Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Red Pole of Macau by Ian Hamilton

Ian Hamilton is a Canadian journalist turned mystery writer. He has published three books in his Uncle Chow Tung series and 15 books about Ava Lee, a Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant who deploys her martial arts skills far more often than most accountants do. Ava Lee first appeared in The Water Rat of Wanchai, which won the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. The fourth book about Ava Lee is The Red Pole of Macau (Picador Paper, 2013), which plunges Ava into family drama. Her father has been married three times, has children from each marriage, and maintains a relationship with all three wives while keeping the children apart. The fact that the three families live on different continents helps the separation. Thus Ava has never met her half-brother Michael until her father solicits her assistance in pulling Michael and his business partner out of a real estate deal that has gone sideways. The money they pledged was backed by her father and its loss would cause disruption to the financial equilibrium of all three families, so Ava Lee has a personal stake in the outcome.

She flies to Hong Kong to meet Michael and his partner Simon, then they go to gambling haven Macau to meet the real estate consortium organizers, who react negatively to the request for the return of Michael’s investment. They express their displeasure and show their true colors by kidnapping Simon and demanding a ransom. Ava Lee draws on all of her local resources to locate Simon and retrieve him safely, while tracing the consortium’s finances, which seem to have Triad connections, in order to extract the family’s money with her hacking skills.

Slickly executed and well plotted with relentless action, this story is an absorbing piece of escapism. Ava Lee is too good to be real but she is fun to watch. It reminds me of the Kill Bill films with its focus on Asian themes and martial arts but the violence is not as extreme. The nonchalance with which these people undertake international travel is staggering to me; they globetrot the way I visit a grocery. For fans of crime fiction with strong female leads and of international thrillers.

 

·         Publisher: Picador Paper; Reprint edition (December 31, 2013)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Paperback: ‎334 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎9781250032317

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1250032317

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

FFB Review: Blade Of Dishonor by Thomas Pluck

From the archive….

Reeves has come back home to Minnesota and the small town he grew up in to find the town has changed in many ways. The local Ford Plant has closed and the economic pain of that is just one of the things that continue to haunt the town. He has changed as well thanks to growing up and serving in the military though many folks don’t seem inclined to talk to him. The various ghosts of the past and shattered dreams haunt the town as well as Reeves and there are no easy answers for either.

 

Taken care of by Grandpa Butch, Reeves spent most of his life in the back of the local Army Navy store. It was there that Reeves developed a love for weapons--especially knives and swords. Butch is still alive and as angry as ever and isn’t about to let Reeves backslide into his old ways. He also isn’t about to let anyone else mess with him. That hardcore attitude towards family and the world will come in handy as Takehiko Yoshiro has come to buy the old store and all of its contents. A buying attempt that will lead to violence as some things, including honor, simply are never for sale in this martial arts thriller.

 

Throw in a beautiful babe, a fast car, martial arts, and an enduring love as well as a couple of other elements and Blade Of Dishonor by Thomas Pluck becomes a complicated ride into the past and present. Featuring twin storylines with Grandpa Butch struggling to survive during World War II and Reeves struggling to survive now, the read moves back and forth in time as the storylines merge together. Martial arts and the history of various groups in Japan are major components of this book that blends the past and the present in a way that ultimately results in Reeves fighting for everything he holds dear in a violent final confrontation half a world away in Japan. Officially World War II may be long over, but some of the factors that led into the war are still at work in this very good tale where honor means everything. 

Blade Of Dishonor

Thomas Pluck

http://thomaspluck.com/

Goombah Gumbo Press

http://thomaspluck.com/goombah-gumbo-press/

September 5, 2013

ASIN: B00F0N4G48

E-Book (also available in print)

372 Pages

 

 

Material supplied by the author for my use in an objective review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013, 2021

FFB Review: Dragon By The Bay by Garnett Elliott

 As we begin October 2020 and the world seems to be double downing on chaos, some pulpy goodness might be the ticket to get away from the world. After you read my 2015 review, make sure you check out the new reading suggestion on Patti Abbott’s blog as well as Aubrey Nye Hamilton’s Happiness Is A Warm Book blog. Todd Mason is collecting links so you will have even more suggestions om his Sweet Freedom blog. 

