View source for Dragon of Life Book 2 Minor Gods by Mark Devine

{{infobox1
|title=Dragon of Life Book 2 Minor Gods
|author=Mark Devine
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=It's the second in the series but would read well as a standalone. The writing is good - slick and clever - and it's a fun action-packed read. Mark Devine popped into Bookbag Towers to [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Mark Devine|chat to us]].
|rating=3.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=266
|publisher=Moon Tiger International 
|date=May 2012
|isbn=978-0985016418
|cover=0985016418
|aznuk=0985016418
|aznus=0985016418
}}

Luke and Martha have been apart for some time as Luke's been in Valparaiso where one of the hotels which he sold to a consortium of employees has been having problems.  When they meet again it's in Seattle, but they're on their way to the Far East in the hope of starting a new life free from the attentions of the FBI which they so tired of in the [[Dragon of Life Book 1: Raining Truth by Mark Devine|first book]] in the series.  They had perhaps hoped that life would be simpler - but this is Luke Whittaker we're talking about and 'simple' is just never going to happen.

The first place the two settle is Hong Kong.  Back in 1968 it was still a United Kingdom Crown Colony and tax haven it was also on the edge of Mao Zedong's China and the thuggery of the Cultural Revolution.  There's a constant influx of immigrants, both legal and illegal and it's crowded.  As Luke points out, the people of Seattle and San Francisco might feel that their cities are congested, but people living in Hong Kong would class them as having room for the buffalo to roam.  You can see that he's lost none of his talent for the telling phrase.

Luke has plans for a new business based in the Far East and Adolf, his chauffeur, is off hunting for a tug to buy.  The plane his staff are renovating is almost ready to be flown out to Kai-Tak, but there's a more pressing problem for him. Mei Liew owns an interest in one of Luke's hotels (and she has another association with him that he's not yet aware of) but she's just paid a considerable sum of money to have her family brought to Hong Kong from mainland China.  She's been told that they're in Hong Kong but that there are more expenses which she'll have to reimburse.  She smells a rat and asks for Luke's help.

What's noticeable in this book is that Luke and Martha's experiences with the FBI in [[Dragon of Life Book 1: Raining Truth by Mark Devine|Raining Truth]] have made him less inclined to be law abiding and more aware of his own and Martha's safety.  He's got no compunction about turning to the head of one of the local triads for help in sorting out this problem.  Exactly how he does it - and the businesses he has in mind - make for another rattling good story, again with more action that you expect in women's fiction but nevertheless a good read. I'd like to have seen more attention paid to proofreading the book - typos do pull you out of the story - but I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

For more fiction from Hong Kong we can recommend [[The Hungry Ghosts by Anne Berry]].

We read the book in paperback, but it's also available as an ebook.

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