When I started this web site several months ago, I asked some friends recently returned from Hong Kong whether they knew of any Hong Kong detectives. Nope. But I got to create the Hong Kong section when I read one of Eric Stone's Ray Sharp novels. Ah, I thought, at last.

Hong Kong has always been a special place in the Asian scene. Until 1997, its government was nominally British, although any visitor could see that although it might be the British system, it was mostly run by Chinese. And this dual nature made it a natural hub for all sorts of Asian activities. Surprising to many, when China took over, the city(-state?) did not simply transform into another part of China. It retained most of its freedom, and life has continued pretty much as it was before 1997.

And it is still a hub of Asian activity. When I visited again in 2006, I was told that some 50,000 Americans—nearly involved in the financial word—live and work in Hong Kong. I stopped a Brit on the street once and asked him why he was there. Aghast, he replied, "Finance, of course. What else would you do here?"

Conditions ripe for the best mysteries, detective or otherwise. I know there just have to be others out there, but for now we'll start with Ray Sharp, something of an amateur detective but always in trouble. And that's why we're along for the ride.

-- Michael Broschat, March 2009