THE CASE OF THE CHINESE BOXES

Sydney: Australia: Allen & Unwin, 1992. No US edition. 2nd prtg. A fine unread copy of Trade size paperback with pages showing light age toning. Following on from THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF HARRY LAVENDER, the book that introduced tough Sydney private investigator Claudia Valentine comes this second book in the series. It's now 1988, the year of Australia's Bicentennial and there's a lot of celebrating going on. But the National Australia Bank aren't celebrating. They've just been knocked over in one of the biggest, most daring robberies in Australia's history and the fall-out is about to land in Claudia's lap. Like the first book it's a traditional PI story that starts out with few leads before careful digging unearths an unexpected twist and some villains not happy with the attention. Claudia is hired by Charles Chen and his mother Victoria to recover a lost key that had been stolen from a bank safe deposit box during a recent daring bank robbery. The key is particularly ornate and apparently opens some traditional Buddhist Chinese Boxes, but more importantly, is a symbol of the family's power and standing in the community. This case will not only take Claudia out of her comfort zone and into the underworld dominated by the dangerous Chinese Triads who rule Chinatown, but it will also take her to parts of Sydney that she never knew existed and, for her own safety, perhaps wished she still didn't know.. 2nd Printing. Pictorial Cover. Fine/No Jacket. Trade Paperback.