The Brown Envelope Club by Charles Barker Inkstone Books HK$175
Here is a novel by a Hong Kong author, from a local publisher. But though the action moves back and forth between the Middle East and the Caribbean, by way of England, Spain, Israel and New York, Hong Kong is not on its itinerary.
There is a kind of book that is so like a film that we could do with a name for this genre. We could call it a 'boovie'. Sometimes such books are written in the hope that they might attract Hollywood deals: the author goes to meet the scriptwriter half way. But it's just as likely that boovies are written in this way because our imaginations are shaped by watching films.
The Brown Envelope Club resembles what used to be called a caper movie. The Italian Job or Ocean's Eleven are examples. It starts with a bunch of likeable rogues getting together to plan an elaborate crime. There is a certain amount of banter and a lot of planning, with some impressive equipment, leading to a suspenseful and violent action sequence and a clever plot twist. We can already imagine Brad Pitt and George Clooney rehearsing their British accents for this one.
The story moves forward in short scenes, cutting between photogenic locations. The victims of the caper have to be unsympathetic, the perpetrators charming. There is not much time for character, but there has to be a good deal of the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
A bunch of erstwhile military advisers, mostly English former servicemen, have all worked for Middle Eastern governments and have been fired - given the 'brown envelope' - by their ungrateful employers. Learning that the crowned heads of six Middle Eastern nations are planning a conference on the Caribbean island of Antigua, the club plots revenge, involving kidnapping and ransom.