A Review of Hong Kong Dangerous by Tom Fowler

So, I have discovered a new local Baltimore author by the name of Tom Fowler who writes mysteries about cyber sleuthing and solving crimes. Anyway, before I delve into Fowler’s first novel (The Reluctant Detective) in the series, I decided to read the prequel (a novella) that introduces C.T. Ferguson, the protagonist.

In the prequel, readers find C.T. living in Hong Kong for three years and working with a group of hackers (funded by him) who help Americans and dissidents escape the Chinese government.  Unfortunately, he gets busted and thrown in jail where he is served a steady diet of rice and water. His captors want him to “rat” on his fellow hackers and when he refuses to do so, he gets beaten up.  But C.T. using his wit (pretending not to understand the language) and skills, he makes one phone call to a longtime friend who then call’s C.T.’s father to find a way to get him out of jail.

Just so happens, C.T.’s father had to reach out to a gangster with connections in the US embassy to get C.T. released back to the US with the caveat he would never return to Hong Kong. Now that C.T. is back in Baltimore, his parents want him to do something that doesn’t involve computer hacking. Guess we’ll see what happens.  

Overall, I liked the premise, the dialogue was realistic, and the characters were fairly fleshed out. Fowler used first and third-person point of views to inject a parallel story involving C.T.’s cousin, Rich a cop who works for the Baltimore City Police Department. However, what threw me for a loop was Rich being incorrectly referred to as a sergeant who wanted to be a detective on multiple occasions. I had to re-read this part because sergeants act in a supervisory role which is different from a detective who investigates and solves cases. So Rich was simply a police officer on the beat trying to be a detective. This shows how important it is to do your research before writing.

Despite this hiccup, it was an engaging story and I would probably read the first novel in the series to see what mischief C.T. gets into.  

My favorite lines:

      My eyelids grew heavy when I heard someone messing with the lock. The door opened a few seconds later, and Chun entered. I sat up in bed. He took a step closer and stopped. “Good evening.” I repeated the greeting, and he said, “Have you decided?”

      “It’s not easy,” I said. “Throwing your friends under the bus—or maybe under the tanks—isn’t a simple call.”

      “You’re running out of time.”

      I should’ve figured on this. Part of me did, but I’d also hoped the rapport Chun and I developed would buy me a day of two. “How much longer?”

Rating:  3.5 stars