Chinese thugs, Russian thugs and CIA thugs all after an 11 year an old who luckily has found a SUPER woman who is retired but still at her best, hmmm. I like the writing and the premise is good but the retired/hiding super spy has just been overdone. I'm surprised she wasn't seal trained too. Good just not new.

The story starts with a bang when a helicopter crashes through the skylight of San Francisco's Asian Art Museum. The planned heist is witnessed by 11-year old Grace who sees her museum employee uncle killed & a Buddha statue stolen by 2 men and a white ghost. Grace flees into the night & heads back to Chinatown where she is found by Sally Mei. While Sally protects Grace, her PI friend Cape Weathers searches for the heist team. This was another thrilling, action-packed read in the Cape Weathers series.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Sourcebooks. All opinions are my own.

i loved the pace of this book and the unique characters. There was some humor which made some scenes fantastic. it was very good installment to the series.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the first book I’ve read by Tim Maleeny. And, obviously, this is the first book I’ve read in his series featuring private eye Cape Weathers and his associate, Sally Mei, who also happens to be a trained assassin. Already, this book held a lot of promise.

Hanging the Devil is the sixth book in this series and it involves a museum heist (using a helicopter no less), an eleven-year-old witness, Russian gangsters, Chinatown mobsters, and even an Interpol agent. It can’t get much better than that, but it does. Mr Maleeny has written a sharp, witty book that has multiple points of view, plenty of action, and great dialogue. Although there are a number of moving parts the author manages to move through the story almost seamlessly, keeping up the pace at the same time. Even his construction of the chapters is unique so pay attention to the last line of a chapter and how the next chapter begins.

I enjoyed my introduction to this author and his series and I’m looking forward to reading his previous novels. NetGalley provided an advance copy

A really great read with thrilling twists and turns. I never knew what to expect and it kept me Interested until the very end.

After an art heist turned tragedy, Sally Mei and her partner Cape Weathers take on protecting the only witness, an eleven year old girl named Grace. While teaching her survival skills, they also begin to hunt the team that committed the crime, including an elusive shadow known only as the ghost.

This is a heart-pounding, edge of your seat thriller that does not let up even for a moment. Your heart absolutely breaks for grace, then immediately escalates into pulsating adrenaline as events unfold. Grace, Sally, and Cape are all compelling characters in their own right. Between the action, the plot twists, and the overall flow of the writing, this book is a fast, enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

This book centers on the failed art heist, the main perpetrator doesn't do failure, he will go back in and steal the objects necessary also he is out to kill the witness - Grace, but first he needs to find her. This book is exciting and fast paced. Like watching a modern and diverse heist movie. This is the 5th book in the Cape Weathers mystery series - the 1st one I read and it wasn't an issue at all. You wouldn't even guess this was a Cape Weathers series book because the book does not put him in the middle of this investigation, there is Sally a trained assassin but turned to „right side", Grace herself and Maria, a visiting Interpol agent who is in town because she has started observing a pattern ... all these and other extraordinary characters drew me into the story. The writing flows well and there is so much going on, the story moves forward at a brisk pace with, of course, some unexpected twists. This is a captivating read, unsettling at times, heartbreaking at other times, and it always kept me on the edge of my seat.

📖Book Review 📚

Author: Tim Maleeny

Method: Kindle and Physical 

Thank you @poisonedpenpress and @bookmarked for the physical copy. 

During the Thanksgiving holiday, My husband came to his Nana's house with my packages and gave me the annoyed look that I bought another book. Well, he was wrong! Thank you @poisonedpenpress for feeding my reading addiction and blessing me with new authors to try. 

Hanging the Devil is book 5 in the Cape Weathers Mystery Series written by Tim Maleeny. With this being book 5 and my first time reading this series, I can say that I felt like I didn't miss anything. The author did an incredible job of explaining certain character bonds and developments to make this book read like a standalone. I fell in love with these characters right away as a group and individually. 

The plot was really developed well research wise. Going into this, I did not know a lot about the Chinese art scene and Mr. Maleeny did a fantastic job explaining it while keeping the story a mystery. The thing I find fascinating is the mystery itself and the outcome being left open ended. The timeline of the story was dual, which at times I was not a fan of but understood why it was needed.

I will be going back and reading the series from the beginning and am excited to get more of the funny banter from Cape Weathers himself!

