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Ceremony of Innocence
 
 

Ceremony of Innocence [Kindle Edition]

Humphrey Hawksley
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Kindle Price: £2.99 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
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Product Description

Product Description

Mike McKillop was once a respected Hong Kong policeman. But now, living alone after his Chinese wife disappeared to the mainland with their two children, he is a pen-pusher, wallowing in alcoholic self-pity.

He thinks the glory days are long over.

But the past is about to catch up with him.

In Beijing for an international conference on corruption, McKillop receives a call from Clem Watkins, a CIA pal he hasn't seen since the night his best friend was murdered years earlier.

Watkins warns him that there is something is happening at Heshui, a secret missile base near the Korean border.

McKillop is suddenly thrown into a vast conspiracy, involving the British, Chinese and US intelligence agencies. A deadly game of geo-political chess is about to unfold - in which no one is innocent.

And McKillop will have to learn how to be a policeman again - if he is to stay alive, and save the family he lost years ago.

'Ceremony of Innocence' is a stunning, thought-provoking, action-packed thriller that draws on Humphrey Hawksley's years of experience as an Asian correspondent for the BBC to draw a terrifying portrait of Chinese power politics.

It is perfect for fans of Lee Child, Robert Ludlum, Frederick Forsyth and Robert Harris.

Ceremony of Innocence has been brilliantly reviewed.

'A gripping story, told with great imagination, but also with the knowledge and authority that one rarely sees in such thrillers.' - Jon Swain, Sunday Times

'Provocative and topical' -- The Daily Telegraph

'Exotic settings...exciting thriller fare...a tense climax.' - Phillip Knightley, The Mail-on-Sunday

'A complex and convincing thriller ....an intriguing, if violent, vision of the near future.' - The New Scientist

'The scariest milieu since the Cold War washed out.' - Kirkus Associates

'Packed with authentic details... keeps suspense levels high.' - Publisher's Weekly

'Humphrey Hawksley is one of only a handful of writers taking the thriller in important new directions.' - Craig Thomas

Humphrey Hawksley has been a BBC correspondent specialising in Asia for many years, and has reported from troublespots such as Kosovo and Iraq. In the 19980s he was in India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka - from where he was expelled while covering the Tamil war. From 1990 he was based in Hong Kong and in 1994 moved to Beijing to open the BBC's first television bureau in China.

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 691 KB
  • Print Length: 310 pages
  • Publisher: Endeavour Press Ltd.; 1 edition (17 Sep 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B009CYPK3M
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #187,242 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars You Can Almost Smell the Air... 18 Oct 2012
By Charlie
Format:Kindle Edition
My favourite thing about this thriller is the setting. I felt as though I was in Hong Kong. A British policeman in a foreign setting, everywhere he goes I feel as though I am experiencing the country with him. There are really colourful characters with all the elements of a good global thriller. I want to follow Laurie McKillop on more adventures. It starts off a little slow as Hawskley sets up the protagonist as the reluctant hero - but stick with it as the plot twists and finale won't disappoint
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Topical and Gripping 15 Oct 2012
By Chris
Format:Kindle Edition
Humphrey Hawksley probably does not get the credit he deserves as a thriller writer. He has been producing excellent, upmarket topical adventures for several years now and is at least as good as Frederick Forsyth or Robert Harris. He is very strong on China, a country he has reported on for the BBC. And this book, re-issued as an e-book, is among his best work. A Hong Kong policeman gets mixed up with a deadly plot on mainland China, and soon finds his life is at stake. The atmosphere is excellent and the pace never flags. Anyone who wants both a good read and to know a bit more about China will find this book well worthwhile.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Ceremony of Innocence 9 Nov 2012
By E Wood
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
An interesting plot and development - placed well in context - particularly for those who have lived in Hong Kong and the Far East. Like other books by Humphrey Hawksley, the literacy style tends to tell in the end and one feels that the author, becoming rather bored with the story line, rushes to reach a conclusion and resolution that is rather idiosyncratic with the story line. In this it becomes rather far-fetched and all the more unrealistic. Perhaps this is not a bad thing, for fiction is less likely to be confused with fact. For an author who has reported widely on political and social affairs in the Far East and China, there is always a danger that preferences and feelings find their way into fiction and opinions can easily be created in the mind of the reader. Thus myth can become confused with fact. Whilst that may seem innocent in an account of fiction, one has to remember that many regimes - and particularly autocratic ones - have used historical myth to bolster their control, power and authority.
Other books like Beijing Coma reach a balance between fact and fiction and leave the reader with questions and caution. Thriller story lines that form definitive conclusions between good and evil can become more judgmental and must not interfere with more carefully research social and historical works. Readers must therefore not forget that this is fiction; no matter how detailed the settings are - even if you have walked or jogged many of the paths described. Having said that, the book is very readable, evocative, fast-moving and fun.
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4.0 out of 5 stars A great thriller 1 May 2013
Format:Kindle Edition
Ceremony of Innocence is a gripping and exciting read. The book follows Mike McKillop a once respected Hong Kong policeman. One night he receives a call from an old friend warning him that something is happening at Heshui, and McKillop finds himself dragged into a conspiracy far larger than he could ever imagine. Now he has to unravel the mystery whilst fleeing the very people who want Heshui to remain a secret. The plot is fast from beginning to end, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Humphrey Hawksley writes flawlessly, and the plot as a whole flows well. It definitely won't disappoint.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable 9 Nov 2012
By Viv0147
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The start of the book is a little confusing but as I got into it I really enjoyed it I started reading it on my Iphone while on the bus I ended up sitting down in my lounge in peace and quite to finish the book a very good read and a great ending
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4.0 out of 5 stars A great read 9 Jan 2002
Format:Hardcover
I thought this book was a brilliant read, with a gripping plot. It also brought Hong Kong to life very convincingly.
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3.0 out of 5 stars ceremony of reading 16 July 2001
Format:Paperback
I bought this book because I am interested in the Far East and books about Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc. This book has an interesting premise, about a British policeman who is still working for the force even after the Chinese have taken over, and is working for the man who, before the Chinese took over, killed his friend. The reason the British policeman stays on is twofold: his Chinese wife and kids have left him, and he hopes to get them back; and he hopes to avenge his friend's death. So the story is interesting, and in fact unfolds in unpredictable ways. There are points in the book, however, which are unclear (for example, whether a passage is a flashback or in the present; a comment which is unclear). The book starts slowly, but then starts to pick up pace. It's probably not one of the better books written about Hong Kong. If you want a really good book, I would recommend John Gordon Davis' books about Hong Kong (and about Africa). But this book has a good story that will make me continue in the ceremony of reading.
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