Ceremony of Innocence

by Humphrey Hawksley

For Hong Kong policeman Laurie McKillop, his role has become largely symbolic since the handover, with the Chinese secret police the new authority in the former colony. But when he is contacted by an old CIA acquaintance with a very strange story to tell of a secret Chinese-American weapons project that has suddenly become red-hot, he is about to find himself back in the front line. And when his American friend is ruthlessly hunted down by the secret police, he begins to realize that the Chinese are not the only ones who need him dead.

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Humphrey is an award-winning author, podcaster and journalist whose assignments with the BBC have taken him to crises all over the world. The three books in his future history series -- Dragonstrike, Dragonfire and The Third World War -- have been praised as authentic, catastrophic scenarios which begin with a Chinese strike in the South China Sea. His Rake Ozenna espionage thriller series is set in the Arctic and High North, beginning with Man on Ice and a Russian invasion of the Alaskan island of Little Diomede. Rake is an island native and a special forces veteran with the Alaska National Guard. The late, great Nelson de Mille applauded Rake as being smart and tough, 'and we’re glad to have him on our side.' Humphrey's non-fiction work includes Democracy Kills: What’s So Good About Having The Vote, published during the Iraq civil war and Asian Waters: The Struggle over the Indo-Pacific and the Challenge to American Power which examines the impact of Chinese expansion in Asia. Humphrey hosts the bi-monthly Democracy Forum Debates. His work has appeared in most mainstream media outlets and he has been guest lecturer at universities and think tanks such as the RAND Corporation, The Center for Strategic and International Studies and MENSA Cambridge. He moderates the Democracy Forum Debates on international issues and is a host of the Goldster Magazine Show and podcast.