“Will you please wait!”

I shake my bag of steamed pork buns at Uncle, also known as Lee Chang, a former Shanghainese triad enforcer and my North Dakota Norwegian father’s head Chinese restaurant cook back in Los Angeles. Uncle had preempted my return home from Hong Kong—a business trip with my mother gone horribly wrong—with a desperate plea for help.

Okay, maybe “desperate” is a bit overplayed. More like calling in a recent debt.

After Uncle reconnected with the Scorpion Black Society to help me and Ma in Hong Kong, he assumed I would return the favor in Shanghai. He wasn’t wrong. I honor my debts, especially when it would help a loyal friend find and rescue his twelve-year-old grandniece.

That said, I had been chasing Uncle through the Former French Concession, luggage in tow, since we emerged from the Shanghai metro station. Would it kill him to stop for one minute so I could eat the char siu bao in peace?

“Hurry up, lazy girl. We haven’t got all day.”

Uncle is the only person on the planet who would call me—Lily Wong, a twenty-five-year-old modern-day ninja who had trained in the martial arts since I was five and who biked across Los Angeles almost daily because I refused to own a car—lazy.

Then again, Uncle had known me from birth. Longer than Sensei, who had taught me the ninja arts in secret since I was twelve. Longer than I had known my younger sister before her murderer ripped out my heart. Long before I abandoned my college aspirations and dedicated my ninja skills to rescuing and protecting women and children in need.

During the last seven years, Uncle had prodded me with snide comments and surprise attacks camouflaged as kitchen accidents to keep me alert. He knew my secrets and never said a word.

He called seconds before I checked in for my flight home from Hong Kong. “Can you fly here instead?”

“Where’s here?”

“Shanghai.”

I touched down a few hours later and have raced after Uncle ever since.

I would risk anything for Lee Chang. I only hoped I wasn’t chasing my own death.

The Ninja’s Oath, A Lily Wong Mystery Book #4
Genre: Thriller
Release: September 2023
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

The Ninja’s Oath takes Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja, Lily Wong, to Shanghai in an explosive joint mission with her father’s former-triad cook and the assassin J Tran. Get ready for the riveting next book in Tori Eldridge’s bestselling Lily Wong series!

International action adventure ensues when Lily Wong—a Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja—travels from Shanghai to Japan to help family friend and former triad enforcer, Lee Chang, locate and rescue his kidnapped twelve-year-old niece while, back home in Los Angeles, her father’s health wanes.

Their mission is aided and complicated by an enigmatic assassin with a discomforting fascination for Lily. When the hunt for the niece leads to another missing relative, the trio of dangerous heroes—ninja, triad, and assassin—are pitted against an even greater foe. Meanwhile, Chang’s family must be moved from the shikumen house in Old Shanghai before the government tears it down. This would be simpler if not for the feud between brothers and the old resentments and intrigues entwined with the stunning history of the city itself.

Lily is pushed to her limits as she faces potentially insurmountable odds and worries about her father’s undiagnosed disease. At the same time, she is shocked by the true identity of her ninja teacher—known only Sensei—and the truth behind why he left Japan.

About the author
Tori Eldridge is the bestselling author of the Lily Wong Thriller Series, two-time Anthony Award nominee, Lefty and Macavity Awards finalist, and winner of the 2021 Crimson Scribe for Best Book of the Year. Tori’s Brazilian dark fantasy, Dance Among The Flames, was inspired by her Academy Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist screenplay. Her shorter works appear in numerous anthologies including Crime Hits Home. Before writing, Tori performed as an actress, singer, dancer on Broadway, television, and film, and earned a 5th degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts. Read The Ninja’s Oath this week to chat about it in Tori’s Virtual Book Club on Wednesday, September 20. Visit the Lily Wong Readers page for discussion questions, videos, recipes, and more!

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