‘Rich Kill, Poor Kill’ by Neil Humphreys

Published by Muswell Press London,
31 March 2022. 
ISBN: 978-1-83834-015-5 (PB)

This is the second book in the DI Stanley Low series.  Like the first one it is set in Singapore and Low is assisted by DS Charles Chan. 

Low investigates the death of a young Malay woman, Aini. Her main occupation was to clean the apartments of white foreigners, but she also earned extra money selling sex to her male employers.  One day an employer insults her. She retaliates. He kills her and dumps her body in the street. The murderer actually loved Aini, and his actions send him on a killing spree.

Nobody paid much attention to Aini’s death: she was a poor foreigner of little importance.  Conversely, an enormous amount of attention is given to the murders of couple of young, white, Australian backpackers. This crime grabs much media attention and Low’s bosses want the killer found yesterday. Low is enraged by the difference in the standards being applied to poor foreign Asians compared to those applied to rich, white foreigners.

Zhang, a middle-aged Singaporean blogger and media influencer whose wife had had an affair with a young Australian surfer, hates all foreigners. So, when it transpires that the killer is most probably a white male, and a foreigner, he makes sure that the racist aspects of the murders are brought to everybody’s attention. Unfortunately, when Zhang whips up hatred against non-Singaporeans, he annoys the murderer and puts himself and his wife in the firing line.

Low’s bipolar mental problems are exacerbated when Dragon Boy, a young, drug-dealing gangster, is killed whilst trying to obtain information for him about the murderer.  When Low was working undercover, he had formed a complicated relationship with Dragon Boy. The knowledge that he has contributed to the boy's death is difficult for him to cope with.

Although Low gets his man, nobody - certainly not the unorthodox Low - wins in this engaging tale. Low’s bosses try to chain him to a desk because they are embarrassed by his insubordinate and extraordinary behavior. Low wouldn’t mind if they sacked him, but his previous successes and fame render that improbable.  Whatever you think of DI Low and his methods, Neil Humphreys’ dense writing makes for compulsive reading as it encapsulates the attitudes and aspirations of his characters and the shortfalls of civic administration and government with a delightfully impressive ease.  DI Low is definitely a character who grows on you. I’m really looking forward to reading the third book in the series.
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Reviewer: Angela Crowther.

Neil Humphreys grew up in Dagenham Essex and went to university in Manchester. He now lives in Singapore where he writes for various publications and broadcasts on TV and radio. He is one of the bestselling authors in Asia

Angela Crowther is a retired scientist.  She has published many scientific papers but, as yet no crime fiction.  In her spare time Angela belongs to a Handbell Ringing group, goes country dancing and enjoys listening to music, particularly the operas of Verdi and Wagner.