Three Bullet Opera

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Imprint: Writ Large Press (Nov 01, 2025)
Fiction, Paperback, 228 pages
Publisher: Writ Large Press

    Description of Three Bullet Opera

    Former Army investigator and ex–Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputy Jackie Alvarez is drawn into a dangerous new case when her longtime friend, the neighborhood’s patron saint, Sister Rosa Vu, asks her to investigate a killing in Koreatown involving one of Vu’s troubled protégés.

    What begins as a murder investigation quickly spirals into something far more sinister. Jackie finds herself battling ninjas wielding electrified samurai swords, evading weaponized drones intent on blowing her out of the sky, and uncovering a secret headquarters hidden beneath an ordinary apartment building in Inglewood.

    As the mystery deepens, Jackie discovers that the mastermind behind the chaos is none other than Dr. Mabuse, the legendary international criminal long believed dead. Gifted with the ability to astrally project his consciousness into others, hypnotize victims from afar, and now seize control of machines through the power of his mind, Mabuse has set his sights on dominating Los Angeles—and eventually the entire state.

    To stop him, Jackie must rely on her investigative instincts, military training, and unbreakable determination. Facing an enemy who can manipulate both people and technology, she races against time to unravel Mabuse’s scheme before his ambitions plunge the city into chaos and the final aria of the Three Bullet Opera is sung for her.

    Blending crime fiction, pulp adventure, martial arts action, and high-tech intrigue, this fast-paced thriller pits a relentless heroine against one of fiction’s most enduring master villains in a battle for the soul of Los Angeles.

    Gary Phillips

    About Gary Phillips

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