9 Dragons (novel)
Encyclopedia
9 Dragons is the 14th novel in the Harry Bosch series and the 22nd book (21st novel) by American crime author Michael Connelly
. It was released worldwide on October 13, 2009, although it had been released in the U.K. and Ireland on October 1.
The novel is partly set in Hong Kong
, where Bosch's daughter Maddie and ex-wife Eleanor Wish live. The main plot involves Maddie being kidnapped by a Chinese Triad (crime syndicate), which Bosch believes is due to his investigation of an L.A. murder, in which his primary suspect is a member of a triad that was shaking down the victim. As a result, Bosch heads to Hong Kong in an effort to rescue her. The name of the most populated region of Hong Kong, Kowloon
, means "nine dragons" in English.
), located in the L.A. ghetto. The owner, Mr. Li, has been murdered, leaving behind a grieving widow who did not speak English and two children: a daughter Mia, who looked after her parents, and a son Robert, who ran the second Fortune Liquors store in an upscale area. The wife had found her husband's body, and the Asian Gangs Unit has been called, which leads to Asian-American Detective David Chu, who is fluent in several Chinese dialects, joining the investigation. Although the killer took the day's security camera disk, Bosch watches two saved disks from previous dates and finds that the owner made a $216 weekly payoff to a triad every week at about the time he was murdered. Chu locates the bagman for the triad, and he and Bosch arrest him just as he is about to flee to Hong Kong. The arrest is made on a Friday, so that the man can be held without bail until Monday morning. The victim had swallowed one of the casings ejected by the shooter's gun, and Bosch requests the forensics lab to run a special, experimental test on the brass casing to reveal any latent fingerprints.
However, at that point, Bosch receives a phone threat and then a video message from his daughter Maddie, who lives in Hong Kong and whom he only sees twice a year. The message simply shows her held in a hotel room, kidnapped. His ex-wife Eleanor called the Hong Kong police, who told her that Maddie was probably a runaway and to call back Monday if she hadn't returned by then. Bosch flies from L.A. to Hong Kong Friday night/Saturday, and then plans to spend Sunday looking for Maddie, while flying back Sunday night to get in the office on Monday morning (due to the time differentials). Eleanor agrees to meet him at the airport. Eleanor, who is a star attraction at a Macau
casino
, has a personal security guard, Sun Yee, whom Harry learns is also her boyfriend. Although Hong Kong has strict gun control, Sun Yee arranges to get Harry a gun.
A video technician at the L.A.P.D. traced the image of Maddy's kidnapping to a particular section of Kowloon, and Harry, Eleanor and Sun Yee follow the trail to a high-rise multi-ethnic flophouse (a likely referral to Chungking Mansions
), which Eleanor refers to as a "post-modern Casablanca
, all in one building." To get access to the room in which Maddie was being held, Harry recklessly overpays, despite Sun Yee's cautioning. On the elevator up, Harry and Eleanor are separated from Sun Yee, and Harry crashes into the room without waiting for him. They find evidence that Maddie had been blood typed there, which would be done only if her kidnapping were part of China's black market in organ trading. Upon leaving the room, Harry and Eleanor are approached by two armed men, and in the subsequent shoot-out, the men and Eleanor are all killed. Sun Yee informs Harry that the killers are not triad but were robbers out to steal the money that Harry showed at the desk. Harry then thrashes the desk clerk and takes his records of room rentals, managing to escape just ahead of the police.
The room rental was done by "Quick", the older brother of one of Maddie's friends. He lived in Tuen Mun
in the New Territories
, according to the records, but Harry and Sun Yee find only three dead bodies—Quick, his sister and their mother—in his apartment, as well as Maddie's cell phone. The cell phone had been used to make one call to a Tuen Mun number before it was damaged, and Harry calls Chu back in L.A. to trace the number. Harry and Sun Yee launch their own attempt to track down the kidnappers and succeed in luring them into a meeting, then follow their car upon leaving. Chu manages to trace the phone call number to a triad-connected business called Northstar, and the kidnappers' car is headed in the same direction. Just before arriving at the business, the car turns, but Harry and Sun Yee continue to Northstar, where they find a guarded cargo ship. Subsequently, the car also arrives there. Figuring that Maddie was on board the ship, Harry charges it under cover and kills the kidnappers. Although Maddie is not on the boat, he finds Maddie in the trunk of the car. With Eleanor deceased, Harry takes Maddie back to L.A.
