Greasing the Piñata: A Cape Weathers Investigation

Tim Maleeny
Poisoned Pen Press (2008)
ISBN 9781590585665
Reviewed by Sandra M. Webster for Reader Views  (8/08)


“But this is Mexico. Anything can happen.” Truer words have never been spoken, as wisecracking former reporter turned private investigator, Cape Weathers, learns on his most recent case when he is hired to find a missing former U.S. Senator and his less than law-abiding son in “Greasing the Piñata,” by Tim Maleeny.

Rebecca Lowry was exiled early in her father’s, “the Senator’s,” political career. She is hurt and bitter by the estrangement, but becomes concerned when her father disappears shortly after her brother; whom she loves despite his many faults, comes up missing.

Cape’s search takes him across the border to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In a place that caters to turista, it is a little unsettling when body parts belonging to three different men turn up in an alligator-infested pond on the golf course of a swanky hotel. The parts are quickly identified as belonging to the missing Senator Jim Dobbins, his son Danny and a thug who worked for a local drug lord. Cause of death--a midnight snack by the aforementioned gators.

This should be the end of the case, but Cape has a thing for damsels in distress, and his gut tells him Rebecca won’t be safe until he finds out what really happened. Unfortunately, Cape attracts trouble like flies to a bad smell and is soon in the middle of much more than he can handle on his own, and calls in backup after someone leaves a special gift in his toilet.

Sally was orphaned at a young age when the Chinese yakuza murdered her parents. Of mixed Japanese and American heritage, she is taken to a special school run by the triads to be trained as an assassin. She learns her job a little too well and breaks free when they try to kill her. She is offered the job of coming to Mexico to watch Cape’s back and help find his client who has now been kidnapped after receiving a note signed by Cape. Trouble is, Cape didn’t write it and is determined to find Rebecca before she, too, ends up like the rest of her family.

Follow this dynamic duo as the case leads from the corporate boardrooms of San Francisco to the down-and-dirty drug cartels in Mexico, as they meet (and piss off) characters more colorful than a whole Mexican fiesta.

Tim Maleeny’s third installment in the Cape Weathers Investigation series, “Greasing the Piñata,” is just as potent as the tequila that knocks his main character on his ass. You’ll definitely thirst for more and enjoy the taste whether you are male or female!

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