Stephen J. Cannell was one of the greatest story-tellers of these United States, and "Riding the Snake" is one of his greatest stories.
And despite its 1998 publication date, it's very timely, and very relevant today to us in these United States, especially with the Biden family in the White House (this review is being written in 2023) and its connections to certain foreign nations.
Author Cannell was remarkably inventive and creative, and the plot of "Riding the Snake" is intricate and complex, and it involves dozens of characters.
Among them are racists, upper-economic-class members of high society, extremely poor residents of U.S. and Chinese slums, power-seeking politicians and bureaucrats, vicious criminals, Chinese communist imperialists, and thousands of innocent victims.
"Riding the Snake" will encourage a reader to learn about history, about geography, and about what some call "realpolitik."
It is one of the best books I've read lately, and I strongly recommend it. ( )

PLOT OR PREMISE:
Stephen J. Cannell is an expert at pulling PR successes with fluff on the TV airwaves. This book is no exception. It takes a wealthy playboy (who never measured up to his father's standards) and a black female cop (who came from the streets) and throws them together to investigate a crime committed by Asian tongs. About the only thing missing from the demographics are gays because we also have Russians and international intrigue. The short plot summary is that playboy Wheeler Cassidy loses his seemingly straight-laced brother to an Asian tong war involving immigrants "riding the snake" to America and the "free" elections in Hong Kong as it reverts to Chinese rule. Along as his investigative partner is a black cop, Tanisha Williams, being investigated for having ties still to her "hood", and therefore assigned to a desk in the Asian bureau of the LAPD. She investigates the death of Cassidy's brother, and the brother's secretary, and it all leads off to Hong Kong -- taxi!
.
WHAT I LIKED:
A weird series of events leads from Hong Kong back to L.A. and more fights with the tongs, and a Russian nuclear bomb that has been smuggled into L.A.
.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Basically, the writing is fine, but the story is what happens when you take a Tom Clancy-type story, and replace the spooks with characters from your average cop story on TV, and run it along the same TV format plot lines. No depth here, but he hits all the major story headlines from popular press.
.
BOTTOM-LINE:
Holes all over the place but fun ride
.
DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him / her on social media. ( )

Cannell is an action TV guy, so you'd expect this to read like an action show. Aging playboy Wheeler works with a female African-American LAPD detective to investigate the murder of his seemingly perfect brother. They run up against evil Chinese gangsters. Violent and fast-moving, not really for me. ( )