The King of Shanghai and Now You See Her

Introduction: The King of Shanghai and Now You See Her

Below you will find some of my thoughts on The King of Shanghai by Ian Hamilton and Thoughts on Now You See Her by Joy Fielding. They are not long enough to be a book review.

Thoughts on The King of Shanghai by Ian Hamilton

Transitioning from one field to the next is not always smooth sailing, and this is very evident in the King of Shanghai by Ian Hamilton. I introduced you to the Ava Lee series by Ian Hamilton in 2013 while I was journeying on the first Virtual Literary World Tour.

While on the Tour, I read The Water Rat of Wanchai: An Ava Lee Novel and The Disciple of Las Vegas. I enjoyed the books in the series so much that I quickly purchased the other ones – The Wild Beasts of Wuhan: An Ava Lee Novel, The Red Pole of Macau: An Ava Lee Novel, The Scottish Banker of Surabaya (Ava Lee, #5) [Paperback], and The Two Sisters of Borneo.

A few weeks ago, The King of Shanghai was released. The main character, Ava Lee, lives in Toronto, in an area that is very close to where I live. The books usually start in Toronto, then Ava Lee travels to another country. In the latest book, The King of Shanghai, as the title suggests, Ava Lee goes to Shanghai, where she stays at the Bund Hotel, a hotel that I am familiar with (I went to Beijing and Shanghai in 2007).

Have you read?

Book Review: The Wild Beasts of Wuhan by Ian Hamilton

What is The King of Shanghai About?

In the earlier books, Ava Lee’s role is a debt collector, and she works with Uncle who had ties to the Triad. People came to Uncle and Ava as a last resort, and when they recover the debt, which they usually do, they are very well compensated. Recovering the debt is never easy, and many times, people seriously get hurt in the process. In The Two Sisters of Borneo, Uncle, Ava’s business partner, dies from cancer, and her heart is broken. She takes time to heal her broken heart until she is ready to actively participate in a new business, where she and her partners, May Ling Wong and her sister-in-law, Amanda invest in other companies.

The King of Shanghai starts off with Ava Lee ready to get back to work. On her trip to Shanghai, Ava meets with Xu, who was Uncle’s protégé. Xu wants to invest $150 million into her firm, and he assures her he didn't gain the money from gang-related activity. She asks a lot of questions, and Ava tells Xu that if she and May Ling decide to accept the money, he can never divulge the information. Later, she talks it over with May Ling, and they agree to accept the investment from Xu.

At the same time, Xu is trying to get voted in as the top dog of the Triad, and only has one serious competitor. Ava gets dragged into brokering a deal on behalf of Xu, and keeps sinking deeper into the old life. Although Ava’s wish is to change the work she does, and no longer involve herself in violent work, she has a hard time leaving her old life behind.

I enjoyed The King of Shanghai by Ian Hamilton, and while reflecting on the story, it made me realize that transitioning from one field to the next is not always easy, but it is doable. You have to decide what you are prepared to let go, and what you will take forward with you.

 The Imam of Tawi-Tawi (An Ava Lee Novel) The Couturier of Milan The Disciple of Las Vegas: An Ava Lee Novel The Ava Lee Series Bundle 3 The Water Rat of Wanchai: An Ava Lee Novel The King of Shanghai: The Triad Years: An Ava Lee Novel The Scottish Banker of Surabaya (Ava Lee Series) The Red Pole of Macau: An Ava Lee Novel The Princeling of Nanjing (The Triad Years) The Wild Beasts of Wuhan: An Ava Lee Novel The Two Sisters of Borneo (An Ava Lee Novel)

Thoughts on Now You See Her by Joy Fielding

Have you ever wanted something badly, only to be disappointed when you finally receive it? That is what happened to Joy Fielding’s Now You See Her. Back in 2011, I saw the book trailer for Now You See Her, and I read the description, and I immediately wanted to read the book. But I wanted to buy the trade paperback version because it would be cheaper.

Every so often, while I was in the Indigo Bookstore I would check to see if a cheaper version of the book was available. A few weeks ago, while the store was having a promotion – spend $40 get a $10 bonus card – I checked and I couldn’t believe it that Now You See Her was now in trade paperback, so I bought it.

I decided to add the title to the list of books I am reading this year for the Reading Challenge, and while I was on Amazon, to pin the image of the book to Pinterest, I noticed that Now You See Her only got two stars. Since reading is so solitary and personal, and I decided not to pay too much attention to the reviews.

What is Now You See Her by Joy Fielding About?

In a nutshell, Now You See Her by Joy Fielding, is about a woman, Marcy Taggart, whose only daughter, Devon, is presumed drowned. Not very long after, a few short years,  her marriage disintegrates because of the strain. Marcy and her husband had planned a trip to Ireland to celebrate a second honeymoon after 25 years of marriage. Since most of the money for the trip is nonrefundable, the distraught mother goes on the trip alone.

While in Ireland, she thinks that she sees Devon, and most of the story is centered on her trying to find her daughter. The story doesn’t work for me. Early on in Now You See her, when the police announce the accident, Marcy rushes upstairs for a suicide note, which she finds one, but doesn’t disclose the fact to anyone. I do not have children, but I can imagine that it would be horrific to go through that kind of experience. Marcy appears scatter-brained and has no real plan. The story has some high points, but in my opinion, Now You See Her doesn't live up to expectation, although it had the potential to be a great story.

Joy Fielding is a New York Times bestselling author, and what this tells us, is that no one is always on top of her game. We will win some and lose others. I will not write off Joy Fielding because of Now You See Her because I am willing to try some of her other books. Writing a book is not easy, because I have first hand experience, and when an author looks back on her work, there will always be things that she would have done differently.

 The Bad Daughter: A Novel She's Not There: A Novel Someone Is Watching: A Novel Missing Pieces Life Penalty The First Time The Deep End Shadow Creek (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic) Still Life: A Novel Whispers and Lies Don't Cry Now Now You See Her

Final Thoughts: The King of Shanghai and Now You See Her

Although I do not do it very often, it is always fascinating when I have to book reviews in one. It makes me look closely to two books. Overall, there are some lessons that you can use in your career.

Switching careers is not always very easy, but it is doable. If you do not make a clean break, you may find yourself returning to the old because it feels comfortable. Or in some ways, customers know you for one thing, so they keep on returning to you, and you do not want to lose a sale, so you say ‘yes'.  You have to make a decision, am I still in the old field or not?

Do not write off someone because she was not at the top of her game once. No one can be excellent all the time. How would you feel if you were evaluated on the one project that you did poorly on, and not on the 99 that you performed exceptionally well?

The two books are worth reading for yourself!