After a nightclub bombing, Singh is sent to Bali to be part of an international task force. However, his skills as a murder investigator aren't very useful until the discovery of a skull with a bullet hole is found in the rubble. Singh, supported by Bronwyn, and Aussie officer, begins to delve the life of the deceased to solve both the murder and the bombings.

The novel's opening text allows the reader to eavesdrop on the vacillating inner thoughts of a young jihadist as he waits for the final command to carry out a suicide bombing--not what I was expecting, but my attention has been captured.

It's a fairly intense read, and the author seems to possess a solid understanding of the jihadi mindset. Inspector Singh isn't a particularly likable character, but he is good at his job. There are several surprises in the plot, and a climatic ending. ( )

I picked this as a fun read for a trip to Bali. A mystery set in a country that I was visiting -- what could be more fun? And to be honest, if I hadn’t spent two spectacular weeks in Bali, I would have found it a light and informative mystery. The plot revolves around a body found among the debris of the Bali nightclub bombings. But this man was not killed by the bomb, but a bullet to the head, and the bumbling inspector Singh is sent from Singapore to Bali to not find the terrorists who planned the bombing, but the person who murdered the victim. There is a lot that is interesting in this story. It’s a whodunit with very colorful characters – an Islamic terrorist cell who hold a hatred for the US and the ways of the west, the international police force sent to find the bombers, and a host of local Balinese, ranging from drivers, to shop keepers, to the local police. My big gripe with this story is that the Balinese are portrayed as kind, helpful, but slightly incompetent and very superstitious. It’s clear that the westerners view the Balinese Hindu rituals to cleanse the dark evil from the bomb as silly and slightly juvenile. There was a condescension of western superiority that I disliked. It felt similar to how old American westerns portray Native Americans. And although my experience with the Balinese was limited, the story definitely didn’t show the warmth and the hospitality that this island exudes. The same could be said for the terrorists. Their motive for the bombings was never explained, making it feel like this could be any group of Indonesian Muslims.
It made me wonder if the author ever had spent time in Bali. We don’t need more stories that stereotype other cultures. ( )

Still trying to get rid of him, Inspector Singh's superiors send him to Bali as a show of solidarity after the 2002 Bali bombing even though he has no terrorism experience. But then a victim's skull is found with a bullet hole -- obviously the man had been murdered before the bomb went off. Inspector Singh can investigate murder with the not always welcome help of an Australian colleague.

I enjoyed the relationship between Singh and Bronwyn, the Australian policewoman. It's a pity we won't be seeing more of her. Some nicely unpleasant suspects even if the ending was mostly rather predictable. ( )

Originally posted on my blog

I used to avoid the crime/mystery shelves at the library. You could find me in fiction, non-fiction, science fiction and fantasy, magazines etc but not the crime/mystery sections. Not until recently.



Perhaps I was unsure of where to begin, which series were good, which writers actually wrote well instead of just churning out book after book in factory-style mass production.

So I’ve been playing catch up.

Partly because of the very many series that have come from countries afar. Like Iceland or Sweden. And in this case, Southeast Asia.

Flint has created an interesting, somewhat different policeman in Inspector Singh, who hails from Singapore and is too fond of his food, resulting in a rather portly figure. Authoritative and imposing, but a little on the round side.

“Singh took a deep breath. He smelt the spicy warm scent of ikan bakar, fish wrapped in banana leaf, on the hotel barbecue. His nostril hairs quivered appreciatively. Wherever he was, the smell of cooking food was always enticing. Singh grimaced – even by his own standards it seemed callous to be longing for dinner at such a time. His ample stomach immediately protested his conclusion, rumbling like a distant storm. The policeman shrugged and ordered a cold Bintang beer and a nasi goreng. After all, one had to eat. He wouldn’t be helping anyone by eschewing food. Not, he thought ruefully, that he was helping anyone anyway.”

Inspector Singh is the Singapore Police Force’s representative in Bali after the aftermath of the Sari Club bombings (based on the real 2002 bombings which killed 202 people and injured many more).

This is rather curious as he is no terrorism expert but an investigator of murders (Singapore has to keep its terrorism experts around to protect its own shores).

And conveniently, there is a murder for Singh to solve.

For the police have found the skull fragment of a man who was killed before the bomb went off.

A fun read, set against a bit of a grim background. It isn’t quite hard to see where the story is going despite the myriad of characters that Flint tosses in (perhaps one too many?). But Inspector Singh, “a throwback to the old school – hardworking, hard-drinking, chain-smoking”, not to mention food-loving, makes for an amusing character whose cases take him to unusual and refreshing locations – in terms of crime series at least – as the series is set mostly in Southeast Asia.

You know, I just realised that I have read this series out of order. Silly me. Still it works fine on its own, and it didn’t feel like I was reading the second book in a series (which is probably why I only realised it now) and now I’m curious to see how the first book, A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder, will work having read the second one!

I am guessing that I wouldn’t fare too well as a police inspector….


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