Nergui, the former head of the Mongolian Serious Crime Team, and his successor and protégé, Doripalam, take on Muunokhoi, Mongolia’s top crime boss, in Walters’s nifty follow-up to The Shadow Walker
(2008). The vacuum left by the breakup of the Soviet Union created an opportunity that Muunokhoi was quick to exploit, and since then he’s become so powerful that he’s virtually untouchable. Nergui and Doripalam, who face an uphill battle to reform Ulan Baatar’s corrupt and inept police force, are embarrassed when faked police evidence ruins their case against the gangster in the courtroom. A race for long-hidden (and perhaps nonexistent) evidence that might incriminate Muunokhoi leads to kidnappings and murder. Nicely plotted with interesting secondary characters, this mystery is also notable for glimpses of the turmoil the ancient Mongolian nation is undergoing in its transformation to a modern democracy. (Mar.)
