‘The Detective Gone Gray’ by Jake Needham

My Review (5 stars out of 5)

A diplomatic reception at a Bangkok university would normally be pretty tiresome, but when a lone gunman appears, the scene becomes one of mass murder. Former detective Sam Tay – now feeling his age and worrying about the future – is approached by Interpol to help with the investigation. Sam discovers the detective in charge is being pressurised by his bosses to come up with a result – even if it isn’t the right one. The murder of several ambassadors and the American chief of mission looks like a terrorist plot but as the guest of honour – the Chinese foreign minister – wasn’t even there, Sam begins to wonder if a major piece of the jigsaw is missing.  

This is book eight in the Samuel Tay series and it’s an absolute stonker. As usual, the story centres not only on an investigation, but on Sam Tay’s views on life and death, as well as his concerns about the ageing process. Could it be that this might be the last case Sam tackles before he shuffles off his mortal coil for good? An appearance by Sam’s dead mother does nothing to change his mind, as it seems that even she is moving on. In Bangkok Sam meets the detective he’ll be working with along with an attractive cop known as Beer. As the investigation progresses and Sam discovers the identity of some of the murdered people, the mystery only deepens. Following a near-fatal collision on the road, Sam realises that both his own and his companion’s lives may be in danger.

There’s a couple of nice surprises later on in the book when former associates become part of the story. As the pieces of the puzzle came together, it reminded me what a damn good storyteller Mr Needham is.

A stonking good murder mystery that ticked all the right boxes for me. Nice one, Jake.

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