{"product_id":"hour-of-the-rat-isbn-9781616953713","title":"Hour of the Rat","description":"Iraq War vet Ellie McEnroe has a pretty good life in Beijing, representing the work of controversial dissident Chinese artist Zhang Jianli. Even though Zhang's mysterious disappearance has attracted the attention of the Chinese authorities. Even though her Born-Again mother has come for a visit and shows no signs of leaving.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But things really get complicated when Ellie's agrees to help out an old Army buddy with his search for his missing brother. Ellie finds herself entangled in a conspiracy that may or may not involve a sinister biotech company, eco-terrorists, an art-obsessed Chinese billionaire, and lots of cats—a conspiracy that will take her on a wild chase through some of China's most beautiful and most surreal places.\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003ePraise for HOUR OF THE RAT\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMystery Scene Magazine Favorite Reads of 2013\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e Summer PageTurner\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “A smart, jaw-droppingly good thriller, often hilarious, set in a revelatory depiction of modern China. \u003ci\u003eHour of the Rat\u003c\/i\u003e should make Lisa Brackmann a star.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Timothy Hallinan\u003c\/b\u003e,\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eauthor of the Junior Bender series\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A rocking sequel.... [Ellie McEnroe's] motives, her dogged determination, and her burning sense of moral outrage will be familiar to anyone who's ever read Chandler's \u003ci\u003eThe Long Goodbye\u003c\/i\u003e... Brackmann captures it all with an unflinching honesty and frank sense of moral unease that strips bare the romance myths of the 'New China'—and of the old capitalism running amuck.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Mystery Scene\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A totally genius novel: smart, funny, dark, hip... \u003ci\u003eexquisite\u003c\/i\u003e. She had me in a choke-hold of utter happy reading splendor from, literally, the first sentence, and never let up. Also, I think I could hang with Ellie McEnroe forever. Definitely the woman I want along on my next wild jaunt across Asia.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Cornelia Read\u003c\/b\u003e, author of the Madeline Dare series\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"If you’re shopping for someone who enjoyed Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander books and is looking for something new to read, pick up the two Ellie McEnroe mysteries by Lisa Brackmann,\u003ci\u003eRock Paper Tiger\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHour of the Rat\u003c\/i\u003e.... the combination of a strong female protagonist, a Chinese setting, and engrossing mystery plots results in books that I think any grown-up fan of Nancy Drew would enjoy finding in her Christmas stocking.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Los Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The latest Ellie McEnroe China mystery (see \u003ci\u003eRock Paper Tiger\u003c\/i\u003e) is a fabulous thriller that vividly brings to life Beijing and the rural countryside. Ellie is terrific.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Midwest Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“China’s a big country, and as the foul-mouthed, pill-popping vet travels from tourist trap to toxic wasteland and back, her journey becomes one of disenchantment, frustration and anger.... this book—and the fingers it points—matter.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eJanuary Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, Best Books of 2013\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Nail-biting... Brackmann touches on issues ranging from pollution to evangelical Christianity.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSouth China Morning Post\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Imbued with vivid detail about contemporary China.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTime Out Beijing\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Modern China, with all its beauty and blemishes, comes alive as the story unfolds. Ellie pops her pain pills, drinks her beer, offers wry observations, and follows clues from one city to another across vast, cipherlike China... Beautiful lakes lie under magical mountains at one stop. Revolting rivers of sludge foul the air at another.... [\u003ci\u003eHour of the Rat\u003c\/i\u003e] features an enjoyably profane protagonist and is peopled with characters who will take up residence in the reader’s mind, setting up an itch that can only be satisfied by another novel from this author.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003cb\u003eSuspense \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eMagazine\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Brackmann’s easy familiarity with everyday life in China lends a fascinating multiculturalism to her writing. Nods to local cuisine, Chinese slang and dress help paint a vivid picture of that country.... [Ellie] always entertains.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A finely honed thriller.... Brackmann is as adept at bringing China’s densely populated cities and breathtaking landscapes to life as she is at depicting her flawed but appealing characters and twists and turns galore.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One of the best thrillers of the year.... Brackmann has topped off a perfect, darkly humorous, hip novel and gone one better by writing dialog that is Chandleresque yet thug modern. She has set the bar high for anyone wishing to write at the top of their game in the noir genre.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Seattle Post-Intelligencer \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This mystery-thriller set among China's expat community is both a fascinating character study and a transportation in place. Brackmann's descriptions of China make me feel like I've been there. Plus, Ellie says what all of us are thinking. Love her!”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eHuffington Post\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[Brackmann] somehow manages to weave together a perfectly logical story with Uigar dissidents, a subversive online game, and the Chinese art world, without ever bogging down in explication. There aren’t many writers who could pull all that off, maintain suspense, and be funny, too.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLong Beach Gazette\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Brackmann's crime fiction is exhilarating and compelling, and I had no regrets about trading in my preconceptions about China, to absorb both the current issues and the clear passion that Ellie has for the place and its diversity.