Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 7:00pm
Waterloo Public Library
We've been fans of Ian Hamilton's crime novels since his first book came out about seven years ago. The farflung adventures of the mercurial heroine Ava Lee are smart, well paced thrillers with an engaging story arc through ten novels. We're always thrilled to welcome Ian to Waterloo. His personal story and his specialized knowledge around much of Asia make for a top tier thriller series.
The Imam of Twai-Twai opens with Ava luxuriating in a hotel in Yunnan Province with the actress Pang Fai, with whom she has begun a secret relationship. She receives an urgent phone call from Chang Wang, the right hand to the billionaire Tommy Ordonez and one of Uncle’s oldest friends. Years ago, Ava and Uncle helped Tommy recover $50 million in a land swindle.
Chang asks Ava to fly to Manila to meet with his friend, Senator Miguel Ramirez. Ramirez asks Ava to investigate a college in Tawi-Tawi, an island province in the Philippines, which he suspects is training terrorists. Ava’s investigation leads to a partnership with a CIA agent, and together they attempt to stop an international plot, horrific in size and scope, only to have it turn on them. Ava’s judgement and morals — which Uncle helped her forge — are tested like never before.