The Dragon Head of Hong Kong

Finished February 9

The Dragon Head of Hong Kong by Ian Hamilton

This novella is a prequel to the Ava Lee series and shows us how Ava got started on her atypical forensic accounting career, and how she met Uncle. 

When Ava is asked by her mother to help the son of one of her mother's friends, she is unsure that she will be able to help. She agrees to go to Hong Kong to find the man that her client has been shipping goods to, in the hopes that she will be able to get him to pay all the overdue invoices that have put her client in financial trouble. 

Ava is not expecting the violence that she encounters on her case, but she is prepared to deal with it. Both her forensic accounting skills and her martial arts training are useful on this job. 

I enjoyed seeing her trying to find her way in this culture that she was unfamiliar with, and taking charge with a firm hand, while remaining curious and open to learn. 

An enlightening and entertaining read. 

The Red Pole of Macau

Finished February 5

The Red Pole of Macau by Ian Hamilton

This is the fourth book in the Ava Lee series. I like this series, but hadn't been keeping up with it after the first few books. Here, Ava has recently met her oldest half-brother, Michael, when he calls on her for assistance. Michael and his business partner Simon run a chain of noodle restaurants and recently made an investment that involved a share of a real estate development where they would locate a shop. But things haven't been moving along at all, and they just want their money back. 

Ava can see the big picture here once she knows more about the situation, and can see how a failure would impact not just Michael and Simon, but also Ava's father and the entire family. 

Macau is somewhere that Ava hasn't visited in years and the changes there are dramatic. When she accompanies Michael and Simon to meet the men behind the project, she finds they are more dangerous adversaries than she imagined, and the whole situation is something beyond what she normally would deal with. Even her partner Uncle has reservations. 

Given the family considerations, Ava feels she must move forward, but this is a foray that requires connections she doesn't have. When a new friend offers to help, Ava finds herself making new connections and relationships as well. 

I liked the strong female characters here, not only Ava, but also May Ling Wong and Michael's girlfriend Amanda Yee. I also liked seeing more into the backgrounds of Uncle's side of the partnership, including the men who work for him, either directly or from time to time. 

The book also details how the old Hong Kong triads were structured and what roles the different members played. This plays into the plot in a big way, and gives a sense how the dismantling of a system like this sometimes results in unexpectedly dangerous men who can't be controlled. 

We also get a better sense of Ava's family dynamics. 

A very enlightening addition to the series on many fronts. 

Letters Across the Sea

Finished December 24 

Letters Across the Sea by Genevieve Graham

This historical fiction novel takes place from the early 1930s until after World War II and revolves around two characters. Molly Ryan is the daughter of a police officer in Toronto, and her best friend is a Jewish girl the same age, Hannah Dreyfus. Both have older brothers who play league baseball. As the 1930s brought increasing prejudice against Jews, Molly is dismayed to see this appear in her own neighbourhood and among people she knows. 

Molly has been working in a local grocery store to help her family, but as the Depression worsens, she loses that job, and struggles to find another. She also grows more determined to follow her heart by taking journalism classes with the aim of becoming a reporter someday. 

Hannah is involved with a young man, and as the racial prejudice grows the girls drift apart. Her brother Max also has a goal, to become a doctor. Quotas for Jews in the program mean that he doesn't get into the University of Toronto, but he does get into a medical school and, just as he is finishing the war starts, and he enlists as a medic. 

At first, he is stationed in North America, but as things escalate in Europe and the British want a presence in Hong Kong, some Canadian soldiers are sent there. They have little combat training and don't know the small group of islands well, and are sitting ducks when the Japanese attack with more force than predicted shortly after Pearl Harbor. 

As Max tries to protect his fellow soldiers, and struggles to survive himself, Molly tries to follow what is happening in the Far East, and bring attention to it in her role as a reporter. 

This is a story that highlights a lesser known part of WWII, and the Canadians that served there. It also brings to light the racial prejudice of the time, and how media influences what people think.

A very interesting read. 

Freddy's War

Finished February 29
Freddy's War by Judy Schultz
This is the sad tale of a young Canadian soldier from his childhood, through his old age. Freddy grows up in Edmonton, born on Christmas Day to a mother who died in childbirth. Befriended by the older lady, Serena, next door who takes him under her wing, Freddy finds a new life with reading, music and new friends. One new friend, Yip, is Serena's gardener and Freddy finds a father figure in him. But when Freddy gets in trouble, he lies about his age and joins up in the army.
Shipped to Hong Kong, Freddy is fascinated by the world there, and is better equipped than most due to his early experiences in Edmonton's Chinatown. Despite great hardship, he manages to survive the war and come back home. But his experiences scar him, and their subsequent effect on him show that for Freddy, the war never really ends. Despite new friends and support, Freddy falls into a decline that will define his life.
A look at the after effects of war on a young, impressionable man, that read true.
A very good read, with good discussion questions that are included for book clubs or school classes that may be interested.

Canadian Fiction

Finished October 17
The Promise of Rain by Donna Milner
This is a book that has two related storylines. One is in 1962 and told in the voice of Ethie, who is eleven. Ethie has an older brother Frankie and another older brother, closer to her in age, Kipper. Kipper has Down's Syndrome. When Ethie's mother dies suddenly that summer, her father slips further away from the family before another crisis forces him to find his way back to his family. The distance that Ethie's father Howard has sometimes had with his family is a result of his experiences in World War II. This leads us to the second storyline, which is Howard's experiences in World War II. Barely trained, Howard and his best friend Gordon left Winnipeg as new recruits and were sent off to Hong Kong. Poorly supplied, the two boys find life in Hong Kong slow at first and then find themselves in the middle of a deadly and vicious fight with the Japanese. They become POWs, but life is difficult and Howard undergoes experiences that change him forever. It is these experiences he has struggled with for years, not even talking to his wife about them. Now, with his wife's sudden death, his family's need, and people from the past reappearing in his life, he must face his past.
This is a very human story, and the emotions of the characters made it come alive for me. I could feel the situations they were in and how they reacted to them. A great read, that I could barely put down, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.