It’s pure white, deep blue… and dirty all over.Nam Ton ware – centuries-old ceramics from Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle – captivated the DeWitt Agency’s tech-tycoon client. Now Immigration and Customs Enforcement is on his case for buying smuggled antiquities. To get immunity, he’s hired the agency to run an off-books investigation into Nam Ton’s source.Disgraced ex-L.A. gallerist and ex-con … ex-L.A. gallerist and ex-con Matt Friedrich is in charge. If he finishes within sixty days, he’ll earn an early end to his probation. If he doesn’t, he may go back to prison for bending the federal criminal code into a pretzel.
Soon enough, Matt’s in San Francisco, getting tight with Savannah, the client’s beautiful art advisor, to scam his way into the smuggling operation. As the burglary, blackmail, tax evasion and customs fraud piles up and Matt finds himself sandwiched in a federal turf war, he realizes he’s in way over his head with no good way out. And that’s before he ends up in a real live jungle.
Matt’s dealing with a type of art he knows nothing about from an area he’s seen only in war movies. Now the fate of some trafficked pottery may decide whether Matt gets his freedom… or spends a long stretch in a concrete cell.
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5 Star
Chasing Clay (The DeWitt Agency Files Book 3) by Lance Charnes is a suspenseful yet intriguing story with twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what happens next. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading. Matt’s a smart yet very resourceful man who is a ex-con. He’s been promised an early release from probation if he can finish a job in sixty days. He soon finds himself to be in way over his head. The job involves Nam Ton ware that’s be trafficked . Can Matt figure out where the pottery is from? What does Matt’s future look like? Find out what happens next in this must read. I look forward to reading more from this Author.
Chasing Clay (The DeWitt Agency Files Book 3) by Lance Charnes was an intriguing and mysterious read. I would rate this book a four out of five stars. I loved how deep in the details the author went to bring the characters and the story alive. I enjoyed getting Matt’s point of view and seeing how his mind works. The pace felt slow, but understanding the limited frame really did add pressure for things to happen. I was glad that I kept reading because by the end I was hooked.
Chasing Clay (The DeWitt Agency Files Book 3) by Lance Charnes. This is an awesome story its the 3rd book in the DeWitt Agency Files. Nam Ton ware is a centuries old ceramics from Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle has captivated DeWitt Agency’s tech tycoon client. Ex con Matt is trying to complete a mission for the agency that has promised him to end his probation soon, one way or another either with freedom or incarceration. He has to finish this mission in 60 days or he will go back to prison for bending criminal code. When Matt travels to San Francisco he meets Savannah the client’s beautiful art advisor and he weasels his way into the smuggling operation. He finally realizes he may be in over his head. Will Matt finish the job in time or will he go back to prison or will he encounter a fate worse than that. Read Chasing Clay to find out!
4 Stars
Chasing Clay is the third book in The DeWitt Agency Files by Lance Charnes. I love a great mystery, so when this book showed up on my radar, it immediately piqued my interest. This is a twisty little mystery- with suspense, action, danger, intrigue, drama, and more. I did enjoy the story, even though it was somewhat ‘wordy’ in parts and felt a little ‘slow’ for me in the beginning. It took me a bit of time to ‘get into’ the story. But once the pace picked up, and the story unfolded a bit more, everything flowed better, and I found my groove.
Even though this is the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone without feeling like you are ‘missing’ anything. I did note that the first two books in the series centre around Matt Friedrich as well, and so I will definitely be going back to read them too, and finding out what else Matt has been up to.
Thank you, Mr. Charnes!
Chasing Clay is the third book in the DeWitt Agency Files series by Lance Charnes. This book has a lot of mystery in the plot line. Lance Charnes characters are complex and fully developed which make the characters are believable and can be part of our world. There is a mystery around the smuggled antiques is what the DeWitt Agency is hired to sort out. Will the DeWitt Agency get to the bottom of the mystery or will they be out of their league? What is going to happen when the truth is revealed?
Chasing Clay was a good 4 star read and book three in The DeWitt Agency Files series.
The book started off a little slow but once I got a little further in it took off and I couldn’t put it down.
Matt is an ex-con that has a year left on his probation. He’s tired of his probation officer breathing down his neck checking up on him all of the time. When he is given an opportunity to get off probation sooner he takes the job only problem is, he as 60 days to do it.
The job pertains to art theft of ceramics. Very expensive and historical ones. Is Matt in over his head? Can he solve the mystery and get off probation?
There were twists and turns with mystery and suspense. All of the secondary characters were great. Overall, I enjoyed this book, the author pulls you in with his writing. Each book in the series can be read as a stand alone. If you’re looking for a good suspenseful mystery read this is the series for you. 1-click and get started today.