I really like this one! Maleeny does a fantastic job mixing witty and smart dialogue with compelling characters and non-stop action. The result is a wild ride that I found engaging and entertaining from the opening gambit. And now that I know how much I like his writing, I've gone ahead and ordered the four Cape Weathers books to catch up on the backstory! I hope he keeps writing in this universe, as I really enjoyed the characters and their antics!

It was a little gruesome at times, but never in a way that detracted from the story or felt gratuitous - it is a violent world that Cape and Sally inhabit, and the results of that violence are often horrific. Still there is an inherent humanity in these characters - including, oddly enough, the villains of the piece - such that, even at their most violent, I found them surprisingly endearing. It really helped me connect with their world and made fire a very robust read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

A helicopter has crashed into the Asian Art museum in an elaborate, successful heist. They have also killed the security guard, 11 year old Grace’s uncle. This is her only relative in the USA. As Grace escapes, she sees a ghost! Her flight from the museum lands her straight into the arms of Sally, a self-appointed guardian of Chinatown and a private investigator in San Francisco.

What made this book for me is the character, Grace! I just love this little girl! She is smart and so vulnerable in many ways! Sometimes an author gets a child wrong but, in my opinion, Tim got this one right! She captured my heart from the very first. And trust me, the opening scene in this book will capture any reader and keep them glued to the pages!

I have not read the others in this series but I have already added them to my tumbling TBR. I need to read more about Cape and Sally and their escapades. I love Cape’s sarcastic wit and Sally’s mysterious past!

Need an explosive thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Yeah, this one was ok. I wasn't wowed or anything. The storyline was fine and the characters was ok but I wasn't overly entertained and I was hoping for more. The ending was decent though which is what saved it for me.

The pace could have been better and that would have gave it the push it needed.

This is a new to me author. Not only haven’t I read anything by him, but I hadn’t heard of him. Now I’m looking up the early books in the series. Always a good thing to find a new author you want to read more of. Am I right?

The story is complex with a lot of characters in different places not crossing paths early in the book. It starts with an art heist gone awry. Everyone keeps talking about seeing a ghost. I was all in wanting to know about this ghost.

I should also mention some quirky characters, fast pace and I learned a little about Chinese art. And you’ll never look at a macaque the same way again.

I was gripped from the start and didn’t want to stop reading.

After Grace watches her uncle get murdered by what looks to her like a ghost she fleas the museum where he worked then runs into Sally May after Sally informs Kate of the circumstances of finding her new charge. 11-year-old Grace has 1 million questions but so does sally she will teach the girls survival skills and ways to avoid the bad men that are after her more than that Sally will search them out. I was so glad Sally was in most of this book I love the smart Whitty Kate Weathers mysteries I have brought all of the books acceptable which I am soon going to wreck the thigh. Kate is a great intelligent PI and Sally is a bad ass female and when she’s in the book I know I’m going to love it and although I enjoyed the last book that mainly had Kate I enjoyed so much more when Sally is involved this is a truly great book for any mystery fan especially those who are into things to do with Asian culture or anything with an international flair. I want to think the publisher the author and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Fast paced, action packed, quirky characters, a gripping plot that kept me hooked.
Had a lot of fun
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Within a few pages of commencing Hanging the Devil, the sixth in a San Francisco crime fiction series featuring private investigator Cape Weathers, by Tim Maleeny, something about the confident style, the sassy dialogue, and the kinetic plotting reminded me of that grandmaster of the genre, Stuart M. Kaminsky. The comparison only goes so far—Maleeny maxes out on humor—but it remained apt for the rest of the evening it took me to rocket through this engaging, fascinating novel. Revolving around an eleven-year-old illegal immigrant girl from Hong Kong, who witnesses a daring art museum heist seemingly perpetrated by a ghost, Hanging the Devil sees our PI hero, Cape Weathers, and his crime solving partner, ninja-style Sally Mei, navigate the murky depths of the city's Chinese and Russian crime gangs. Blithe inventiveness suffuses every page, all the characters joke through even the direst of situations, and the chapter-to-chapter jumps are a pleasure in themselves. Such a pleasure and one that will send me back to the earlier five books in the series!

