The Diamond Queen of Singapore

Ava Lee #13

by Ian Hamilton

In the latest thrilling novel in the Ava Lee series, Ava investigates a Ponzi scheme that takes her from Amsterdam to Antwerp and then Singapore, where she must confront one of the country’s most powerful families.

After the father of Ava’s best friend, Mimi, loses his family’s savings in a Ponzi scheme, Mimi turns to her old friend for help. Ava launches an investigation that sends her from Amsterdam to Antwerp and then to Singapore.

As she tracks the money, Ava is reminded of an old case she worked with Uncle years before that took her to Singapore for the first time. In her mind, the two cases begin to merge, and as they do, Uncle becomes visible to Ava, counselling her and urging her to make use of her new triad connections. Ava is reluctant to do so, but Uncle is persistent, and soon Ava finds herself in conflict with one of the most influential family dynasties in Singapore and eventually back in Toronto, where she confronts a new face of power and corruption.

Genres: Mystery, Canada, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Asia

428 pages, Paperback

First published May 26, 2020

About the author

Ian Hamilton has been a journalist, a senior executive with the federal government, a diplomat, and a businessman with international links. He has written for several magazines and newspapers in Canada and the U.S., including Maclean's, Boston Magazine, Saturday Night, Regina Leader Post, Calgary Albertan, and the Calgary Herald. His nonfiction book, The Children's Crusade, was a Canadian Book of the Month Club selection.

Reviews

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣]

Ava Lee and her unique collection style welcome back :) Hear, hear!

Edit: Dec 12, 2020. OMG it's OUT!!!!!!

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

The e-edition of Hamilton’s latest in the Ava Lee series is out and you will want to take this trip with Ava as she hits several continents: Amsterdam and Antwerp in Europe, Singapore and mainland China in Asia, and back to Toronto in North America.

Ava’s collecting debts but for a friend, as she had in her early career. It brings back memories. This time it is not debts Ava is following but cold, hard investment theft wrapped up in a not-so-generous evangelical megachurch on the outskirts of Toronto. Hamilton creates the cruelest, most unambiguously unforgivable villains to walk the earth, and places them in a world we recognize. From there, the scandal just gets bigger…

Has anyone read the 14th-century Chinese novel called, variously, The Water Margin, Outlaws of the Marsh, and All Men Are Brothers? It is a rip-roaring 4-volume Song Dynasty yarn, a masterpiece of storytelling, packed with colorful characters whose names tell it all: Little Whirlwind, Blue-Faced Beast, Impatient Vanguard, etc. The epic story tells of 108 bandits who live by the margin of Liang Shan Marsh and pursue justice by unconventional means.

Hamilton’s story this time has elements of this ancient tale. He named his thieving church leaders Cunningham, Rogers, and Randy. Ava’s triad connection in Chengdu, Han, is blustery and loud, his crass manner and crude-but-effective methods modeled on characters in the ancient tale. Han uses his fists when words are not enough. He carries a large weapon to focus the attention of his opponents on their limited options.

I adored this tale for these elements, and for outlining and pointing to the real and acutely painful problem that Ava uncovers in the course of her investigations, something that has been plaguing the West, particularly the United States and Canada, for some years now. The problem has its source in China and concerned North Americans have wondered how on earth this is happening without and/or despite Chinese government oversight.

The answer to that question echoes what we hear when contemplating the indescribably painful political atmosphere in the United States: it is completely within the realm of the country’s leadership to stop the trouble. For some reason beyond our understanding, the leadership prefers chaos. God help us all.

Another fantastic addition to Hamilton’s box of jewels.

P.S. If you are going to pick up Outlaws of the Marsh, please choose Sidney Shapiro’s translation, the language of which made me fall in deeply love with Chinese culture, habits and humor. Shapiro’s word choices make the ancient book immediately relevant, laugh-out-loud funny, and the long read tireless.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ava Lee Collects Again!
Review of the House of Anansi Spiderline ebook edition (May 2020) rush released in advance of the expected paperback edition (August 2020)

I tried to space this out but just could not stop reading. Not only does Ian Hamilton return his forensic accountant Ava Lee to her collection days, but he brings her back to Toronto (my town, yeah!) for the dramatic beginning and ending of this new investigation thriller.

I read The Diamond Queen of Singapore in its eBook edition which was rush released in May 2020 when publication of the print edition was bumped from July to August 2020 due to the pandemic. I do not enjoy eBooks generally as I dislike reading onscreen at length, but with an Ava Lee book, resistance is futile.

