Kiss Me, Hadley

In his wry yet raucous sequel to "Hadley," Nick Macfie reaches into the darkest recesses of the displaced Englishman's mind to weave a plot consisting of preposterous circumstances and humorous dialogue executed with laser-like precision. An English girl with a Chinese father gets caught up in an illegal floating casino. A benevolent gangster kills a dodgy dealer with a bow and arrow. It's Christmas in Hong Kong and journalist Hadley Arnold, king of the cynical hacks, is in trouble again. To read of Hadley's seedy adventures is to experience the bawdiest corners of Hong Kong with both derision and delight.