Upon his arrival, Harry learns that nothing has happened in the Fortune Liquors case, in part because Ferras did not work over the weekend, and Harry tells Ferras that he will request a new partner. The bagman is released on bail and flees the U.S. Hong Kong police arrive with a demand for Bosch's extradition, and they have a confession signed by Sun Yee that has a number of inaccuracies in it, which makes it obvious to Bosch that Sun Yee is not cooperating and may have been tortured. Bosch comes to the meeting with them accompanied by his lawyer (and half-brother) Mickey Haller
, who threatens to turn this into a front-page story about the dangers faced by Americans in Hong Kong, especially since the Hong Kong police were called about Maddie's kidnapping but refused to help. The Hong Kong police leave without pursuing charges and also agree to release Sun Yee. At the same time, the experimental test produces a fingerprint on the casing—but the fingerprint belongs to Hollywood screenwriter Henry Lau, not the triad bagman. When Bosch and Chu visit him, they find the gun used for the murder, which he keeps in his home. He tells them that he was in a script meeting the entire day of the shooting (and in a nod to Hollywood by Connelly, when asked who could vouch for him, Lau name-drops actor Matthew McConaughey
, who portrays Haller in the film adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer
). While escorting Lau out of the house, Bosch notices Lau's framed college diploma on the wall, from the same university and graduation year as the one hanging in Robert Li's office. Lau reveals that he and Robert were roommates in college, along with Li's assistant manager Eugene Lam, and that the threesome plays cards at Lau's house each week.
Bosch and Chu arrest Lam, whom they believe to be the killer, while leaving Ferras to follow Robert Li. Lam reveals that the entire murder was a plot concocted by Mia to relieve her of the burden of her parents; Robert had come up with the idea of disguising it as a triad killing. When Bosch and Chu inform Ferras, he decides to single-handedly arrest Robert Li as an act of defiance against Bosch—but he is killed by Mia during the arrest. Mia then commits suicide. After Ferras' funeral, Maddie confesses to Harry that the "kidnapping" was originally a fake that she planned, to get her mother to agree to let her live with Harry. However, when presented with the opportunity, Quick turned it into a real kidnapping, making the deal with the triad from which Harry saved her. Maddie blames herself for the deaths, especially her mother, that followed. Harry consoles her, promising to show her how they can make up for their mistakes.
Michael Connelly
Michael Connelly is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. His books, which have been translated into 36 languages, have garnered him many awards...
. It was released worldwide on October 13, 2009, although it had been released in the U.K. and Ireland on October 1.
The novel is partly set in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, where Bosch's daughter Maddie and ex-wife Eleanor Wish live. The main plot involves Maddie being kidnapped by a Chinese Triad (crime syndicate), which Bosch believes is due to his investigation of an L.A. murder, in which his primary suspect is a member of a triad that was shaking down the victim. As a result, Bosch heads to Hong Kong in an effort to rescue her. The name of the most populated region of Hong Kong, Kowloon
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
, means "nine dragons" in English.
Plot
Bosch and his partner Ignacio Ferras are called to investigate a murder at Fortune Liquors (which Bosch had visited during the race riots at the end of Angels FlightAngels Flight (novel)
Angels Flight is the eighth novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, and the sixth featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch.-Plot summary:...
