Angkor Away

Paul is a graphic designer with a history that has included organising events on the London rave scene and supplying recreational drugs across the capital. Disillusioned by the way the scene has been taken over by organised crime, he turns his back on it and, after a few years working for a prestigious design company, he leaves the UK to travel the world, picking up the odd bit of legal and illegal work on the way. After meeting some gifted Thai chemists, Paul sets up a lab in Northern Thailand producing high-quality LSD. When his new business comes to the attention of the local crime lord/army general he has to leave Thailand quickly and relocates to Cambodia where his friend has a bar. There he meets Aya and falls in love. But through Aye he meets her brother Chamreun, a former air force colonel who is now involved in the Cambodian drugs trade and who knows far more about Paul's life than he should. It's not long till Paul is pulled back into the world of drug trafficking against his wishes and is involved with the biggest drugs cartel in the region. But when things turn sour, Paul finds himself in a frantic hunt across South East Asia as they look for answers. But when they find them in a bloody climax, the answers are not at all what Paul had expected.

Angkor Away (International Intrigue)

By Steven W. Palmer

Independent Publishing Platform

ISBN #978-1514300367

Price $9.99 (Paperback)

Price $3.00 (Kindle)

246 Pages

Rating 3-Stars

Paul Johnston has settled in Cambodia and Thailand where he operates his drug distribution. Until a local general makes him an offer he can’t refuse –turn over all his contacts and leave Phnom Penh, and leave the drug business to him. All is well and good until he falls in love with Aya and meets her brother, Chamreum, who knows more about him than he does. Colonel Hoen Chamreun wants to be a part of the big drug trade also, and makes a suggestion to Paul. It all sounds like a workable plan, and he returns to Phnom Penh to meet with the general, this time making a counter offer that interest the general, and a deal is made. Unfortunately, a life in drugs doesn’t promise a happy ending, and when Aya is killed in a home burglary, the evidence leads back to the general and his people. Now Paul and Colonel Chamreum must retaliate.

Unfortunately, the novel wasn’t of much interest. Most of it was like a travel guide, and the drug plot was even less of a highlight for me. None of the characters, with the exception of Chamreum, held little promise. Paul Johnston, who narrates the story, was the least likable character in the story. The only thing the story had going for it was the location. Usually, Cambodia and Thailand people and the nightlife on the strips are enough to hold most readers, but this story had trouble keeping my attention, and the book was easy to put down while I did other things. Not something an author wants the reader to do.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA

Angkor Cloth Angkor Gold

Cambodia, An ancient Kingdom of Wonder. After the devastation of the Khmer Rouge regime, hundreds of thousands of refugees – victims and Khmer Rouge soldiers – flee into Thailand as the Vietnamese invade Cambodian in 1979. In the disorder of one refugee camp, a killer targets young women. But with so much chaos in the camps, nothing is done and no one seems to care. With many refugees expatriated to France, the killer is among them, and continues to strike, in Paris and across Europe. Three decades later, and two murders in Phnom Penh have the same modus operandi as those previous deaths. Could it be the same killer? Can Brigadier General Chamreun and Lieutenant Sophie Chang discover the murderer's identity before they claim another victim?

Angkor Cloth Angkor Gold (Murder Mystery)

By Steven W. Palmer

Saraswati Publishing Cambodia

ASIN # B07K6MF5YT

Price $5.99 (Kindle)

196 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

Cambodia, 2017: The Minister calls in Brigadier General Hoen Chamreun, a young military man, and introduces him to young police officer, Sopheak Chang. They are being assigned to a recent murder case that may involve the killer of the Minister’s sister four decades earlier. The killer is targeting young Khmer prostitutes, and the modus operandi matches murders committed in Cambodia, Thailand refugee camps, France, and Italy. The minister’s sister was not a prostitute, but also killed by the same person. And he wants closure, and the murderer brought to justice.

This was an interesting case, both a current homicide and a cold case investigation, and the investigators dig into the background of the old murders, hoping to find some clue that will tie the person to the current murders. Chamreun is an experienced soldier who has made a name for himself and his unit, and now working with Sophie, a Cambodian that was raised in America and trained as a homicide detective before returning to Cambodia. Both are experienced and want to bring the case to a close.

Readers are cautioned to pay attention to the dates. I didn’t and was confused through half the story until I decided to go back and look at the dates. The investigators bring in Sue Chapman from Interpol, plus use a computer hacker to help uncover records not easily obtainable, and correlate lists of names into a possible list of suspects. The narrative has two main POVs, that of the murderer, and that of Chamreun, but head hop a few times to Sophie and Sue Chapman. I’ve read numerous murder stories set in Cambodia and Thailand, all set in the sex industry, but this novel is more in-depth than mere sex. It goes deeper into the criminal mind and why the killer is targeting prostitutes. The title gives us a clue, but I won’t go into that. Too much detail could give the story away. There is a nice twist at the end of the story. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA