Fate

February 1, 2019
After 12 books in the Ava Lee series, featuring a Chinese Canadian forensic accountant who has her own ways of recovering debts, Hamilton presents a series-launching spin-off to tell the story of Ava's late mentor and partner, Uncle Chow Tung. In 1959, Chow, 25, and his fianc�e, Liu Gai-san, 24, were the last remaining members of their families when they formed a group of 11 to escape Mao Zedong's China for Hong Kong by swimming four kilometers across polluted Shenzhen Bay. But during the crossing, Chow became ill from swallowing water, and Gai-san was discovered lost when the group made land. Ten years later, Chow, having earned the honorific Uncle for his serious demeanor and dress, has an executive role in the Fanling family, as he presents progressive ideas to increase income. When Gao, the group's Mountain Master, or leader, is killed by a hit-and-run driver, Chow wants to believe it's an accident until more violence makes it clear that Fanling is being threatened by another gang seeking to take it over. A welcome origin story about the man who helped shape Ava Lee.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)