Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Silver Falls Library | MYS HAMILTON | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | Hamilton, I. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
THE THIRD BOOK IN THE AVA LEE SERIES
In Ian Hamilton's The Red Pole of Macau , family ties are stressed to the limit when intrepid forensic accountant Ava Lee must rescue her half brother, Michael, and his business partner, Simon, from a disastrous multimillion-dollar real-estate deal in Macau. When the developers turn out to be gangsters, Michael and Simon are threatened with bankruptcy and much worse. Ava struggles to salvage the deal and her family's money, but then Simon is kidnapped, and the rules of the game abruptly change.
Determined to keep her mentor, Uncle, out of the affair, Ava is forced to turn to a former client, the cunning and seductive May Ling Wong, for help. With time running out, Ava must use all her skills to outwit the gangsters, rescue Simon, and save her family's future.
Author Notes
Ian Hamilton has had a range of careers over the span of his life, from journalist to diplomat, but it wasn't until a health scare that he sat down to write his first novel. Ava Lee was the heroine that came to him and so the series was born. Hamilton's journalism has been featured in Maclean's and Saturday Night Magazine. He is the author of The Disciple of Las Vegas , The Wild Beasts of Wuhan , The Red Pole of Macau , and The Water Rat of Wanchai . He lives in Burlington, Ontario, with his wife, Lorraine. He has four children and seven grandchildren.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Hamilton's subpar fourth Ava Lee novel (after 2013's The Wild Beasts of Wuhan), Ava's eldest half-brother, Michael, who lives in Hong Kong, and his business partner, Simon To, have sunk a mostly borrowed $20 million into a Macau shopping center project that seems increasingly like a scam-and the developers are trying to strong-arm them into investing even more. Unless Ava can manage to extricate them, the financial security of her entire extended family could be at risk. Then Simon gets kidnapped. Petite Chinese-Canadian Ava shifts seamlessly from number cruncher to ninja, meticulously planning a rescue operation with the help of the extensive shadow network of Uncle, her once-Triad-linked business partner. Diluting the suspense somewhat is the distracting injection of Chinese power broker/cypher May Ling Wong from the previous book, as well as far too much description of cuisine and couture. Hopefully, Ava will return to form in her next outing. Agent: Gillian Fizet, House of Anansi (Canada). (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A forensic accountant proves once again that a cool head, a steady nerve and a thorough training in martial arts can shift the balance in an uneven fight. Ava Lee is both dismayed and surprised when her half brother Michael phones to ask for her help with a deal gone bad. Michael is her father's older son by a first wife, and Ava barely knows him. Her desire to keep the extended Lee family intact, however, sends her from her Toronto home to Hong Kong. Ava quickly realizes that Michael and his business partner, Simon To, are in over their heads in a real estate deal in Macau, the Las Vegas of the East. The majority shareholders are triad--members of what was once a society with strict codes, now degenerated into cutthroat gangs. When a red pole, or gang enforcer, kidnaps Simon and holds him for ransom, Ava has to call on Uncle Chow, her elderly business partner and a former triad chairman, to help form a risky plan for rescuing Simon and saving the family honor. Even readers inclined to quibble about the many descriptions of meals and fashion accessories will doubtless appreciate the respite they offer from the intense and occasionally graphic action scenes. Hamilton (The Disciple of Las Vegas, 2013, etc.) delivers colorful snapshots of Hong Kong and Macau, a well-paced plot, and a smart and capable heroine who'll make you see accounting in a whole new light.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When her half-brother asks for help, family takes priority for Toronto forensic accountant Ava Lee, whose business is finding money that has strayed. A bad investment of millions of dollars by Hong Kong businessman Michael Lee, Ava's half-brother and his partner, Simon To, in a Macau shopping center reputedly being developed by Kao Lok an enforcer, or red pole, in the triad threatens the financial security of the entire family of Marcus Lee, with his three wives and eight children. With the development substantially delayed, Lok refuses to repay the investment, instead demanding more money. When Lok and his henchman kidnap Simon, problem-solver Ava has to act, calling on her elderly Hong Kong partner, Uncle Chow, a former triad leader who lacks his former power, and reluctantly enlisting the help of former client May Ling Wong. But even personal contacts and ready cash can't eliminate all the snags in Ava's bold and dangerous plan. Asian locales and action increasing to a deadly climax add to the appeal of this fourth (after The Wild Beasts of Wuhan, 2013) in Hamilton's surefire series.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Canadian author Hamilton's third Ava Lee novel (after The Wild Beasts of Wuhan) has Ava traveling to China to rescue her distant half brother and his partner from financial disaster that could in turn risk her extended family's fortune. Ava is up against the "Red Pole of Macau," the enforcer for a powerful gang in the former Portuguese colony. Relying on her mentor, "Uncle," she also enlists the help of a former client, the cunning May Ling Wong. More cerebral and dependent on interrelationships than in the earlier books, Ava, a forensic accountant with martial arts skills, is sharp, clever, and cultured. Strong and independent, she also has a vulnerable side; she prays to St. Jude, the patron of lost causes, as she sets out to rescue her brother's kidnapped partner. Ava plans her approach down to the smallest detail, envisioning every possible scenario. Her dedication pays off in an edge-of-your-seat rescue attempt, with less violence than her previous adventures. VERDICT Hamilton delivers a fantastic read once again. Recommended for mystery and crime thriller fans.-Susan Carr, -Edwardsville P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.