(Hardcover, July 2022) (Paperback, July 2023)
Daniel Nieh
Take No Names
(Ecco, July 2022)
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
Read Daniel Nieh’s Review of Every Man a King in The New York Times
Publishers Weekly Top 10 Spring 22 Mysteries and Thrillers
Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books 2022 Spring/Summer ‘Emerging Voices’ pick
Featured on New York Times “12 New Books Coming in July”
Featured on USA Today’s “20 Summer books We Can’t Wait to Read”
A riveting thriller about a fugitive in search of a quick payday in Mexico City who finds himself in the crosshairs of a dangerous international scheme
Victor Li is a man without a past. To his new employer, Mark, he’s just an anonymous hired hand to help with the dirty work. Together, they break into storage units that contain the possessions of the recently deported, pocketing whatever is worth selling. Only Victor and his sister, Jules, know that he’s a wanted man.
Amid the backpacks and suitcases, Victor makes the find of a lifetime: a gem rare and valuable enough to change his fortunes in an instant. But selling it on the sly? Nearly impossible. Thankfully, its former owner, a woman named Song Fei, also left a book of cryptic notes—including the name of a gemstone dealer in Mexico City.
When Victor and Mark cross the southern border, they quickly realize that this gem is wrapped up in a much larger scheme than they imagined. In Mexico City, shadowy international interests are jockeying for power, and they may need someone with Victor’s talents—the same ones that got him in trouble in the first place.
On the heels of his knockout debut Beijing Payback, Daniel Nieh delivers Take No Names, a white-knuckled and whip-smart thriller that races to an electrifying finish.
Praise for Take No Names
“Combines biting humor, breathless action scenes, a clever presentation of mixed languages, and dark geopolitical commentary, including an indictment of America’s own duplicity. It’s a lot of fun. A cutting thriller with nonstop action and twisty consequences.”
—Kirkus Reviews
‘Fasten those seatbelts and hold on tight. From the first page to the last of this puzzling thriller, Daniel Nieh keeps readers guessing with unanticipated twists and hairpin curves taken at breakneck speed.’
—Asia by the Book
“I blasted through this novel in one night! Take No Namescombines striking characters, edgy prose, and a riveting plot that kept me guessing. Daniel Nieh skillfully blends his characters’ personal journeys with geopolitical tension and drama. Victor Li is one of the most memorable characters in years, and this gripping novel is a worthy successor to Nieh’s fantastic debut, Beijing Payback. Don’t miss this one.”
—David Heska Wanbli Weiden, author of Winter Counts
“Take No Names is a smart, captivating thriller about desperate characters caught up in the lies and machinations of the global power game. Daniel Nieh writes convincingly about both international intrigue and the personal relationships between reluctant outlaw Victor Li and his merry band of co-conspirators. Their hopes and loyalties anchor a story of greed and destruction, the mercenary battle for cold hard money and world domination.”
—Steph Cha, author of Your House Will Pay
“A smart, worldly, and deeply informed thriller. Take No Names deals with contemporary geopolitical realities while never losing sight of distinctions between individual characters. In the hands of a lesser author, the themes might have read as didactic: anti-Asian racism in the US, China’s economic incursions into developing nations, undocumented immigration between California and Mexico, the trauma of America’s war veterans, and a mercenary American presence in a nation trying to form its own destiny. But with Nieh’s plotting, each element hangs together, clicking into place like a puzzle box, making us invest in the characters’ attempts to survive, solve, and subvert it all. The dialogue is frequently clever and funny, and the characters are fully, humanely drawn, even those with brief cameos. . . . With the artful use of Mandarin characters, compelling characters, and a rich sense of multiple settings, Take No Names invites readers into a cross-cultural page-turner. Readers will hesitate to leave the book before discovering its end.”
—Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
Read the New York Times review of TAKE NO NAMES
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Daniel Nieh is a translator and writer. He grew up in Portland, Oregon, and has also lived in China, Japan, Singapore, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post and the New York Times.