn't exist! He is soon enmeshed with the Russian free market Mafia, ex KGB agents on the take, street rappers and operatives from the supposedly friendly SPD. Soon a local incident becomes an international chase with Nickles playing David to the Goliaths who are seeking supremacy in the new world order.
'Fierce, intricately plotted, with rich and complex characters and sharply authentic settings, The Monkey's Fist propels Pease into the Ridpath, le Carre and Clancy league' Crime Time
'The Monkey's Fist succeeds brilliantly in marrying a hard-hitting private-eye tale with a compelling story of international intrigue. This is a major thriller. Pease gives us edge-of-the-chair twists and turns, exotic locales, and to readers' delight, Eddie Nickles - an everyman PI who finds himself swimming with some very nasty sharks.' Jeffrey Deaver
'An amateur caught up in the great international game of espionage has served as the premise for many fine spy novels, but perhaps it's never been done as well as it is here' Booklist 'First Scott Turow, now William Pease .. .' San Diego Union
"Fresh dialogue, clever plotting and offbeat characters distinguish this intelligent, sharply told thriller. Pease's best yet" - Publishers Weekly

About The Author
William D Pease spent 15 years as Assistant District Attorney of Washington D.C. He is currently writing novels full-time and divides his time between Moscow and McLean, Virginia.

Bibliography

• The Monkey's Fist (No Exit Press) (1997) 28 August 1997 (Eddie Nickles)
• Playing the Dozens (Eddie Nickles)
• The Rage of Innocence (Eddie Nickles)

  

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