I got this softcover from an online seller. It appears that central character Nick appeared in previous books, as a small child; by this point, though, it's 2025, and San Francisco is still recovering from a major earthquake in 2020. The story opens with a break-in at Han-ch'i-wangs Chinese Antiques, run by gay couple Warren Ch'u and Marsh Eliot (nicknamed "Silky" for his flaxen hair). They wind up scaring off the burglar in fabulous fashion - Warren doesn't waste time finding clothing, only donning footgear to protect his feet from any broken glass, so the crook finds himself set upon by a muscular and totally nude man in pink fluffy slippers {wry grin}.

Turns out the item the burglar wanted wasn't in the shop at all, but the attempted theft tips off the couple, and they let their contacts know, and soon Nick gets involved in tracking down some very unusual artifacts while trying to evade the dangerous parties that also want them.

I admit that I wanted more from Warren and Eliot, but Nick and Amy and John and Wiggins were entertaining and the plot moved pretty quickly. (The author's habit of italicizing everything from shop names to trademarked items to foreign phrases (even when they're in common use in English) bugged me, though; not all of those things needed italics!)

I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2018 September Sapphire release challenge. ***