Short Fuses (Four short stories)

by Stephen Leather

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  The Hungry Ghost. 1991 in Hong Kong and the colony is preparing for Chinese rule. Geoff Howells, a government-trained killing machine, is brought out of retirement and sent there. His brief: to assassinate Chinese Mafia leader, Simon Ng. Howells devises a dangerous and complicated plan to reach his intended victim - only to find himself the next target. Patrick Dugan, a Hong Kong policeman, has been held back in his career because of his family connections - his sister is married to Simon Ng. But when Ng's daughter is kidnapped and Ng himself disappears, Dugan gets caught up in a series of violent events and an international spy ring that has spun out of control . . . I might one day bring back Dugan in another book, he’s one of my favourite characters. Here are the first couple of chapters –