If Raymond Chandler had set out to write a fantasy crime thriller for young people, starring dragons, werewolves and vampires, the result may well have been something like Rita Wong and the Jade Mask. A hidden door in Morecambe leads Rita into a strange and different world where she makes friends with Lester Thyme, a shambling but friendly dragon. Lester is job hunting, but we quickly realise that he has an exceptional talent for detective work. Soon the two friends are working together as private detectives to solve a series of thefts of valuable objects. The criminal is clearly a master of his trade - can Lester and Rita break the case? In Lester’s world, pretty well anything can happen, but our two heroes proceed as methodically as you’d expect, and this is a proper detective story. The relationship between Rita and Lester is lots of fun, and the setting provides opportunities galore for adventure not to mention eye-catching scenes and characters. Will Thyme and Wong return to crack another case? Let’s hope so!
Rita Wong leads an ordinary existence sipping hot chocolate in Morecambe until one winter morning a dragon called Lester Thyme crosses her path. He takes her to Neon City where the streets are dark with magic, crime, werewolves and vampires.
This breakneck page turner combines the atmosphere of classic hard-boiled crime thrillers with plenty of laughs, secretive magic (you won’t find any wands in this story!) and fantastical characters. Readers can look out for the clues along with Lester the Dragon as he discovers that life is easier with more friends when he enlists the help of Rita Wong to help him crack the case.
Mark Jones is the author of poems and short stories. He began writing for his college magazine, and later moved to Delhi. There he edited and wrote original stories whilst expanding his waistline with delicious Indian cuisine. He followed that with a job teaching English in Singapore, where he consumed large quantities of sushi. When he not writing, he likes to travel to see someone he loves in Osaka.
