Cover image of "The Umbrella Man," one of the Singapore detective novels.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Just imagine: three enormous bombs explode almost simultaneously, destroying the three largest American-owned hotels on Singapore’s busiest thoroughfare. The heart of the city now lies in ruins. And Inspector Samuel Tay of the Singapore police lies in the rubble, having come to investigate, only to become tossed about by the explosion of a fourth bomb detonated to kill first responders. This is the unsettling opening of The Umbrella Man, Jake Needham’s intricately plotted second entry in the Samuel Tay series of Singapore detective novels.

Who is Samuel Tay?

So, who is this man Samuel Tay, this twenty-year veteran Singapore police detective? He’s nearing fifty, intensely aware of the extra pounds accumulating around his waist, and failing in every half-hearted attempt to stop smoking. As he reflects from time to time, he has “more money than he knew what to do with” (inherited from his father) and sometimes wonders why he’s still doing his job. His answer: “He was doing it because it was what he did.”

Sam isn’t especially likable. Women find him attractive, but he rarely reciprocates any sign of interest. And his Sergeant, Robbie Kang, finds him maddening to work for, since Sam is always reluctant to share what he’s thinking. But despite his callous treatment of those around him in the department, the rank-and-file are always willing to work for him. Because Sam Tay is the best at what he does. He’s uncommonly dogged, pursuing even the most elusive truths with obnoxious persistence. And of course he gets results. Normally, his exceptional record persuades his bosses to cut him some slack no matter how much they might dislike him. But not this time around. This is the biggest thing to befall Singapore since the Japanese attack in 1941.

The Umbrella Man (Inspector Samuel Tay #2) by Jake Needham (2015) 374 pages ★★★★☆

An iconic site in Singapore, one of the many colorful scenes in these Singapore detective novels
This iconic triple tower is one of Singapore’s signature modern buildings. It’s one of the sites that crops up in this novel. Image: Tiqets

Singapore’s best detective, sidelined

But if Sam always gets his man, there’s a price to be paid as well. And he’s paying that price for his success in identifying the killer of an American woman who’d died the previous year in one of those three US-owned hotels. In doing so, he had alienated the FBI and senior police officials in both Singapore and Bangkok, all of whom had wanted the murder left unsolved. So, it’s no surprise when Sam discovers after leaving the hospital that the US Embassy, Singapore’s powerful Internal Security Division (ISD), the Minister of Home Affairs, and his boss’s boss were all insisting that Sam be barred from investigating the hotel bombings.

Instead, Sam’s supportive boss assigns him to what seems a routine and uninteresting case of a suspicious death. Across town, in an unoccupied apartment in a seedy neighborhood, a Caucasian man lies dead beside a bed. There’s no visible cause of death. But the man was murdered, as the autopsy quickly shows. And as Sam and Robbie dig into the circumstances surrounding his killing, Sam eventually concludes that the man’s death is closely connected to the bombings. And then, against orders, he undertakes a wider investigation that will expose not only the truth about the terrorist attack but shocking information about his own family’s past as well.

About the author

Photo of Jake Needham, author of the Singapore detective novels featuring Inspector Samuel Tay
Jake Needham. Image: Amazon

Jake Needham writes on his author website that “Once upon a time, I was a screen and television writer, but then I started writing crime novels when I realized I really didn’t like movies and television all that much. Since then, I’ve published thirteen books. I may be an American novelist, but my books are far better known outside the United States than they are in it. My novels have been popular best-sellers in Europe and Asia for nearly twenty-five years now.” And, as The Bangkok Post has observed, “Jake Needham is Michael Connelly with steamed rice.” It’s no wonder why his books are so popular. But only recently has Amazon brought out the Samuel Tay series in editions for the Kindle available in the United States.

This series is included in The best mystery series set in Asia.

I’ve reviewed the first book in this series, The Ambassador’s Wife (A murder mystery spans Singapore and Bangkok).

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