The Mountain Master of Sha Tin: An Ava Lee Novel: Book 12

by Ian Hamilton

In the latest installment of the Ava Lee novels, Ava becomes embroiled in a violent war between feuding gangs vying for control of the Wanchai territory in Hong Kong.

Ava is in Shanghai visiting her ailing friend, the Mountain Master Xu, when a triad war breaks out in Hong Kong. Sammy Wing, an old enemy of Ava’s who has twice tried to kill her, has enlisted the aid of his nephew Carter — the new Mountain Master of Sha Tin — to reclaim control of his old territory, Wanchai, from Xu’s men.

There is nothing subtle about the Wings’ methods. Xu’s most trusted enforcer, Lop, has been shot, and six of his street soldiers kidnapped. The Wings threaten to execute them unless Xu’s men vacate Wanchai immediately. Ava steps in to broker a settlement, and the Wings respond by sending her a box containing six fingers — and a twelve-hour deadline.

As the violence and tension mount, Ava is driven to the edge, and she is forced to devise a plan that will bring her face-to-face with Sammy and Carter Wing. The only question is who will pull the trigger first?

• ISBN10: 1487002033
• ISBN13: 9781487002039
• Publish Date: 15 August 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: House of Anansi Press Ltd ,Canada
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Mountain Master of Sha Tin is the 12th book in the Ava Lee thriller series by Ian Hamilton. Released 2nd July 2019 from House of Anansi, it's 360 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a tightly written and thoroughly readable thriller series with a strong female protagonist who is a savvy intelligent and fearless badass. She's got a bit of a superwoman thing going on (readers are never afraid she's going to ultimately fail), but it's still a lot of fun to read. These books may be ever so slightly formulaic, but they're solid escapist fun and intelligently written and engaging.

This is the 12th book in the series and there's a strong serial development for the characters and their interrelations and back-stories. I would recommend that they be read in order. It's certainly possible to read this one as a standalone, the author is adept at providing the necessary background without info dumping, but especially getting a good feel for the relationships between the various triad gangs and secondary characters is easier when reading at least a few of the prior books in the series.

The setting is exotic and written with a palpable sense of place. After a bit of benign online author stalking, I can't see that he has lived or spent a significant amount of time in Asia, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me. It felt very believable during reading.

I enjoyed this action filled thriller and the characters and dialogue. Well worth a read for lovers of the genre.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.