The crime rate in Singapore is one of the lowest in the world. Punishment for drug-related and violent offences are swift and sharp, resulting in death. White collar crimes are more common than murders. Therefore, a murder mystery based in Singapore is most unusual. That too a high profile murder of a senior partner of an international law firm who has been clubbed to death at his desk.
The man in charge of the murder investigation is the portly chain-smoking middle-aged Inspector Singh who insists on wearing spotless white sneakers to work, irritating his superior, Superintendent Chen. He gets away with several things as he is extremely good at his job. He is the man to turn to when quick solutions are the order of the day. In spite of his quirks, he inspires awe and respect from his colleagues.
The law firm of Hutchinson & Rice is a microcosm of Singapore’s multinational firms where the best and the brightest reach the top. The firm’s senior partner Mark Thompson, who has been killed, is a British expatriate who dumped his English wife for the beautiful Indonesian maid Maria. Everyone believes that Maria is a golddigger who married Mark for his money. Initially, she is the prime suspect. Or did his first wife Sarah Thompson kill him trying to wreak revenge? Thompson calls for a meeting of the partners one evening after office hours and is found dead. As the story unravels it transpires that each partner has something to hide. Annie Nathan, half-Indian is among the first to discover the murder with her colleague Quentin Holbrooke. Quentin looks and acts tense and tired all the time. Annie finds out that their Malaysian client suspects that somebody from the law firm has been indulging in insider trading of the Malaysian company’s shares. Jagdesh Singh from the company’s Delhi office, good-looking and bright, is also related to Inspector Singh’s wife. Mrs Singh who is a distant relation of Jagdesh is supposed to connect him with eligible girls. She and her sisters wonder why somebody so eligible has not been snapped up yet. Stephen Thwaites, the most senior partner who seems to have things under control, faces a complication in that he was also a close friend of Mark. Sarah Thompson who was supposed to be out of the country was staying with the Thwaites on the night of the murder. And there is the racist partner Reggie Peter and the tightly wound Ai Leen who come to the meeting together. The security system in the building makes it near-impossible for any stranger to enter the building.
Although a lot of resources are given to Singh to resolve the murder as soon as possible as Singapore does not want an international scandal, he is also asked to treat the partners with kid gloves. As he starts peeling away layer after layer, issues of sexism and racism emerge in the international set-up. People are not what they appear to be or where they say they were. Eventually everybody is a suspect.
This is not much of a murder mystery for crime fiction aficionados. But what makes the book fun is the insights it provides into the multicultural Singapore society, and the huge difference in the lifestyles of rich expats and middle-class ethnic population. Singh’s assistant Fong cannot afford to look after his paralysed father while Singh himself worries about his retirement. The characterisations and descriptions make it a worthwhile read.
sushilaravindranath@gmail.com