Reading Order
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Start with The Water Rat of Wanchai and continue through all 16 books in the listed reading order.
Start Here
Start with The Water Rat of Wanchai
Book 1 by Ian Hamilton • Published 2011
When a seafood deal collapses and five million dollars vanish, forensic accountant Ava Lee follows the money trail from North America to Hong Kong, Thailand, and Guyana. Her search pits her against corrupt officials a...
Complete List
Ava Lee reading order
Ends with The General of Tiananmen Square
- 1
Book 1:The Water Rat of Wanchai
Ian Hamilton • 2011
When a seafood deal collapses and five million dollars vanish, forensic accountant Ava Lee follows the money trail from North America to Hong Kong, Thailand, and Guyana. Her search pits her against corrupt officials a...
- 2
Book 2:The Disciple of Las Vegas
Ian Hamilton • 2011
Tasked with recovering fifty million dollars stolen from a Filipino billionaire, Ava Lee chases a web of land fraud and online gambling from Vancouver to Las Vegas and Costa Rica. High-stakes poker, political connecti...
- 3
Book 3:The Wild Beasts of Wuhan
Ian Hamilton • 2011
Chinese tycoon Wong Changxing discovers that his prized Fauvist paintings are fakes and turns to Ava Lee for help. Her investigation into a hundred-million-dollar art fraud sends her through Europe and North America,...
- 4
Book 4:The Red Pole of Macau
Ian Hamilton • 2012
Ava’s half brother is trapped in a collapsing real-estate venture in Macau, and her family stands to lose everything. As she follows the money behind the deal, Ava is pulled into Hong Kong’s triad world and forced to...
- 5
Book 5:The Scottish Banker of Surabaya
Ian Hamilton • 2013
A routine check on a suspected Ponzi scheme leads Ava Lee to a small bank in Indonesia run by a charming Scottish expatriate. She soon uncovers a sophisticated money-laundering pipeline for the Italian mob and finds h...
- 6
Book 6:The Dragon Head of Hong Kong
Ian Hamilton • 2013
Just starting her own firm, young forensic accountant Ava Lee agrees to help a desperate client recover more than a million dollars stolen by a Hong Kong importer. The hunt draws her into the city’s violent debt-colle...
- 7
Book 7:The Two Sisters of Borneo
Ian Hamilton • 2014
Through the Three Sisters investment company, Ava backs a furniture business run by two sisters in Borneo. When a dispute with a Dutch buyer turns ugly, she travels to Europe and Kota Kinabalu, confronting local gangs...
- 8
Book 8:The King of Shanghai
Ian Hamilton • 2014
Ava’s new business ventures put her in close partnership with Xu, the ambitious head of Shanghai’s triad. As he campaigns to lead all the societies, she is drawn into lethal internal politics where investment choices...
- 9
Book 9:The Princeling of Nanjing
Ian Hamilton • 2015
In Shanghai for a fashion launch, Ava learns that Xu is being pressured by the powerful Tsai political clan to reenter the drug trade. To protect him, she unpicks a web of state-backed corruption that stretches from p...
- 10
Book 10:The Couturier of Milan
Ian Hamilton • 2017
Ava and her partners debut their PÖ fashion line at London Fashion Week, only to attract the interest of a ruthless luxury conglomerate. When powerful rivals move to crush the brand, she teams up with Xu and takes the...
- 11
Book 11:The Imam of Tawi-Tawi
Ian Hamilton • 2018
Summoned to Manila by an old friend, Ava is asked to investigate a remote college in the Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi that may be training extremists. Partnering with a wary CIA agent, she uncovers a plot that tes...
- 12
Book 12:The Goddess of Yantai
Ian Hamilton • 2018
Ava travels to Beijing for the premiere of her lover Pang Fai’s new film and learns that Fai is being blackmailed by powerful men in the movie industry. To free her, Ava must navigate scandal, surveillance, and the da...
- 13
Book 13:The Mountain Master of Sha Tin
Ian Hamilton • 2019
While visiting an ailing Xu in Shanghai, Ava hears that an old enemy has launched a brutal bid to reclaim Hong Kong’s Wanchai district. With allies kidnapped and deadlines set in blood, she is forced to engineer a ris...
- 14
Book 14:The Diamond Queen of Singapore
Ian Hamilton • 2020
After her best friend’s father dies by suicide over a fraudulent investment, Ava vows to track down the missing money. The trail leads from Europe to Singapore, pulling her into illegal diamond trading, drug routes, a...
- 15
Book 15:The Sultan of Sarawak
Ian Hamilton • 2022
When a warehouse connected to Ava’s business interests is destroyed in Sarawak, she discovers the local Chong dynasty may be behind the attack. Her investigation exposes a vast illegal logging operation that threatens...
- 16
Book 16:The General of Tiananmen Square
Ian Hamilton • 2023
At Cannes for the premiere of a risky film she quietly helped finance, Ava watches its success trigger political blowback. When the producer vanishes en route to Los Angeles, she must confront Chinese pressure and cov...
Quick Answers
Ava Lee FAQ
What is the best order to read the Ava Lee series?
The recommended reading order is the numbered order shown on this page, starting with The Water Rat of Wanchai.
How many books are in the Ava Lee series?
There are 16 books currently listed in the Ava Lee series on GurusReads.
Where should I start with the Ava Lee series?
New readers should start with The Water Rat of Wanchai, the first book in the reading order.
Is the Ava Lee series complete?
Based on the publication years we have, the series appears likely complete and spans releases from 2011 to 2023.