Ian Hamilton

William Ian Hamilton (born May 24, 1946) is a Canadian mystery writer. A former journalist and civil servant, he has had his work published in Maclean's, Boston, the Regina Leader-Post, the Calgary Albertan, and the Calgary Herald. Hamilton is the author of the Ava Lee crime/mystery series. Ava Lee is a Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant who chases massive bad debts for a living. There are 13 books in the series as of late 2020, and they have won several awards. Early life and career Hamilton was born in Chirk, Wales, in 1946. His early education was in Scotland, and the balance and majority in Canada. He started his career as a journalist in Regina with the Leader-Post, and then worked at the Calgary Albertan and Calgary Herald before joining the Canadian government organization The Company of Young Canadians as Director of Communications. From there he worked at Information Canada (Director of Regional Operations), Consumer and Corporate Affairs (Regional Director for Ontario, Director of Communications), Fisheries and Oceans (Director-General of Communications and Policy Development), and External Affairs (Canadian Consul and Trade Commissioner for New England). He left the government to go into business, and ran several companies including The Rhyn Company, Seafood Selections and The All Natural Seafood Company. He worked in more than 30 countries. Writing Hamilton is best known for his series of detective novels featuring forensic accountant Ava Lee, which are based in part on his experiences in various countries around the world, particularly in southeast Asia. Ava Lee is a Chinese Canadian lesbian forensic accountant, and the novels have been embraced by the Chinese Canadian community and by lesbian readers. As of 2012, the first book in the series, The Water Rat of Wanchai, was in the process of being adapted for film, with the screenplay written by Karen Walton.