The Chairman's Toys

April 9, 2018
Set in Vancouver, B.C., Canadian author Reed’s quirky first novel introduces Jake Constable, whom his ex-wife, Nina, describes as “a semi-employed, semi-reformed drug dealer coming up fast on his forties.” A party that Jake is hosting at the $20-million mansion belonging to Chinese entrepreneur Mickey Wu, for whom he’s housesitting, comes to an abrupt end when he receives a text from his pal Richard telling him “there’s a dead guy in the bathroom.” Soon Jake is chasing and being chased by his former marijuana distributor (known as the Norwegian), Mickey and his minions, agents from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, and the deputy director of the Department of Infrastructure Development in the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who happens to be Nina’s uncle and business partner in her real estate firm. Jake, whose philosophy is “life is often less about making good decisions than figuring out how to live with bad ones,” takes the reader on a fast, furious, and often hilarious tour. Watching him zigzag through the twisting plot is pure pleasure.

July 1, 2018

Jake Constable gives up his marijuana-growing business and tries to go straight and live a normal life in Vancouver, BC. But what's normal when you're divorced and housesitting for your ex-wife's wealthy Chinese real estate clients? Jake celebrates his new job by throwing a party that spirals out of control when he finds a corpse in the bathroom just as he's being confronted by the Norwegian, a former business partner with a big grudge. Then his best friends, a gay couple, are kidnapped. Maybe Jake should team up with a sexy sales rep to find them. His other option is to work with his ex-wife's uncle who arrives with two secret agents of the Chinese government. The situation grows more dire when Jake has to be rescued by his mother, a Coast Guard captain. VERDICT This debut comic caper provides plenty of nonstop criminal action and introduces an unconventional antihero who will appeal to fans of Tim Dorsey and Lou Berney.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2018
In Vancouver, an ex-drug dealer's plan to clean up his act is complicated by a vengeful former partner, a corpse in the bathroom, and other outrageous obstacles.Jake Constable's housesitting gig for wealthy Mickey Wu, "the Underwear King of Beijing," is a good move in support of Jake's resolve to leave his criminal past behind. But when his friend Richard, who co-owns Buff, a cleaning business, with Dante, his partner in love and business, convinces Jake to throw a party, that's a bad move, because Jake's former criminal crony, "The Norwegian," shows up uninvited. Matters go from bad to worse when Richard finds an anonymous corpse in the bathroom. Arriving home unexpectedly, Wu throws the duo out, and Jake's ex-wife, Nina, a realtor who got him the housesitting job, offers no help. To top it all off, when Jake gets home, he finds that his place has been ransacked. The next day, The Norwegian shows up with a vague but not idle threat. The whole incident shines an unfortunate light on Wu, the chairman of the title, whose possibly less-than-legitimate business operations occasion a surprise visit from two officious Chinese men in suits. Then Dante goes missing. With such a long investigative to-do list, including identifying the corpse, it's hard to know where to begin. Is the addition of Dante's bubbly upstairs neighbor and bestie Wendy a help or a distraction?Reed's lively mystery debut may be overloaded with colorful characters and tricky subplots, but too much of a good thing is still a good thing.

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May 1, 2018
Weed-dealer-turned-housesitter Jake Constable has a little house party at the Vancouver, B.C., mansion where he's currently staying. He has bigger problems than a ransacked liquor cabinet when he finds a dead body in the bathroom. Just as he and his friends are about to remove the body, the homeowner returns and insists on taking care of disposal himself, leaving Jake to wonder if the dead man wasn't a random partygoer but rather someone there to see the supposedly-out-of-town owner, who, it turns out, has made a few enemies back in China with his profitable but culturally insensitive Mao Tse Thong underwear line. Constable is a likable loser, tight with his friends and still flirting with his ex-wife, and he definitely belongs on your short list of amiable stoner sleuths, along with Bart Schneider's Augie Boyer and Hal Ackerman's Harry Stein. The dark-comedy aspect of this debut will also appeal to fans of Chris Knopf, David Freed, and Tim Cockey.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)