Hanging the Devil (Poisoned Pen Press, November 2023) is the fifth book about private investigator Cape Weather which Tim Maleeny has been leisurely producing over a span of several years. The first volume of this fine series was published in 2007 and we’re only getting #5 some 16 years later. Some of us wish he could write a bit faster. On the other hand, we have plenty of time to savor each title about Weathers and his sidekick Sally Mei, trained by the Triad as an assassin and now watching over San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Mei is just the right person for Grace, an eleven-year-old girl in trouble, to find. Grace was in the Asian Art Museum, where her uncle was security guard, when a helicopter crashed into one of the plate glass windows in an attempted robbery. The crash killed the pilot and Grace’s uncle but the robbers swept through the museum anyway and took a valuable Buddha before the police arrived. They saw Grace and gave chase but she escaped and Sally hid her in her secure loft apartment. Sally views any crime in Chinatown as a personal affront, and she enlists Weathers to assist her in identifying the lowlifes who had the impudence to raid the museum. The scene shifts periodically to Hong Kong, where Grace’s father Wen is imprisoned for his incorrect political views and he discovers some chilling medical experiments underway in the jail.

The plot threads link seamlessly across the major elements down to the final words in each chapter beginning the next one. Very slick. The action is nonstop and the points of view are complex, as the crime draws together Chinese mobsters, Russian gangsters, an Interpol agent, and the local police, along with Grace, Weathers, and Mei. The Chinatown setting is rife with realistic detail, reflecting Maleeny’s long association with the area. Amusing dialogue and polished writing top off a very good read. Highly recommended.

Starred review from Library Journal and LJ’’s September Mystery Pick of the Month.

I read this latest in a series as a standalone and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's fast paced, it's twisty, I learned something about the art world, and it kept me rooting for young Grace who is present when a helicopter of thieves crashes in the museum where her uncle-the only person she has in the world-is the night guard. Whew. Turns out there's a ghost, a Chinese ghost, who has been stealing Chinese art from museums around the world and Maria, an Interpol agent is on his tail. Except that now he's got Cape and Sally after him too, as well as a local San Francisco Russian mobster. While most of the action takes place in San Francisco, there's also compelling events back in China (no spoilers). There's a fair amount of violence but there's also some quite sweet parts and a delightful small twist at the end. Thanks to netgalley for the arc. Excellent escapist read.

Crime, art, unique characters, humor, and action combine to bring readers a great read in the fifth book in Tim Maleeny’s Cape Weathers Mysteries series. A simple theft of four of the museum’s paintings was supposed to be an easy job. The thieves have flawless forgeries to leave in their place. However, a helicopter crashed turns it into a heartbreaking event as eleven-year-old Grace sees her uncle killed. Two men and a ghost had exited the helicopter. Grace flees and is found by Sally Mei who trains her in basic survival skills as her partner Cape Weathers, a private detective, searches for the crew behind the robbery.

Grace is precocious, but she can be impulsive and changes tactics when she meets resistance. Sally looks out for others in her community and is skilled in martial arts. Cape is forward, assertive, and often has his cars blown up during his cases.

The exciting scenes and extraordinary characters drew me into the story. The writing flows well and the various conflicts move the story forward with some unexpected twists. It is unsettling at times, heartbreaking at other times, but always keeping me on the edge of my seat. The brisk pacing, diverse characterization, and superb plot made this a fast read.

Overall, the book was suspenseful, action-packed, and filled with great characters. This is my first novel by this author, but I am looking forward to reading others.

Poisoned Pen Press and Tim Maleeny provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for November 14, 2023.

Entertaining mystery with unique and quirky characters that complement each other. While the characters have quirk, the action and mystery is real, handled deftly and keeping the tension throughout. This was my first Maleeny novel and I’ve seen enough that I’d like to go back to the first of the series.

As if Grace’s life hasn’t seen enough upheaval. Her father has sent her to her uncle in San Francisco. He works a night shift as a guard in a museum and takes Grace with him to work. When a helicopter crashes, not only is her uncle killed, but some ruthless men mean that this 11-year-old is now running for her life.
Her luck is about to change though, as she runs straight into Sally. Not only is she a good person, but she is also tough and works with a private investigator, Cape.
As you might imagine, Cape, Sally, and Grace have to confront a lot, and I mean a lot of obstacles, if they want to survive. I actually didn’t realize this was part of a series when I requested it. To me, it worked as a standalone,but I would like to go back and read the other books. I really liked Sally and Cape and I’m interested to learn more about their back stories. I wish that I was as smart and tenacious as Grace when I was 11.
A story that kept me intrigued, great characters, and a solid plot. Who could ask for anything more!