The book manages to touch all the bases of Ava Lee's past with even Uncle making appearances in her dreams to give advice. Her Bak mai martial arts skills are brought back into play several times. The collection effort is personal as it is her childhood friend Mimi's family who have been swindled. Ava's international connections, including her Triad allies, are brought into play, with one very fearsome addition to the ranks. Ava's lover Fai is mostly away as she begins working on a last minute new role with plans for a significant revitalization of director/writer Lau Lau's career in a Tiananmen Square related film yet to come (sure to be a central theme in a future book). All this, and the villains are a Toronto/Aurora based group of bible-thumping scam artists peddling #FentanylChina products on top of their other sins. It is all cat-nip to an Ava fan.

Trivia and Link
You can read author Ian Hamilton's article One for the Books: Publishing in a Pandemic at the Literary Review of Canada June 2020 online edition here.

[Skip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so thrilled that Ava Lee has returned to her forensic accounting and collection talents; her involvement in the triad gangs was a little over the top for me. She is back home in Toronto with Pang Fai when Ava's friend Mimi fails to attend a welcoming party. Mimi's father has committed suicide in shame after losing the family's money in an investment fund affiliated with a Canadian megachurch. Ava promises to investigate, getting in touch with their local lawyer, who represented others. So begins Ava's trips to Antwerp, where she finds out a diamond connection back to Chengdu as well as a banking connection to Vanuatu. In each city, Ava calls on friends who owe her or her "big brother" Xu favors. Lots of action, and I liked Uncle returning to Ava in her dreams with sound advice. Meanwhile, the movie scriptwriter who Ava saved from alcohol has produced an amazing script about the events in Tiananmen Square, which will enrage the Chinese film industry so Ava is trying to figure out how to make the movie, without blowback on her, her investment partners or her lover. 4.5 stars.

[DeB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, yum… Ava Lee the forensic accountant detective is back. I have sorely missed this Asian Canadian Wonder Woman, skilled in martial arts and a genius in following the money - always taken from the undeserving, the hardworking and in this case her best friend’s own now widowed mother. Uncle is not with her any longer, but he visits in her dreams… Her Chinese ancestry grants her peace in the portents which he brings, while she manages to maintain those very important relationships with the triads which he grandfather built in China.

There is the scuzzy preacher whose reach into his congregation’s pockets leads her to the legitimate diamond industry in the Netherlands, a serpentine trail back to China and of course, more delectable Chinese cuisine. It looks like another book with Ava will be forthcoming; girlfriend Fai has a complicated film career to navigate and who knows about Ava’s own investments? Intrigue stalks her at every turn. I can’t wait for another instalment.

The twists never stop, the pace is frenetic. Of course, it’s all over the top, and absolutely terrific.

[eyes.2c · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ava Lee—you’re back and as fabulous as ever. I so enjoy her. And though no longer with us Uncle is still a force of understanding.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ava Lee kicks ass again in a brief return to her forensic accountant days.

[Karan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another page turner - no surprise there. I did think that this one was lacking some heart until I approach the ending, maybe the last 5th or 6th of the book. It did not disappoint!

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ava Lee is back at it, being a stealthy, relentless debt collector of big dollars and shifty characters. A very welcome and nice change from the last two Triad books wherein violence was plentiful and often disturbing. Proving she hasn't lost her touch or ability to focus, multitask and pursue--this time out exalted CEO's etc of a religious community, a sprawling church north of Toronto, Harvest Table Bible Church, a church that also dabbles in investments apparently and whose member/s have stolen a huge amount of dollars from families in the community. What gets Ava involved is the suicide of her best friend Mimi's dad who invested a cool $3million over the years, and now, all gone up in smoke--he couldn't handle it after finding out their money was gone.
Ava takes on a number of new and old associates in this book, all help her find out details under the radar on who took the money, where it went, how did it get there, and, oh, so much more you'll waste no time reading this in almost one breath. Familiar faces make an appearance, Derek, May Ling, Xu, and new ones in Han, Todd Howell and a handful of others, mostly by phone or laptop but several in person in a number of cities in a handful of countries. Ava moves fast, sitting still is never an option and wringing the details out of all and sundry her strength and forte. She is sleek, together, polished (when not in running gear) and outwits the bad guys: Muir, Rogers, Cunningham and dupes like the 'diamond queen' Jasmine Yip and others connected to the drug trade in which the Chapel dabbles.
A side story of Ava's lover Fang Pai working in a new film and a recurring character is a pleasant diversion and brings out Ava's soft side, a side she very often keeps under wraps.
This is a fast-paced, tightly narrated, character driven novel/thriller and Hamilton is at the top of his Ava game with The Diamond Queen of Singapore. Must now read the next book as it focuses on one of the Chapel leaders south of the border, next target in line for Ava to bring down.