), located in the L.A. ghetto. The owner, Mr. Li, has been murdered, leaving behind a grieving widow who did not speak English and two children: a daughter Mia, who looked after her parents, and a son Robert, who ran the second Fortune Liquors store in an upscale area. The wife had found her husband's body, and the Asian Gangs Unit has been called, which leads to Asian-American Detective David Chu, who is fluent in several Chinese dialects, joining the investigation. Although the killer took the day's security camera disk, Bosch watches two saved disks from previous dates and finds that the owner made a $216 weekly payoff to a triad every week at about the time he was murdered. Chu locates the bagman for the triad, and he and Bosch arrest him just as he is about to flee to Hong Kong. The arrest is made on a Friday, so that the man can be held without bail until Monday morning. The victim had swallowed one of the casings ejected by the shooter's gun, and Bosch requests the forensics lab to run a special, experimental test on the brass casing to reveal any latent fingerprints.
However, at that point, Bosch receives a phone threat and then a video message from his daughter Maddie, who lives in Hong Kong and whom he only sees twice a year. The message simply shows her held in a hotel room, kidnapped. His ex-wife Eleanor called the Hong Kong police, who told her that Maddie was probably a runaway and to call back Monday if she hadn't returned by then. Bosch flies from L.A. to Hong Kong Friday night/Saturday, and then plans to spend Sunday looking for Maddie, while flying back Sunday night to get in the office on Monday morning (due to the time differentials). Eleanor agrees to meet him at the airport. Eleanor, who is a star attraction at a Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, has a personal security guard, Sun Yee, whom Harry learns is also her boyfriend. Although Hong Kong has strict gun control, Sun Yee arranges to get Harry a gun.
A video technician at the L.A.P.D. traced the image of Maddy's kidnapping to a particular section of Kowloon, and Harry, Eleanor and Sun Yee follow the trail to a high-rise multi-ethnic flophouse (a likely referral to Chungking Mansions
Chungking Mansions
Chungking Mansions, is a building located at 36–44 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The building is well known as nearly the cheapest accommodation in Hong Kong. Though the building is supposedly residential, it is made up of many independent low-budget hotels, shops, and other...
), which Eleanor refers to as a "post-modern Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
, all in one building." To get access to the room in which Maddie was being held, Harry recklessly overpays, despite Sun Yee's cautioning. On the elevator up, Harry and Eleanor are separated from Sun Yee, and Harry crashes into the room without waiting for him. They find evidence that Maddie had been blood typed there, which would be done only if her kidnapping were part of China's black market in organ trading. Upon leaving the room, Harry and Eleanor are approached by two armed men, and in the subsequent shoot-out, the men and Eleanor are all killed. Sun Yee informs Harry that the killers are not triad but were robbers out to steal the money that Harry showed at the desk. Harry then thrashes the desk clerk and takes his records of room rentals, managing to escape just ahead of the police.
The room rental was done by "Quick", the older brother of one of Maddie's friends. He lived in Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun is a town near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in Hong Kong which can be dated back to the Neolithic period. In the more recent past, it was home to many Tanka fishermen who gathered at the Castle...
in the New Territories
New Territories
New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...
, according to the records, but Harry and Sun Yee find only three dead bodies—Quick, his sister and their mother—in his apartment, as well as Maddie's cell phone. The cell phone had been used to make one call to a Tuen Mun number before it was damaged, and Harry calls Chu back in L.A. to trace the number. Harry and Sun Yee launch their own attempt to track down the kidnappers and succeed in luring them into a meeting, then follow their car upon leaving. Chu manages to trace the phone call number to a triad-connected business called Northstar, and the kidnappers' car is headed in the same direction. Just before arriving at the business, the car turns, but Harry and Sun Yee continue to Northstar, where they find a guarded cargo ship. Subsequently, the car also arrives there. Figuring that Maddie was on board the ship, Harry charges it under cover and kills the kidnappers. Although Maddie is not on the boat, he finds Maddie in the trunk of the car. With Eleanor deceased, Harry takes Maddie back to L.A.
