The Dragon Head of Hong Kong

This book was my first foray into Canadian author Ian Hamilton's Ava Lee series. I had seen this series around the book nerd universe, but it wasn't until I heard Hamilton speak with charm and wit at the Eden Mills Writers Festival last month, that I felt compelled to pick up this series. I actually bought the 14th book at the festival but sadly he had left before I could get him to sign it! 

At the event he explained that he had wanted to write a book, so his wife told him to write about something he knew about. So, this Caucasian Canadian CIS man decided to write a series around a Asian-Canadian lesbian forensic accountant. Naturally.

This is the prequel to the Ava Lee series which to date has 14 books, and I liked the idea of starting at the very beginning. It is an easy, straightforward story (and only 150 pages), but a bit quieter of a read than I was expecting. 

I look forward to reading the first book in this series (which I already have in my greedy little hands) to get to know Ava's character better, to see her relationship with Uncle progress and I eagerly look forward to seeing Ava kick some butt - on the streets and on spreadsheets.

 

My Rating: 3 stars

Author: Ian Hamilton

Genre: Suspense, Canadian

Series: 0.5 in the Ava Lee series

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from public library

Publisher: Anansi Press

First Published: December 2013

Book Description from GoodReads: The prequel to the wildly popular Ava Lee series.

Young Ava Lee is a forensic accounting who has just opened her own private firm. One of her clients, Hedrick Lo, has been swindled of more than a million dollars by a Chinese importer named Johnny Kung. Desperate, Lo persuades Ava to find and retrieve the monies owed. Ava goes to Hong Kong, where she plunges into the dangerous underground collection business and meets a man who will forever change her life.