THE RED POLE OF MACAU

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.