[Jennifer S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ava is happily in love with Fang Pai and has brought her home to Toronto when her friend Mimi's father commits suicide after losing all of his money in an investment scheme tied to his megachurch. Pai goes off to Taiwan to shoot a movie on short notice and Ava sets out to recover the lost money, which takes her from Toronto to Amsterdam to Antwerp to Singapore to Chengdu (I might have missed a few places).

Good accounting work and connecting of all the dots and happy to see Ava chasing money again, though I would have liked a little more tension. I kept waiting for something to go dreadfully wrong but it was mostly just detailed work and use of her many connections across the globe.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

[Douglas Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few books in the Ava Lee series I haven't given five stars to. It was still an excellent read, and falls to four stars only in comparison to the best in the series. Too much chasing paper trails in this one and too little action and character progression. The villains stayed at too much of a distance throughout and even in the end, were barely on the page. That said, I still highly recommend the series and am looking forward to the next title.

[Muhammad Gibran · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars. by no means I don't like it. it just the ending seems not very satisfying like any other ava lee title.

[Tim Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best of the series and builds on everything in the series.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best one of the last few! Thanks, Ian. :)

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great installment in one of my favorite series. Strongly recommended.

[Niki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Ian Hamilton book, although it's the #13 Ava Lee in the series. The title attracted me because I lived in Singapore for 7 years and I'm missing it, especially the beautiful warm weather. I actually really liked this book - although there isn't much Singapore in it. The main character, Ava Lee, lives in Toronto (my hometown) and travels to different cities in China and around Asia. I loved the references to actual places I have been to, even roads and neighbourhoods and restaurants in the cities (and they are pretty accurate!) The characters are interesting and well developed and I love Ava Lee's strength and intelligence - initially I was sceptical about an "old white dude" writing about a young Chinese woman, but he did a good job, it seemed authentic. Now I need to go back and start with the first Ava Lee book to catch up on all the fun!

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a new installment in the Ava Lee series is like catching up with an old friend at this point. There is the usual amount of food descriptions, historical anecdotes, and of course, Ava taking no prisoners. I admit I kept waiting for the usual bump in the road in her journey, and I was surprised that it felt like such a smooth sailing.

I’m glad I gave in to my impatience and bought the ebook instead waiting for the physical paperback — this was worth the hours of sleep lost.

[Margaret Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating as a comparative look at western vs eastern approaches to society, culture, law and friendship, this is a fast and very entertaining read. Protagonist Ava Lee is a Canadian -trained forensic accountant skilled in debt collection Hong Kong style, and killer martial arts. Read it, you'll love it!

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to have Ava on a debt-collection case again, and to have Uncle appear too (even though only in her dreams.) But I found it a bit disappointing even so: there was less of Ava finessing her way to a solution than in the early books, and more of her calling on her triad connections to lean on people to force compliance.

[Loriepaddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series continues to be topknotch!

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title here is a bit of a misnomer as Singapore figures only periperally in the story, though one of its citizens launders illegal funds through the sale of equally illegal diamonds. This is part of a complex web of dubious secret deals, a larcenous mega-church in Aurora, Ontario, and a fraudulent investment scheme. Ava Lee, Ian Hamilton's indomitable forensic accountant, feels duty-bound to begin an investigation following the suicide of the father of her best friend Mimi, who lost his entire nest-egg to unscrupulous loan-sharks. Ava embarks on her usual round of first-class travel in her quest to find answers. Along the way, she enlists the aid of Xu, the Mountain Master of Shanghai.
The book was likely completed before the Covid 19 outbreak in Wuhan, therefore there is no mention of this scourge in it. We are expected to suspend our disbelef that the repressive government of Communist China does not know about, let alone allows the criminal activities of the Triads, of which Xu is a high-ranking leader. Ian Hamilton would be wise to read "We Have Been Harmonized" by Kai Strittmatter, former China correspondent for Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung. This detais the government's steady encroachment into all aspects of the lives of China's citizens.
All of that being said, isn't it time for Ava to stop with the unsophisticated instant coffee, and to explore white wines other than oleaginous chardonnay?

