Singapore 52

 

By Murray Bailey

Crime | Thriller | War & Military | Historical Fiction

🌟Blog Tour🌟

My Review

⭐A 2022 Top Rated Read⭐

I'm delighted to be on the Blog Tour today for Singapore 52 by Murray Bailey.

Singapore 52 is the first book in the Ash Carter Military Police series. As suggested by the title, the action takes place in Singapore in 1952. Having swiftly left the Middle East, Carter now becomes the key player in preventing a violent attack by persons unknown. The date and location are unspecified but it will undoubtedly be bloody and deadly. 

Carter has a personal reason for being in Singapore — his best friend Tom Silverman sent a telegram asking for his help with an investigation. However, upon arrival Carter learns his friend has been killed in car accident. It would appear Silverman was deliberately run off the road; but by whom and why?

I really enjoyed Singapore 52. The characters are skilfully brought to life and could quite easily be real people. The setting is breathtakingly described; both its atmosphere and landscape feel genuinely authentic and are testament to the author's considerable research and knowledge.  

Protagonist Carter's two investigations run nicely alongside one another and keep the reader fully engaged. Love interest Su Ling brings an unsettling element to the story — can she be fully trusted or is she pulling Carter's strings, under orders from her powerful mobster boss Andrew Yipp?

Singapore 52 is a fantastic well-researched read and an exciting start to this fabulous series. I loved the Far Eastern setting and the dashing hero Ash Carter with his unswerving sense of justice. A must-read book in my opinion.

Book Source: Review copy

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paperback: 410 pages

Publisher: Heritage Books (1st Sept 2017)

ISBN-13: 978-0995510852

The Blurb

Chinese New Year 1952

Ash Carter had to leave the Middle East in a hurry. But when he arrives in Singapore he finds himself in the middle of a much bigger problem.

No one knows where, or when, or who but someone is planning an attack. Carter is told to make sure it doesn’t happen. With pressure from politicians and the army and with Chinese Secret Societies watching his every move, he has other plans. He is more interested in finding out who killed his friend.

The Author

Murray Bailey got his first taste of success when he was published in the Times at 18. He also had articles published in his local newspaper. Although he went on to pursue a different career, he continued to write and became the editor of an international magazine and editor of 4 technical books.

His first work of fiction, I Dare You, was published in 2016. He has a series set around ancient Egypt (starting with Map of the Dead) and another set in 1950s Singapore.

Born in Manchester, England, Murray now lives on the South Coast with his wife and family.