SINGAPORE TRANSFER

A loony, far-fetched caper in which journalist/consultant Jeffrey Dean is approached by an emissary of Singapore's prime minister, who'd like him to ghost the PM's book on economics. So off Dean goes to Singapore, where he bumps into gorgeous US Customs agent Leilani Martin, who's on the trail of smugglers of ancient jade cicada ornaments. Or is she? While in her company, Dean is shot at, chased, tossed into the China Sea, and finally—with canceled book-contract in hand—expelled from the country. Meanwhile, back in Hawaii, where the cicadas first cropped up, Leilani's Customs' partners—smarmy lecher Spelling and the inscrutable Chow—have a line on the smuggling operation that involves Japanese tourists to Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona, and some underwater shenanigans. A few people get killed, a few switch allegiances, and Dean gets the girl—sort of. Lightweight stuff, but without the light touch of two previous Dean adventures, Hardcover and Fatal Impressions.