[Brian Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent Ava Lee suspense thriller and a book that a reader can easily want to read in one sitting until the end is reached. It's a swiftly paced story about Ava's hunt for and recovery of money stolen from the parents of her best friend Mimi. That was something that she did with her former (now deceased partner) Uncle for many years up to when Uncle died. It was their "debt recovery" business, which she closed to become a business entrepreneur. Mimi's situation brings her back to her former business. The story starts in Toronto and moves on to Singapore and China before returning to Toronto. It goes over the top at times, for example when Ava receives visits from Uncle dispensing advice to her. On the other hand, the last several chapters could serve as a masterclass in negotiation. It's an entertaining and diverting read.
Recommended.

[Janice Chan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sort of return to the original Ava as she agrees to collect funds stolen from her best friend Mimi's family through an iffy investment fund. Although she still turns to her triad contacts for help in the matter, there isn't the reliance on violence (okay, there may be implied violence!) to get the job done, as in the past few books. I thought it rather precious of Ava to bristle a bit when triad violence was alluded to by the lawyers helping with the case, and who knew something of her reputation in Asia.

The pace might be a tad slow for some, as Ava relies on intuition, facts and good old research to work the case, but it works for me. It was also nice (for me) that a lot of the story takes place in Toronto, with very familiar landmarks and references noted.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Ava's best friend Mimi's father commits suicide after losing all of the family's money, Ava agrees to look into it. Little does she know that this agreement will lead her back into the debt collection activity she used to do with Uncle. Tracing the stolen funds from Toronto to Amsterdam to Chengdu, China, Ava puts the pieces together in her inimitable style with help from Mimi's husband Derick, a lawyer named Todd Howell and people who owed Xu, a triad head, favors. The fact that an evangelical church is behind all of this, makes the theft that much worse. Another great book in this series.

[Mark Edlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery - Ava Lee has sort of retired from the debt collection business after the death of Uncle. Yet the father of one of her friends commits suicide after he loses all of the family's money in a Ponzi scheme organized through his church. Ava tracks the money from diamonds in Amsterdam, then Antwerp and then Singapore. Her connections from previous books step up to help her retrieve the money and stop the bad guys.
Canadian references - Ava Lee's home base is Toronto so too many references to list.
Phamacy references - pharmaceutical manufacturing in China; one of the characters is a former pharmaceutical sales rep.

[Ann Cross · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I have not read any of the Ava Lee books prior to this one, I feel my review will not be totally encouraging to other readers. I did like it in parts because the plot was well planned and written, but after a while it got a bit boring. There was no action, it was just so wordy, lots of conversations about what to do to to recover the stolen money e.g. how was this to be done, who would do it, what were the expected outcomes. There was success at the end, but that wasn't unexpected.
In my opinion I think I should have read an earlier book first. I might be wrong but I think this is a series better read from the beginning.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Ava Lee and her relentless pursuit of the elusive money trail and the true guilty parties. I was distracted when reading this by other more emotional books but she came through in the end. A heroine with steely bravery and unwavering loyalty willing to make the tough judgement call. Got to love that....
Glad to have rediscovered a 'new' book in a favourite series.
And a character who walks down a Yorkville neighbourhood street towards the famous Dynasty Restaurant. Love that local Toronto colour!
Singapore? Sure. World travel? Fascinating. But where do you call home?
Another thrilling journey.

[Michelle Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual Ava , The forensic accountant, got the money back. Twists and turns aplenty. She travels everywhere in Asia, mostly. Her new girlfriend is also Chinese, and a successful actress. So Ava is going to help her by putting Five Millions Dollars at the disposition of the producer. It is all fantasy and fun. She gets the triads to help her when needed. They are all killers, but Ava doesn’t ask them to kill... well not really. I like Ian Hamilton and wonder where his knowledge of all the Chinese underworld comes from. Whatever keep the fantasy coming!

[Anniereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page turner! Love the Ava Lee series and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. She is a relentless and fierce forensic accountant who uses whatever means are at her disposal to retrieve her client’s lost money. In this episode she takes on an evangelist group who are drug dealers. Awesome premise and the unfolding story is fascinating and unfortunately very believable! It reminds me of the Ozark when the chaplain is handing out certain bibles. If you’ve seen the show you’ll understand the connection. A great read!

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

It never ceases to amaze me when you hear of yet another fraud being perpetrated by a religious organization. I enjoyed Ian Hamilton's treatment of this topic in exposing charismatic church leaders and the havoc that the visit upon on their unsuspecting followers. "The Diamond Queen of Singapore," is another action packed, high stakes mysteries as Ava Lee brings her considerable skills as a forensic accountant and fighter to the unraveling of yet another corrupt scheme. I look forward to reading more in this series!