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Beth Kanell, Owner, Kingdom Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One part China travelogue, two parts mystery, and a healthy dose of quirky charm. This is a perfect summer read for those looking for a mystery that’s off the beaten path!” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—My Bookish Ways\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003e Praise for ROCK PAPER TIGER\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Don’t turn the pages too fast.  Brackmann’s evocation of China, funny, frustrating, frightening, sometimes tender, and always real, is worth savoring.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eNicole Mones\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLost in Translation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Last Chinese Chef \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “Lisa Brackmann’s novel gets off to a fast start and never lets up…. Ellie is a perfect spunky heroine…. be prepared for a wild ride.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  “\u003ci\u003eRecommendation for More Thrills: \u003c\/i\u003eThis pulse-racer about an American Iraq-war vet is set in the art world of Beijing.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Lisa Brackmann’s debut novel is as slick and smart as an alley cat…. Beijing in \u003ci\u003eRock Paper Tiger \u003c\/i\u003eis as it is in real life: fast, furious, often ugly, and with a Starbucks sitting on every corner.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTime Out Beijing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eSummer reading recommendation. \u003c\/i\u003e“The contemporary China so vividly rendered in Lisa Brackmann's bracing debut novel is a place where the Starbucks baristas ‘all know the English words for coffee'’ and housing developments are named after glamorous U.S. hotspots… \u003ci\u003eRock Paper Tiger\u003c\/i\u003e is a gripping ex-pat nightmare that unfolds with superb pacing and salient details. And it makes you damned glad your life is boring.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMiami Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “A remarkable debut… Brackmann paints a mesmerizing picture of life in jittery modern Beijing.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSeattle Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Lisa Brackmann’s timely and hip debut novel is a thriller with a plucky heroine, locales actual and virtual, and grounding in the Abu Ghraib scandal…. Brackmann can write.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “At the top of the \u003cb\u003eMost Promising New Author\u003c\/b\u003e list is Lisa Brackmann with \u003ci\u003eRock Paper Tiger\u003c\/i\u003e... a terrifying tale of life and death behind the Bamboo Curtain.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Diego Union Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eRock Paper Tiger\u003c\/i\u003e is a splendid debut novel by a gifted new writer. Her Chinese setting is exotic and chilling, and the characters live and breathe. The story is smart and fast as a sports car. Keep an eye on Brackmann.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eT. Jefferson Parker\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Renegades\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eIron River\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “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.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eEliot Pattison\u003c\/b\u003e, author of the Edgar award-winning novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Skull Mantra\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “A terrifying odyssey in present-day China.... A totally captivating page-turner with vivid, first-hand details and nuanced multi-cultural facets.” \u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eQiu Xiaolong\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Mao Case\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Electrifying debut... the book’s exotic setting and tough heroine will definitely appeal to fans of John Burdett and Steig Larsson.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, STARRED REVIEW\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “A fast-paced and engaging story as both plots are full of mystery and suspense… Good reading for anyone interested in the international crime novel.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “A gritty and intriguing tale of terror that draws in the reader with each page; Brackmann is a new writer to watch.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLisa Brackmann has worked as a motion picture executive and an issues researcher in a presidential campaign. A southern California native, she currently lives in Venice, California. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, \u003ci\u003eRock Paper Tiger\u003c\/i\u003e, was an Amazon Best Book of 2010.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     I seriously need to get out of Beijing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere’s the fact that the air is trying to kill me. No joke. The American embassy over in Chaoyang does readings of the air quality in Beijing, since the Chinese government doesn’t, or won’t reveal the results anyway. A while ago it was so polluted that they ran out of normal descriptions and came up with one of their own, so what went out over Twitter was that the air was “crazy-bad.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Thanks, guys. Remind me not to breathe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    There’s also that it’s been another long winter, and while you think I’d know what’s coming after three years, it still takes me by surprise: months of wind so cold and dry that sometimes I feel like I’m breathing razors. Now that it’s the last day in February, temps are getting up above freezing at least, but it’s still the kind of cold that settles into your bones and makes my leg ache even more than it usually does.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    My apartment’s comfortable. There’s a central furnace that controls the radiators in the living room and the two bedrooms; the enclosed balconies provide a buffer against the chill. I broke down and got a cheap flat-screen at Suning, and I have a stack of DVDs from my favorite DVD store off Andingmen, every American movie or TV show you could want. I’ve got take-out menus from half a dozen restaurants, and right at the end of the alley there’s a great jiaozi place and some snack stands, plus there’s a tiny store about the size of my bathroom that sells toilet paper and Yanjing beer and a bunch of snack foods, including my favorite spicy peanuts, that’s just across from the entrance to my apartment complex.