Chasing Clay by a Lance Charnes is the third book in the DeWitt Agency Files. This book is such a thrilling ride from start to finish. I will be the first to admit that I was blown away by the description however the boom had for such good reviews that I gave it a go. I’m so glad I gave it a go.
The book was fast paced and exciting. I never quite knew which way the author was going to turn.
The book was fun to read because I really felt that I got behind the characters, especially Matt who I absolutely loved. As the first book I have read by this author it was a great introduction. I am looking forward to discovering more of his work.
I was intrigued by the cover of Chasing Clay. I have never heard of Lance Charnes or his previous work until now so it was a gamble going in totally based off of the cover. I am happy that I chose to dive in and will in the future be finding more by Lance Charnes. I will say this book took me a bit to get into. I am not sure if that was because it is actually book three of a series, The DeWitt Agency Files and so I needed more back story, or if it was just a slow build up in general. I was happy I stuck to it however. This book really does blow up into a fantastic and suspenseful read that I couldn’t get read fast enough so I could know how it would all wind up. I won’t go into much more detail than what the author has divulged with the blurb because that would just ruin the way things unfold in this novel. I can’t be a spoiler, but I will tell you to take my word for it. If you love a suspenseful and twisty read then look no further this is your next read!
Chasing Clay is the third book in Lance Charnes’ The DeWitt Agency Files series. It’s a thrilling crime mystery, following ex-con Matt as he attempts to complete a mission for the agency that is guaranteed to bring his probation to an early end – either with his freedom or his incarceration.
Like the rest of the series so far, Chasing Clay focuses on art theft. As the name suggests, this book centres around ceramics. This was fascinating to read – I’m pretty sure all of the art crime books I’ve read so far have been about paintings so it was great to learn about a different art form with all of the history and culture surrounding it. Helpfully, Matt is also a bit out of his depth with ancient Asian ceramics so as he studies we get useful bits of information.
It’s a clever, action-packed book. The characters have understandable motivations (and reservations about what’s happening). It’s got plenty of mystery to keep you turning the pages!
I came into the series at this book, and I found I could follow the story well enough. Everything’s and everyone’s introduced to you and you get plenty of background. So if you’re particularly interested in ceramics you could jump in here. Having been captivated by this book, though, I’d now like to go back and read the previous two!
For me, this is a five star read. I’d recommend it to fans of art and mystery, particularly anyone interested in Thailand.
Charnes is a new author to me and I was intrigued by the plot summary of this book. I’m very glad I picked it up as it was chock full of mystery and suspense. I enjoy a good story with plenty of detail and plenty of clues to unravel. I felt like the story unfolded well and kept me as a reader wanting to keep reading to find out what would happen next. Very well written. I’m glad to find that this is part of a series and look forward to reading more of it.
Chasing Clay (The DeWitt Agency Files Book 3)
By: Lance Charnes
5 out of 5 stars
The story Chasing Clay (The DeWitt Agency Files Book 3) by Lance Charnes is a wonderful book to read. It takes you on a fast-paced journey that has twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. It had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. I loved reading about the character of Matt Friedrich. He is a man that is smart, unpredictable, and very resourceful. Matt is an ex-con who is promised an early end to his probation if he can finish a job in 60 days. It involves Nam Ton ware that is being trafficked. Matt soon finds himself way over his head and having to think on the fly as a federal turf war has started. Will Matt learn where the pottery is coming from? Will he finish the job in 60 days? Will he earn the early release from his probation? What does the future hold for Matt? Read this book to find out. This is a story that hooked me in from the very beginning and didn’t let me go until the final page. There are other characters that are introduced and interact with Matt. Some of them are helpful to him, others have their own agenda, and then there are those who I wasn’t sure what their motives were. This book has a mystery that must be solved and if there is anyone that can do it, I believe the main character of Matt Friedrich is the one who can accomplish it. This is a story I would highly recommend reading.
I enjoyed the suspense and mystery that it brought. I had a hard time getting into the story but once I was there, it went fast. I enjoyed the attention to detail this author has throughout the story as well as the interesting characters. The Dewitt Agency is hired by a client to investigate a claim of smuggled antiques. What will happen when Matt realizes this is above his head and that his freedom in now at steak? I highly recommend reading this book to find out what happens next with Matt.
Chasing Clay (The DeWitt Agency Files Book 3) by Lance Charnes is very cleverly written and all the threads woven together to create a great read. It is a suspenseful, mysterious and intriguing tale where there are lots of twists. It took me a bit to settle into the story as it was a bit slow but once the pace picked up it was full of conning the con man it completely engrossed and enthralled me. I really liked our main character and his clever way of thinking and putting things together. Lance has created a world that you can easily imagine and get caught up in.
I will not share the story because it is one where you need to discover all on your own. Now that I have read this book I have to get my hands on some of his other work.