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“The most essential San Francisco novel since The Maltese Falcon."
—Marcia DeSanctis, author of A Hard Place to Leave
Three crimes. Three centuries. One truth.
In 1990, San Francisco investigator George Krishna Walker battles corrupt police, international organized crime rings, and the ghosts of his own past to solve related cases that span 350 years.
He is hired by old flame Hannah Rose to investigate the death of her father, a former district attorney killed by a cable car in what police quickly dismiss as an accident. Walker and Hannah share a complicated past, and as he begins asking questions, old feelings resurface, along with troubling evidence that the death was anything but accidental. The deeper he digs, the clearer it becomes that the truth behind Harrison Rose’s death is far more dangerous than anyone imagined.
Walker’s search leads him through San Francisco neighborhoods—Chinatown, North Beach, the waterfront—where he relies on an eclectic network of allies, including a teenage forensics prodigy, a philosophizing taxi driver, Homicide Detail partners, and a waterfront psychic who shares his past in India. The investigation deepens when he and Hannah discover documents in her father’s possession connected to the Hurricane, a Gold Rush–era ship captained by her ancestor—and a priceless Inca dagger missing from her father’s house.
Those documents point to a larger mystery: an international artifact theft ring, a corrupt UC Berkeley archaeologist determined to locate the long-buried wreck of the Hurricane, and rumors of a legendary ransom of Inca gold tied to the ship’s cargo. As Walker follows the trail from San Francisco’s buried Gold Rush waterfront to the Peruvian jungle, he uncovers links to a long-dormant police corruption case—and finds himself pursued by dangerous men willing to kill to claim what they want.
“After reading just a few pages of Passage of the Hurricane, I was hooked and couldn't stop! With its richly drawn characters, lively dialogue, and evocative descriptions of San Francisco, it’s a fantastic, riveting tale.” —Don George, author of The Way of Wanderlust
“The mysteries keep evolving and shifting. From drugs to prostitution to smuggling to murder. Could there be more? Yes, of course. And you never want it to end.” —Tania Romanov, author of One Hundred Years of Exile
“Passage of the Hurricane is more than just a terrific mystery novel—James Lawrence draws you almost magically into historical times and places. It is as much a gripping detective story as it is a mesmerizing dive into the past. Pure gold.” —Gary Buslik, author of A Rotten Person Travels the Caribbean
“Passage of the Hurricane is the most riveting and propulsive thriller I have read in years, and a remarkable literary achievement from James Lawrence. Seamlessly plotted, brilliantly researched, the novel is packed with crackling, chewy dialogue delivered by unforgettable and instantly iconic characters. Chief among them is Private Investigator George Krishna Walker, a Sam Spade for our time, whose crime-solving adventure gripped me unrelentingly from the first page and did not let me go until the last. Along the way, the reader is swept back into the history of clipper ships, Spanish missionaries, and the Gold Rush that helped create the great City by the Bay. The book is also a kind of love letter to San Francisco itself—its fog, Chinatown dives, secret gardens, and Golden Gate Bridge that crowns it all—which provides perfect romantic backdrop for the twists and turns of this meticulously crafted yarn. Sequel, please!” —Marcia DeSanctis, author of A Hard Place to Leave
James Lawrence is a pseudonym for the writing team of James O’Reilly and Larry Habegger, who have worked together on literary projects since the 1980s. An earlier version of Passage of the Hurricane appeared in the San Francisco Examiner as a daily serial in 1982, followed over the next few years by three reader-participation mysteries. James and Larry have also written dozens of stories for magazines and newspapers and co-authored a syndicated newspaper column that appeared in five countries over thirty-two years.
In 1993 they launched the award-winning Travelers’ Tales publishing company, which has published more than 170 books of travel literature, memoir, and the occasional work of fiction. James and Larry have worked together on all of these books.
James was born in Oxford, England, grew up in San Francisco, and now lives with his wife Wenda on the banks of the Icicle River in Central Washington. Larry lives with his wife Paula Mc Cabe on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, where he looks down at the waterfront and ponders the mysteries concealed beneath the piers.Part One
Gold Mountain
Part Two
Child of the Sun
Part Three
City of Saint Francis