References
One thing about writing crime - you need to do a lot of research! In addition to my standard stock of books and the experts I consult, I also do specific research for each book. In the case of The Killing Hands, this focused mostly on organised crime, gangs, Kung Fu and contract killers. Below is pretty much every specific resource I used.
FBI
FBI website
FBI LA website
FBI – Organized crime
FBI – Violent Gangs website
FBI – Violent Gang Task Forces
Congressional Testimony on Merida Initiative
Other law enforcement
LAPD
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD)
2005 National Gang Threat Assessment (PDF)
Office of National Drug Control Policy – High-intensity Drug Trafficking Areas
US Department of Justice’s Exceptional case study – Protective Intelligence and Threat Assessment Investigations
Contract killers
Australian Institute of Criminology’s Contract Killings in Australia
Hitman Manual for Independent Contractors – can download/view via http://rapid4me.com/download.php?f=1557512
Louis Schlesigner, The Contract Murderer: Patterns, Characteristics and Dynamics, J Forensic Sci 2001;46(5):1119–1123.
General forensic psychology
Constructive functions of aggression in psychopaths
Organized crime and gangs
Korean Yakuza
Origin of the Yakuza – TruTV Crime Library
The Yakuza – TruTV Crime Library
The Yakuza in America – TruTV Crime Library
Yakuza on Wikipedia
Article on Asian gangs
www.streetgangs.com
www.streetgangs.com/asian
Kung Fu
Ten Killing Hands
Dim Mak
The Ancient Art of Life and Death: The Book of Dim Mak, A. Flane Walker & Richard C Bauer, Paladin Press, Boulder, Colorado, 2002
Death Touch: The Science