Five-Ring Circus
by Jon Cleary
When Australian homicide detective Inspector Scobie Malone is treating his family to dinner at one of Sydney's best Chinese restaurants, a masked killer suddenly enters and shoots three men dining nearby. The stakes are raised when Scobie finds out that one of the victims was an investor in the multimillion-dollar construction project Olympic Tower, built to house VIPs during the 2000 Olympic Games. But in the midst of union disputes and an economic slump, the tower is still unfinished. Scobie has stumbled upon a scam that could show Sydney's underbelly as much as it shows its seedy characters—from former Chinese government men to the mysterious Madame Tzu. Even as the Olympics approach, sportsmanship is nowhere to be found.