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Book: “Hanging the Devil” by Tim Maleeny
Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, November 2023
Where Did I Get This Book: I received a finished copy from the publisher.
Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound
Book Description: It was supposed to be a simple steal the paintings, leave the forgeries… When a helicopter crashes through the skylight of the Asian Art Museum, an audacious heist turns into a tragedy. The only witness to the crash is eleven-year-old Grace, who watches in horror as her uncle is killed and a priceless statue stolen by two men and a―ghost? At least that’s how the eerie, smoke-like figure with parchment skin and floating hair appears to Grace. Scared almost to death, she flees into the night and seeks refuge in the back alleys of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Grace is found by Sally Mei, self-appointed guardian of Chinatown. While Sally trains Grace in basic survival skills, her erstwhile partner Cape Weathers, private detective and public nuisance, searches for the mysterious crew behind the robbery before they strike the museum a second time. As the clock winds down, Cape enlists aid from some unlikely allies to lay a trap for a ghost who has no intention of being caught―nor of leaving any witnesses alive to tell the tale.
Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Wunderkind PR for sending me a print copy of this novel!
While I tend to branch out quite a bit in the horror genre into many a sub genre, when it comes to Thrillers I really tend to stick to a couple, rarely deviating. I love psychological thrillers, procedurals, and historical thrillers (and both of those sub genres have many branches), but rarely do I stray out from those. But sometimes I like to take a chance, and when I was approached with “Hanging the Devil” by Tim Maleeny, an action thriller with a heist theme at its center, I decided to give it a go. I like trying new things, and since it’s a new year I thought that it could be a good time to work on that, reading wise. It’s always a risk, and it wasn’t one that completely paid off in this case.
But first the good, and that probably applies to a LOT of people who could be a potential audience for it. The heist storyline, the international intrigue, and the cast of characters is the perfect combination for one of those 2000s and 2010s USA shows like “Burn Notice”, “Psych”, and “Monk”. Whether it’s sarcastic PI Cape Weathers or badass fighter Sally or precocious Grace, the characters are fun and fizzy and have the exact kind of jaunty chemistry that makes for a jovial cast. The action is very visual in the descriptions, and I had no problem visualizing it as I was reading it, from foot chases to fights to the helicopter crash from the jump. I also enjoyed the discussion of the ethics of art and museums and how collections came to be, and who has the rights to have the pieces and whether these pieces should be returned to their countries of origin. Repatriation of art has been a more discussed topic in recent years, and as someone who used to work in museums (one of which did have some discussion about repatriation regarding parts of its collection) it’s always gratifying to see themes like these discussed in places that I don’t expect it as much. It’s also important to note that this is the fifth book in an ongoing series, but Maleeny does a good enough job with the characters and the need to know information that I didn’t feel terribly lost even without the context of four prior outings with plot and character development.
But I think that at the end of the day, “Hanging the Devil” was a mismatched reading choice for me because I still just can’t quite get on board with heist stories. It’s a thriller sub genre that does very little for me, and while the focus was on the people who were trying to solve who was behind the heist and not the heist itself, it still felt within that kind of tale, and that, overall, doesn’t connect with me. I’m always trying to retry sub genres or story types that don’t suit me just in case something clicks, and enough about “Hanging the Devil” clicked that I found it entertaining (again, the similarities to the aforementioned TV shows really helped because I loved those kinds of shows back in the day). I think that fans of action packed thrillers dealing with underworld mayhem and daring do would probably like this book (and the rest of the series), so while it didn’t hit every mark I had hoped it would, it will probably hit them for fans of the sub genre and its conventions.
“Hanging the Devil” is entertaining and fast paced, an action thriller with humor and heart. If you consider yourself a fan of heist stories and the dramedies of the USA Network, it could be a fun read this winter!
Rating 6: It’s an entertaining romp that would work SUPER well on the screen, but overall the sub genre isn’t really the kind of thriller I connect with.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Hanging the Devil” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on “Thievery Tales”.
The Library Ladies 