Upon his arrival, Harry learns that nothing has happened in the Fortune Liquors case, in part because Ferras did not work over the weekend, and Harry tells Ferras that he will request a new partner. The bagman is released on bail and flees the U.S. Hong Kong police arrive with a demand for Bosch's extradition, and they have a confession signed by Sun Yee that has a number of inaccuracies in it, which makes it obvious to Bosch that Sun Yee is not cooperating and may have been tortured. Bosch comes to the meeting with them accompanied by his lawyer (and half-brother) Mickey Haller
Mickey Haller
Michael "Mickey" Haller, Junior is a fictional character created by Michael Connelly in the 2005 novel The Lincoln Lawyer. Haller, a Los Angeles-based defense attorney, is the paternal half-brother of Connelly's best-known character, LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch...
, who threatens to turn this into a front-page story about the dangers faced by Americans in Hong Kong, especially since the Hong Kong police were called about Maddie's kidnapping but refused to help. The Hong Kong police leave without pursuing charges and also agree to release Sun Yee. At the same time, the experimental test produces a fingerprint on the casing—but the fingerprint belongs to Hollywood screenwriter Henry Lau, not the triad bagman. When Bosch and Chu visit him, they find the gun used for the murder, which he keeps in his home. He tells them that he was in a script meeting the entire day of the shooting (and in a nod to Hollywood by Connelly, when asked who could vouch for him, Lau name-drops actor Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
, who portrays Haller in the film adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Lincoln Lawyer is a 2005 novel, and it is the 16th novel written by American crime writer Michael Connelly. It is the first featuring Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller, half-brother of Connelly's mainstay detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch....
). While escorting Lau out of the house, Bosch notices Lau's framed college diploma on the wall, from the same university and graduation year as the one hanging in Robert Li's office. Lau reveals that he and Robert were roommates in college, along with Li's assistant manager Eugene Lam, and that the threesome plays cards at Lau's house each week.
Bosch and Chu arrest Lam, whom they believe to be the killer, while leaving Ferras to follow Robert Li. Lam reveals that the entire murder was a plot concocted by Mia to relieve her of the burden of her parents; Robert had come up with the idea of disguising it as a triad killing. When Bosch and Chu inform Ferras, he decides to single-handedly arrest Robert Li as an act of defiance against Bosch—but he is killed by Mia during the arrest. Mia then commits suicide. After Ferras' funeral, Maddie confesses to Harry that the "kidnapping" was originally a fake that she planned, to get her mother to agree to let her live with Harry. However, when presented with the opportunity, Quick turned it into a real kidnapping, making the deal with the triad from which Harry saved her. Maddie blames herself for the deaths, especially her mother, that followed. Harry consoles her, promising to show her how they can make up for their mistakes.
Recurring characters in 9 Dragons
- Ignacio Ferras - Bosch's current partner
- Eleanor Wish - Former FBI agent and Bosch's ex-wife
- Madeline Bosch - Bosch's daughter
- Mickey HallerMickey HallerMichael "Mickey" Haller, Junior is a fictional character created by Michael Connelly in the 2005 novel The Lincoln Lawyer. Haller, a Los Angeles-based defense attorney, is the paternal half-brother of Connelly's best-known character, LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch...
- Lawyer and Bosch's half-brother - Carmen Hinojos - Psychologist for the Los Angeles Police Department
- * Jack McEvoy and Judge Judith Champagne are referred to but do not appear
Other characters
- David Chu - LAPD Detective with the Asian Gang Unit
- Sun Yee - current lover of Eleanor Wish, employed as security by the casino, and Bosch's unexpected partner in Hong Kong
- John Li - Proprietor of Fortune Liquors
- Robert Li - John Li's son and manager of Fortune Fine Foods and Liquor
- Mia Li - John Li's daughter
- Bo-Jing Chang - Bagman for the triad group Yung Kim
- Larry Gandle - LAPD Lieutenant and Bosch's boss
- Peng "Quick" Qingcai - Older brother of a friend of Madeline
- Eugene Lam - Assistant manager of Fortune Fine Foods and Liquor