Jake Needham's first Inspector Tay novel is The Ambassador's Wife, and the setting changes from Needham's familiar Thailand to Singapore.
Singapore is both an island nation (wholly contained within an island) and a city state (there is only one city). It lies south of Thailand at the southern tip of Malaysia. Hot and humid, it is still somewhat north of the equator. It was founded by the British, which explains the contemporary use of English as the "administrative" language. Presumably, it is taught in the schools, such native languages as Malay, Tamil, and Mandarin being present in citizen families.
Our hero is a bachelor Singapore native, about 40, and a career policeman. We learn that Singapore has little crime, and Inspector Tay's great discomfort with dead bodies is seldom given much opportunity for exercise. Until this book came along.
Needham—an American—gives us a bunch of Americans as the source of trouble in this story, and all are connected with the diplomatic service of the United States. Hence, 'ambassador' in the title. What happens to the wife? Well, I'll leave that to you to find out.
I finished this a couple days ago, and have been thinking about what I learned of Singapore from reading it. Unlike Thailand, I have never been to Singapore, so this was a good test. As noted above, we learn that it is hot and humid. I certainly have experienced that part of Singapore life, having lived in Asia and having visited such places as The Philippines, Thailand, and Hong Kong. Such a climate determines how certain aspects of life are lived. For example, Inspector Tay is almost alone among modern Singaporeans when he walks somewhere (and he always pays for it by being wet when he gets to his destination). Of course, I can still remember the remarkable change in life from my first visit to Hong Kong in the late 1970s to my recent visit in 2006. Everything is air conditioned, and one can even move from downtown store to store within an enclosed environment. I did not read of such a development occuring in Singapore, but common sense suggests that it has begun.
We meet a few other Singaporeans (including the usual hero's boss, somewhat basking in the percs of his office, which includes a lovely young secretary). Said boss provides a certain amount of conflict, necessary to keep a certain tension in the life of our hero. There are also several feminine presences, which give our hero something to think about on occasion.
Without question, Needham knows how to concoct an exciting story (this is my third Needham novel), and Ambassador's Wife is no exception. There are some nice insights into diplomatic life, and I was especially delighted to see a place of former employment front and center within this novel. Although you all know of the American Department of State, you might not know that the security that accompanies US diplomatic missions is conducted by a separate division of the State Department, and is called the Diplomatic Security Service. I worked at its headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia, and a hopping place it is.
The primary position within DSS is that of the Regional Security Officer (RSO), and one features in a primary role within this story. RSO are not only diplomatic folks, but are also cops. They carry guns, arrest people, etc. We see quite a bit of this side of things in our story.
Anyway, Ambassador's Wife was yet another great read from Needham. We learn a bit about a new country (to most of us), and get highly entertained along the way. What more can anyone ask for?
--Michael Broschat, Oct 2008