"The Red Pole of Macau", by Ian Hamilton

Book 4, in the Ava Lee series

This series is a light read, mostly fast paced, quite entertaining and never fails to arouse my interest. Ava, the heroine is finely drawn and so different to the usual protagonist I simply cannot stay away and I am always looking forward to read all of her next challenges and see how she will tackle them. It has been entertaining so far….

The protagonist is a very kick butt and in charge type of character although she does show a vulnerable and soft side when it comes to her love ones. In this mystery Ava finds herself with unexpected family commitments and needs all her skills to assist he brother, Michael, out of a real-estate deal that went terribly wrong. Of course we are in for a fascinating international excursion that takes us from Toronto to Hong Kong and Macau.

Michael and his friend Simon have sunk over $20 million into a Macau shopping center project that turned out to be a scam and the developers are now using strong- arm tactics to extract more investments from them. The Lee’s financial security is at risk and went Simon gets kidnapped Ava springs into action like a ninja meticulously planning a rescue operation and with the help of Uncle’s shadow network, Simon and the money should make it home…..

There is a lot of suspense but it is somewhat diluted with too much description of cuisine and the way the players are dressed. May Lyn, a character in the previous book returns and gives a helping hand although she comes out totally as a nondescript individual…the plot is totally unbelievable but it is rather what makes this series what it is.

It is easy to zip through “The Red Pole of Macau” in just a few hours after all it is not a thick book. The story is good enough although not one that grabbed me and held my attention the way the others did. To my eyes the old formula is getting stale and too predictable it is time to give it a boost.

"The House of Special Purpose", by John Boyne

I love how John Boyne spins historical events and makes his stories unexpectedly compelling reads. “The House of Special Purpose” is a wonderful mix of trodden grounds of the fall of the Romanov Dynasty with a fictional and well thought narrative that goes back and forth in time in and snippets of important moments in the life of Georgy and Zoya Jackmenev, two of the survivors. This fiction brings to life the lovely myth that has sustained the romantics at heart for many years, the speculation that Anastasia may have escaped the tragedy.


Told in a series of flashbacks, 82 year old Georgy reminisces on his past as he sits by his wife deathbed. Haunted by what he had witnessed he recounts how as a young man he was ripped from an impoverished home and thrust into the inner circle of the Romanovs as bodyguard to Tsarevich Alexei, heir to the empire, and eventually fell in love with the Grand Duchess Anastasia. He inevitably became privy to the secrets of the Tsars and his family, the machination of Rasputin and events leading to the final collapse of the empire. His memories reveal shocking secrets…..


This is also a touching love story of two young people in a rebellious Russia and how they gave up everything in order for their love to survive. The story jumps in time and places a lot and you really need to kept up and stay focus otherwise the switchback ride can be quite disconcerting. Mr. Boyne has the fantastic skill of engaging his readers by the ways he smoothly intertwines facts and fiction together. I relish how the factual characters were depicted in an intriguing, honest and enjoyable way. The story may embellish aspects during this period in Imperial Russia in ways some may dislike I found it to be a refreshing and an audaciously imagined alternate in history.

"The Bucket Man", by James Neville

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The “Bucket man” is a kind of travelogue into the world of fake antiques, a wonderful book and an immense eye opener. Reading it felt as Mr. Neville was recounting his memoirs although I am not certain it is truly all his. 


The few 100 first pages or so were a reminiscence of the author’s life in the Services very boring IMO and many times I contemplated abandoning it but as most of the time I persisted and thank goodness I did. After resigning his commission and being disowned by his father, James had to make a life for himself. He met a woman on a train and began an intrigue that led him into the world of antiques. His creative imagination enabled him to establish a unique business that later on became a highly sought model. James became what we know in America as a “Picker” and we follow his adventures through the back roads of the UK in search of the golden egg….

In time James develops the knack for hidden treasures in the most unusual places and scouring the backwoods and dirt tracks he unearth collectible relics with historical and pop culture value. Sometime he made money on the deal sometime not but one sure thing he had was a string of hard working artisans refurbishing his finds into brand new antiques ready for a trade.… Along the way he encounters a diversity of characters from the aristocracy, scrap dealers, crooked businessmen, interior designers and many others. 

The book is definitely not for everyone. The author explains in minute details the world of a “picker”, the intricacies involved in the refurbishing each article and how complicated and sometimes dishonest the wheeling and dealing is. This story is well written and very informative one thing for sure after reading this book you will pause before purchasing what is sold as genuine antiques…