We were pleased to see The Tiger Hunters of Tai O next to The World of Suzie Wong on the shelves at Bookazine in IFC, Hong Kong.

Fact fans (or, er, fiction fans) might not know that Suzie’s boyfriend, Robert Lomax, makes a cameo appearance in Tiger Hunters!

“When the action in Tiger Hunters led to a late-night drinking episode in Wanchai, it was an irresistible opportunity to reference a Hong Kong classic,” says author John Saeki. “The World of Suzie Wong by Richard Mason, more than any other thing I had read, evoked a vivid feeling for Hong Kong in the 1950s, with characters who felt real, who you know you could have met. My take on Bob Lomax was, I hope, gently comical. I wanted to bring him a step closer, to where even a serious ‘hero’ can get sloshed occasionally and get into a bit of a pickle.”

Read more about Saeki’s book here — besides Lomax, it features a cast of police officers, refugees, spies, pirates and triads, all in the offshore island setting of Tai O.