For those of you who might, inexplicably, not already be fans of the middle-aged, perpetually grumpy Samuel Tay, late of the Singapore CID – you’re in for a treat in Mr. Needham’s latest book. Although Sam is retired – he was pretty much eased out of the force – he …
Watch out, Inspector Singh. Your redoubtable wife, Mrs. Singh, might just be muscling in on your territory, and in the process proving to be quite the scene-stealer. I have read all the Inspector Singh books, loved them all, and reviewed most of them here in this blog. Indeed in a …
The author of the hugely fun & hugely successful “Crazy Rich Asians” has a new book out, and it makes for a happy, escapist read in these dire Covid-19 times. Though the central characters are of Asian descent or are Asian, the action takes place in Capri in 2013 and, …
On a visit to Hong Kong last year, I revisited Tai O after a gap of at least 30 years. There were lots of changes, obviously, but reassuringly there was also still a distinctly “rural” feel both to the village and to the whole island of Lantau, which is a …
Reading “Bangkok Days” whilst on holiday in Bangkok was a wonderful, border-line surreal experience, since it made me simultaneously embarrassed at how little I know the city, whilst also inspiring me to try and follow in Mr. Osborne’s steps. Not with the drinking nor the dentistry (the original reason the …
I am a card carrying Jake Needham fan, and of all his wonderful cast of characters, I think Samuel Tay is possibly my favourite. I love Mr.Tay’s outspoken, curmudgeonly take on his home country Singapore, but it was precisely this very fact that slightly marred my enjoyment of the latest …
Although I tell myself I really don’t care what other people think, secretly I was a little worried at quite how much I enjoyed “Crazy Rich Asians”. So obviously I googled reviews of the book, & was relieved beyond measure when I read this comment in a 2013 review of …
This book is the 7th in the wonderful Inspector Chen series, and is quite different from the previous books in that most of the action takes place away from Shanghai, a city which is otherwise an integral part of the whole wonderful persona of the charming, honest, poetry loving, slightly …
I am an unabashed fan of the Inspector Singh series, so please don’t misunderstand me when I say that “A deadly Cambodian crime spree” is possibly the best book in the series thus far. The previous three books are all brilliant reads, don’t get me wrong. Good, funny, insightful, all-round …