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    So it’s not like I really have to leave my apartment all that much right now. Or go very far if I do.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    It’s just that I can only take so much of my mom without a break, and I’ve about reached my limit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Ellie, do you know where’s the best place for me to find peanut butter?” she asks from the doorway to my bedroom. “And chocolate chips?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Any of the foreign supermarkets’ll probably have them,” I say. I’m sitting on my bed with my laptop propped on a pillow on my legs. I don’t really look up. She’s always asking questions like this, and I admit I tune them out a lot of the time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Really? Because I went to . . . what’s the name of that French one? Carrefour? And they had peanut butter, but it was chunky and I need smooth. And I didn’t see any chocolate chips at all.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “I don’t know,” I mutter. “You could always buy chocolate bars and hit them with a hammer.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “I guess I could.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Now I do glance away from my screen. There’s my mom, her streaked, bleached hair rising in a halo of static, wearing a SunRise T-shirt (I'VE FOUND MR. RIGHT AND HE'S PERFECT! ISAIAH 62:5) and sweats, solid through the middle like a pound cake, the bramble-rose tattoo above her elbow sagging a bit, which is what happens with a tat inked twenty-five years ago.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Aren’t you cold?” I ask, because even with the radiators on I’m wearing a sweatshirt.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    She snorts. “Not right now. I’ve got my own heat.” She mimes fanning herself. “Hot flashes.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Like I needed to know.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “The thing is, I want to make my special chocolate-chip cookies for Andy,” she continues, cheeks flushing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    And that’s when I know I’ve got to get out of Beijing: \u003ci\u003eThat nice Mr. Zhou next door\u003c\/i\u003e has become \u003ci\u003eAndy.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Given my mom’s track record with men, no good can come of this.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Maybe try Walmart,” I mutter, and turn back to my laptop.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    I love my mom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Seriously, I really do. She did the best she could do with raising me, which maybe wasn’t always very good, but she comes through when it counts, like after I got blown up in the Sandbox, for example, leaving my leg busted in too many places to count and the rest of me not much better.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    It’s just that a month now, living in my apartment in Beijing? That wasn’t what I had in mind when she said she wanted to come and visit me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Just to see how you’re doing,” she’d said, “since you don’t have time to come home.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    This of course was a lie on my part. I didn’t want to come home. Long story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    After a couple of weeks, where I did my best to show her the tourist sites—the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall, the Silk Market for fake Prada, and the world’s largest IKEA store—she showed no sign of going anywhere, other than to the guest room in my apartment by the Gulou subway station, which used to be my office. I finally asked, “So, Mom, when’s your flight home again?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “I’m not sure,” she said. “It’s really up to you.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “What about work?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Well…” She hesitated. As I recall, she twisted her hands together. “The job didn’t really work out.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    It’s not her fault, I tell myself now. She worked hard for years. It’s not her fault that the U.S. economy is in the toilet, that she’s fifty-one years old and no one wants to hire her for anything. Not her fault that Refinancing Roulette didn’t pay off. The condo was a shithole anyway. Sometimes it’s even sort of cool having her here, like when she makes tacos, cooking being an activity at which I suck.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    But I seriously need some away time from her right now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Don’t talk to me about Jesus,” I said about three days after she got here, Jesus being one of the things that we used to have in common but that pretty much got blown up, along with the rest of my life, in Iraq. Mostly she’s been pretty good about it, but every once in a while Jesus slips out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    For example: “You know, that nice Mr. Zhou next door belongs to a church. And I think it’s Christian, more or less. They worship Jesus anyway. He invited me to attend their service. Would you like . . . ?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “No thanks.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Like I’m going to go to some weird-ass Chinese underground house church, featuring Brother Jesus Christ of the Righteous Thundering Fist, or what have you.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Like I’d set foot inside Sunrise, for that matter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Sunrise is the church that my mom and me used to go to in Arizona. It’s a big church, in this fake-adobe complex that always reminded me of an Indian casino. But I still used to believe in it all. Take comfort in Reverend Jim’s air-conditioned sermons. Snap my what would jesus do? rubber bracelet against my wrist when I needed an invisible helping hand.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    When people talk about how your faith gets tested, they always say that trials make your faith stronger. What they don’t say is that sometimes faith just dissolves like desert sand between your fingers.","brand":"Soho Crime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304150094053,"sku":"NP9781616953713","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781616953713.jpg?v=1767729265","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/hour-of-the-rat-isbn-9781616953713","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}