“Ian Hamilton makes the global search for hidden money as thrilling as James Bond fleeing down a snowy slope on one ski. Ava Lee is tough, fearless, quirky, and resourceful, and she has more – well, you know – than half a dozen male detectives I can think of. Ian Hamilton knows his stuff, and he has created a true original in Ava Lee.”
– Linwood Barclay, author of No Time for Goodbye.
“This is a terrific story that’s certain to be on the Arthur Ellis Best First Novel list this year. Even better news is that the next three novels in the series are already written and ready to print. Ava Lee is going to be chasing the accounts for a long, long time.”
– Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail
“Ian Hamilton has a gift for language . . . A note of warning: this book will make you crave dim sum.”
– Literary Treats Blog by Jaclyn.
“Ava is unbeatable at just about everything. Just wait for her to roll out her bak mei against the bad guys. She’s perfect. She’s fast.”
– Toronto Star
“In the age of Lisbeth Salander, it’s not hard to see why Hamilton’s jet-setting heroine is so appealing.”
– National Post
“The Water Rat of Wanchai has introduced me to an intelligent, feisty and impeccably polite woman who is sure to have my attention with each subsequent adventure in the Ava Lee series. [...] It is sure to become a beloved blockbuster.” – Janet from Reading for the Joy of It
“The Water Rat of Wanchai is a brisk, entertaining read. [...] The action is explosive . . . [Ava Lee] quickly captivates the reader. [...] [Ian] Hamilton leaves the reader wanting more . . .”
– Vicki from Bookgaga
“I absolutely could not put this book down. [...] I am anxiously awaiting the next two in the series.”
– Marci from Serendipitous Readings
The Toronto Star
The National Post
London Free Press
Inside Halton
Hamilton Spectator
La Presse
"One of my favorite new mystery series, perfect escapism…Ava Lee’s lethal knowledge…torques up her sex appeal to the approximate level of a female lead in a Quentin Tarantino film."
– Sarah Weinman, The National Post
"Ava Lee is tough, fearless, quirky, and resourceful, and she has more—well, you know—than half a dozen male detectives I can think of."
– Linwood Barclay, author of No Time for Goodbye
"Readers will discern in Ava undertones of Lisbeth Salandar...Irresistible."
– The London Free Press
The Globe and Mail
The Kitchener-Waterloo Record
The Toronto Star
The London Free Press
The National Post
The Toronto Star
The Globe and Mail
The Guelph Mercury
The Sudbury Star
The Globe and Mail
The Hamilton Spectator
The Toronto Star
The Guelph Mercury
"Hamilton deepens Ava’s character, and imbues her with greater mettle and emotional fire, to the extent that book five is his best, most memorable, to date."
– Sarah Weinman, The National Post
"With their tight plotting and crackerjack heroine, Hamilton’s novels are the sort of crowd-pleasing, narrative-focused fiction we find all too rarely in this country."
- Robert J. Wiersema, Quill and Quire
"This is definitely the darkest Ava Lee novel yet, one with some really strange twists. Hamilton, knows how to blend exotic places with explosive plots."
– Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail
"Hamilton knows how to keep the pages turning. He eases us into the seemingly tame world of white-collar crime, then raises the stakes, bringing the action to its peak with an intensity and violence that’s stomach-churning."
– Lesley McAllister, NOW Magazine
The National Post
Quill and Quire
The Globe and Mail
NOW Magazine
