Ian Hamilton, author of the best-selling Ava Lee and Uncle series of mysteries, is giving his many fans an unexpected early holiday gift: a novella that tells the story of how Ava and Uncle met, which will be offered as a free ebook by Hamilton’s publisher, House of Anansi Press.

According to a guest blog post on his publisher’s website, Hamilton got the idea to write the story after an encounter with a fan at Word on the Street in Kitchener, Ontario. The man asked if Hamilton had ever considered writing a prequel to The Water Rat of Wanchai, the first book in the Ava Lee series, telling readers how the popular forensic accountant turned crime fighter first met her shadowy mentor, known in the books only as “Uncle.”

In the winter of 2012″“2013, as I was finishing the edits to The Scottish Banker of Surabaya and writing The Two Sisters of Borneo, I found myself distracted by thoughts about Ava’s early life. She was in her mid-twenties, just out of school, living in a tiny apartment in Richmond Hill, and struggling to establish her career. Then dialogue began to pop into my head as I was driving or lying in bed. Uncle and Ava were speaking to each other for the very first time. It was their initial meeting and conversation, and they were feeling each other out, tip-toeing towards the formation of a partnership.

The ebook original, titled The Dragon Head of Hong Kong, will be made available in four parts for a limited time, with the first instalment appearing on Nov. 19. Readers can sign up to receive the serialized novella via Anansi’s website.