Ian Hamilton's Blog, page 4
August 29, 2011
Check out Ian Hamilton on CBC Radio’s Fresh Air
Ian Hamilton joined fellow authors Andrew Pyper and Maureen Jennings on CBC Radio’s Fresh Air on Sunday, August 28, 2011. The authors discussed mystery writing and the writing process. Hamilton, Pyper and Jennings will also be at the International Festival of Authors on September 1st at 5:30 p.m. at the CNE in Toronto participating in a reading and panel discussion.
CBC Radio – Fresh Air
What does it take to write a mystery novel? We put that question to three accomplished mystery novelists, Ian Hamilton (The Disciple of Las Vegas), Maureen Jennings (Season of Darkness) and Andrew Pyper (The Guardians). They’re taking part in the 2011 International Festival of Authors at this year’s CNE.
http://www.cbc.ca/freshair/episodes/2011/08/28/sunday-aug-28/
July 11, 2011
Ava Lee accepts new contract – Book Review
London Free Press - The Disciple of Las Vegas - Book Review
Ava Lee accepts new contract
By JOAN BARFOOT, Special to QMI Agency
http://www.lfpress.com/entertainment/books/2011/07/06/18384701.html
Just months after The Water Rat of Wanchai, Ian Hamilton's first mystery — which also inaugurated Spiderline, Canadian literary publisher Anansi's new crime fiction imprint — comes his second, again featuring the fierce forensic accountant Ava Lee.
The glamorous lesbian with the luxurious apartment in Toronto's Yorkville is barely home, and still-unrecovered, from her international adventures in The Water Rat when her Hong Kong partner, the elderly man she calls Uncle, calls proposing another contract.
The two make a very good living hunting down big sums of money for people from whom it's been stolen or otherwise taken, earning a hefty percentage of whatever amounts they retrieve.
This time Tommy Ordonez, alleged to be the richest man in the Philippines and certainly one of the most unpleasant, wants them to recover $50 million that has gone astray from the hands of his brother in Vancouver.
Theoretically the brother, who is now incommunicado and possibly suffering a nervous breakdown, has invested the money in a major British Columbia real estate development.
But now the development and the money seem to have disappeared into thin air, and Ordonez, who doesn't put much stock in sibling affection, wants the money back — not so much because he doesn't have plenty more, but mainly because he refuses to be cheated.
Ava's affectionate respect for Uncle, who has both high and low-level contacts throughout Asia, leads her to agree to begin pursuing the cash, despite jet lag and some leftover injuries. And so begin another series of flights between continents, nights in luxury and downscale hotels, and encounters with desperate people, friendly people and a fair number of brutes.
Very soon it's clear there never was a potential real estate development, that Ordonez's brother blew the money playing online poker — and that he's not the only big-time loser beaten by a scam.
The relevant online poker website is hosted by a First Nation that spans the Ontario-U.S. border. The chief there, who is keen on bringing stable prosperity to his people, is displeased and alarmed to learn that his band's facilities have been misused by cheaters.
The innocent, including the chief and his band as well as Ordonez's brother and his family, are relatively easy to find. It requires more cunning, considerable help from outsiders including other furious poker players and a couple of Uncle's own thugs, and some tough negotiations with an ambitious British cabinet minister, for Ava to nail the real culprits in her quest to get the money back.
And "nail" is nearly the right word, since while she's queasy about watching, Ava doesn't shrink from ordering some gruesome tortures to get what she wants.
In the world of crime fiction, Ava Lee ticks several useful protagonist boxes intended to show her uniqueness: she's beautiful, she's strong but still often needs both logistical and physical help, she's lesbian, and she's Chinese-Canadian as well as thoroughly globalised.
She is also devoted to certain brand names that are scattered lavishly throughout the novel — certain brands of coffee and leisurewear must be particularly pleased by their product placements.
Like The Water Rat of Wanchai, Hamilton's second novel is a fast, reasonably captivating and thoroughly researched jaunt through one or two of the world's international financial underbellies and dubious characters.
The same will likely apply to the next instalment of Ava Lee's adventures, to be published early next year, but Hamilton has already proven himself a smart bet by a fledgling crime fiction imprint.
Joan Barfoot is a novelist living in London
Disciple of Las Vegas "Irresistible" – Globe and Mail
Reviews: Crime Fiction
Dive into summer reading with these crime fiction picks
By Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail
The Disciple Of Las Vegas
By Ian Hamilton, Anansi, 357 pages
I loved The Water Rat of Wanchai, the first novel featuring Ava Lee. Now, Ava and Uncle make a return that's even better. Tommy Ordonez is the richest man in the Philippines. He's lost $50-million in a land swindle and he wants Ava to get it back. There's not just money at stake, but face and reputation as well.
Ava follows the cash from Canada to Costa Rica and, incidentally, gives us a very fine insider look at the hot world of online gambling. Off to Las Vegas, where David (The Disciple) Douglas, the world's best poker player, is hosting a game for top spenders. But the bets turn out to be for more than money and Ava and Uncle confront an old adversary. This one is simply irresistible.
June 22, 2011
The Disciple of Las Vegas – Now available!
The wait is over! Book 2 in the Ava Lee series, The Disciple of Las Vegas is now available! Get yours from Amazon (www.amazon.ca) or Chapters/Indigo (www.chapters.ca). The book is also available as an ebook through Kobo, iBooks and is coming soon on Kindle. Official launch date is July 2011.
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