Milo March #10

Foreword: The Chinese Connection Jade for a Lady (1962) was the tenth Milo March novel, but appeared as the first novel in the Paperback Library series published in the early 1970s. It is the first of three books in which Milo goes to Hong Kong. The publisher of Paperback Library chose not to issue the books in chronological order, which could sometimes be confusing for fans, since there were often continuous story lines and returning characters. As a publishing professional myself, I assume they arranged the books in a sequence they considered appealing, starting the series with a strong book. I’m guessing they published Jade for a Lady first not just because of the fast-paced action and exotic atmosphere, but because of the lady in the title. The lady in the title is Mei Hsu, who is Milo’s favorite of the many women in his life—from one-night stands to relationships that last for the duration of a case. Mei is the only woman he returns to, and who returns to him. The daughter of a wealthy river pirate, she is a real lady: tall and attractive, feminine, Western-educated (at the elite Smith College), and independent—and she and Milo make beautiful music together. After her father’s death, Mei runs his illegal business, earning the sobriquet of Dragon Lady of Hong Kong. Her g**g of men steals national treasures from the mainland, to preserve them or to turn the proceeds over to refugees from Communist China. Although Milo makes his first trip to Hong Kong in Jade for a Lady, his connection with Chinese culture goes back to his Army days, when he was one of the first men sent in to help drive the Japanese out of China. He learned fluent Mandarin and Cantonese and apparently came to appreciate the ancient Chinese poets. The quoting of Oriental wisdom sayings in the Milo March series is a holdover from the pulps that Ken Crossen wrote under the pen name Richard Foster, including the fourteen Green Lama stories (1940–1943), The Laughing Buddha Murders (1944), and The Invisible Man Murders (1945). Milo is also well versed in Chinese etiquette, almost to the point of parody, and patiently exchanges humilities with old man Hsu. “Most of our conversation was over which one of us was being honored,” he says later, yet he seems to genuinely enjoy it. Milo’s other pleasures—food and drink, not necessarily in that order—are also fulfilled in Hong Kong, including Peking duck, shrimp with garlic, steak and sour vegetables, bean curds in oyster sauce, strong Chinese wine, and Lor Mai Tsao whiskey. Mei Hsu makes further appearances when Milo returns to Hong Kong in A Man in the Middle (1967) and Green Grow the Graves (1970). In the last novel published in Ken Crossen’s lifetime, Born to Be Hanged (1973), Mei flies to America to meet Milo where he is on the job in Reno, Nevada, thus relieving an otherwise tough story with a mostly male cast. They also discuss marriage. That is, Mei asks Milo why he doesn’t marry her. Milo regretfully explains that he wouldn’t be able to accept being “Mr. Hsu.” And, frankly, Milo’s lifestyle wouldn’t be fair to Mei. But it is a model relationship while it occurs. As Milo later acknowledges, “I was more fond of her than I usually cared to admit.” Mei Hsu is portrayed on two of the spectacular Robert McGinnis covers in the Paperback Library series: bikini-clad in number 1 (number 10 in this series) and topless in number 19 (in both series). Kendra Crossen Burroughs