A tale by Garnet Elliott is always a good one full of pulpy goodness as Garnet Elliot never disappoints. Such is the case with Dragon By The Bay, his latest novelette set in San Francisco in 1866. The Civil War is over, the Gold Rush is very much on, and people are active above and below ground with many of them pawns in various nefarious schemes. This is not a genteel San Francisco, but a city of criminal chaos where anything goes and often does.

Carson Lowe is newly arrived in San Francisco having come over on the ferry from Oakland with very little money in his pockets. He has plans and dreams, but they suffered a nearly fatal setback recently when he was in Nevada where he nearly lost all of his money and his life. The current plan is stay low and be careful. That was the plan before he saw the men of very hard appearance roaming the streets, members of some sort of vigilance committee, clearly looking for somebody to take their frustrations out on as soon as possible. Carson determines it is a good idea to get off the streets as quickly as possible and goes into a nearby tavern.

Once inside he spots a poker game underway. That game just might be the place to run his time tested scam regarding a mine of sliver just waiting to be excavated. The problem with time tested scam is that others may be aware of the scam and not take kindly to your attempt to scam them. They may inflict heavy violence upon you before making sure you wind up in the local jail.

That is exactly what happens to Carson Lowe in short order. Once in the local jail he is witness to the rescue of a fellow prisoner by the name of Nine Serpens Hsien. A legendary figure in San Francisco and a man that is said to be immortal with inconceivable powers.

What follows is a kung fu adventure style story that is a fast moving tale of deceit, alliances, and martial arts in a time tested tale of the battle between evil and those who oppose evil. Frequently the flying fists are as fast as lightning, as are the feet and a few other things as the action moves around and below the city of San Francisco. Paying homage to the movie Big Trouble in Little China, author Garnett Elliott has penned a complex novelette that is a sheer blast to read. No matter how you label it if you call it a western, a kung fu adventure, or something else, Dragon By The Bay, is packed top to bottom in pulpy goodness and delivers an excellent read.

Dragon By The Bay

Garnett Elliott

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

September 2015

ISBN# 978-1943035113

Paperback (also available as an e-book)

122 Pages

Paperback was supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015,2020

Review: "Fighting Chance" by B. K. Stevens (Reviewed by Kaye George)

Merry Christmas Eve… as a special treat today we have an extra review from Kaye George separate from her Monday posts. Enjoy!

Fighting Chance by B. K. Stevens

This is what you’ve been looking for! If you’re looking for a book for teen boys, you know they’re scarce. This one has enough excitement, twists, and turns to keep them up way too late on a school night, avidly reading.

Not only is it about an appealing group of four, sometimes five kids, who don’t always get along, it’s also about the nice and not-so-nice teachers they share, and about family relationships that are not always ideal. But it’s also about martial arts.

Their coach is facing an opponent as the book opens, but the main character, Matt, thinks something is a bit off about this other guy. His name is Bobby Davis and he’s come from a dojo in Richmond to Ridgecrest for the competition. He neither looks like a fighter nor acts like one, until the moment he crushes Coach Colson’s larynx with a spinning hook kick. Was it intentional or an accident? Most people say the latter. Matt knows they’re wrong.

When he and his friends try to dig deeper and find out who Bobby Davis is and why he wanted to kill the coach, trouble starts happening all around them. They seem to be antagonizing some dangerous people. Matt and his friends, including the intriguing Graciana, join a krav maga class as result of some of their investigating. That’s a good thing, because they’ll need their wits about them and all the martial arts training they have to get through this.

Kaye George ©2015

http://kayegeorge.wix.com/kaye-george

Review: "Dragon By The Bay" by Garnett Elliott

A tale by Garnet Elliott is always a good one full of pulpy goodness as Garnet Elliot never disappoints. Such is the case with Dragon By The Bay, his latest novelette set in San Francisco in 1866. The Civil War is over, the Gold Rush is very much on, and people are active above and below ground with many of them pawns in various nefarious schemes. This is not a genteel San Francisco, but a city of criminal chaos where anything goes and often does.

