The Killing Hands

The Killing Hands centers around an FBI Profiler, Agent Sophie Anderson, working out of the L.A. Bureau. She is assigned to do a profile of an unusual murder of an unknown Asian man. When the murdered man is identified as using false identification and turns out to be the missing son of a key figure of the Yakuza, an Asian Organized Crime Family in China, Agent Sophie finds herself following a trail originating from China and now doing business in the US. Many government agencies work together from US to China to solve this for hire murder. The name of this book is a Kung Fu technique you will learn all about as you follow Agent Anderson in working out a profile of the hired killer. This book is a page turner with a mixture of technical information and the personal lives of the people involved.

Because of the odd wound at the victim's throat LAPD asks the FBI for assistance on this homicide. Los Angeles based agent Sophie Anderson is assigned to help resolve how the person died. The Austrian expatriate profiler agrees with the assessment no knife was used as the forensic evidence is lacking. Finally, Sophie concludes the predator is a grandmaster martial arts black belt who literally ripped open the throat of the deceased. The corpse's identity also proves a puzzler as Saito Jun has been in hiding for about fifteen years. His appearance begs more questions than his vicious murder as he had ties to an Asian mob. Sophie fears his death means more than just a simple murder. The latest Sophie Anderson FBI police procedural (see The Murderer's Club, Fan Mail and Body Count) is a refreshing entry due to who the victim is, why he suddenly resurfaces after a long hiatus and how he dies. Sophie is at her best as she puts together the how and ultimately struggles with the who and why, especially proving the actual person behind the murder and not just the Killing Hands of the hired gun. Harriet Klausner