Carson Lowe is newly arrived in San Francisco having come over on the ferry from Oakland with very little money in his pockets. He has plans and dreams, but they suffered a nearly fatal setback recently when he was in Nevada where he nearly lost all of his money and his life. The current plan is stay low and be careful. That was the plan before he saw the men of very hard appearance roaming the streets, members of some sort of vigilance committee, clearly looking for somebody to take their frustrations out on as soon as possible. Carson determines it is a good idea to get off the streets as quickly as possible and goes into a nearby tavern.

Once inside he spots a poker game underway. That game just might be the place to run his time tested scam regarding a mine of sliver just waiting to be excavated. The problem with time tested scam is that others may be aware of the scam and not take kindly to your attempt to scam them. They may inflict heavy violence upon you before making sure you wind up in the local jail.

That is exactly what happens to Carson Lowe in short order. Once in the local jail he is witness to the rescue of a fellow prisoner by the name of Nine Serpens Hsien. A legendary figure in San Francisco and a man that is said to be immortal with inconceivable powers.

What follows is a kung fu adventure style story that is a fast moving tale of deceit, alliances, and martial arts in a time tested tale of the battle between evil and those who oppose evil. Frequently the flying fists are as fast as lightning, as are the feet and a few other things as the action moves around and below the city of San Francisco. Paying homage to the movie Big Trouble in Little China, author Garnett Elliott has penned a complex novelette that is a sheer blast to read. No matter how you label it if you call it a western, a kung fu adventure, or something else, Dragon By The Bay, is packed top to bottom in pulpy goodness and delivers an excellent read.

Dragon By The Bay

Garnett Elliott

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

September 2015

ISBN# 978-1943035113

Paperback (also available as an e-book)

122 Pages

$7.25

Paperback was supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Self-Defense Training to Help Fiction Writers Create Realistic Fight Scenes: Part 1

Self-Defense Training to Help Fiction Writers Create Realistic Fight Scenes: Part 1

Review: "Blade Of Dishonor" by Thomas Pluck

Reeves has come back home to Minnesota and the small town he grew up in to find the town has changed in many ways. The local Ford Plant has closed and the economic pain of that is just one of the things that continue to haunt the town. He has changed as well thanks to growing up and serving in the military

though many folks don’t seem inclined to talk to him. The various ghosts of the past and shattered dreams haunt the town as well as Reeves and there are no easy answers for either.

Taken care of by Grandpa Butch, Reeves spent most of his life in the back of the local Army Navy store. It was there that Reeves developed a love for weapons--especially knives and swords. Butch is still alive and as angry as ever and isn’t about to let Reeves backslide into his old ways. He also isn’t about to let anyone else mess with him. That hardcore attitude towards family and the world will come in handy as Takehiko Yoshiro has come to buy the old store and all of its contents. A buying attempt that will lead to violence as some things, including honor, simply are never for sale in this martial arts thriller. 

Throw in a beautiful babe, a fast car, martial arts, and an enduring love as well as a couple of other elements and Blade Of Dishonor by Thomas Pluck becomes a complicated ride into the past and present. Featuring twin storylines with Grandpa Butch struggling to survive during World War II and Reeves struggling to survive now, the read moves back and forth in time as the storylines merge together. Martial arts and the history of various groups in Japan are major components of this book that blends the past and the present in a way that ultimately results in Reeves fighting for everything he holds dear in a violent final confrontation half a world away in Japan. Officially World War II may be long over, but some of the factors that led into the war are still at work in this very good tale where honor means everything.

Blade Of Dishonor

Thomas Pluck

http://thomaspluck.com/

Goombah Gumbo Press

http://thomaspluck.com/goombah-gumbo-press/

September 5, 2013

ASIN: B00F0N4G48

E-Book (also available in print)

370 Pages

Material supplied by the author for my use in an objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013