Match Fixer

Match Fixer

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

Match Fixer takes place inside the murky underbelly of Asian Football. The so-called squeaky clean city-state of Singapore plays host to betting syndicates which have for decades fed off the insatiable illegal gambling habits of the local population and in the process made a select few bookies very rich and far too powerful. Neil Humpreys, a former Football correspondent for the nationalSingapore press, lifts the lid off a previously unexplored - but very real - subject. In his debut novel, corruption is destroying the Beautiful Game in Asia and has spread its tentacles into the UK via spread betting cartels that have already knocked out floodlights and caused chaos in the English Premier League. Against such a background, former West Ham United apprentice striker Chris Osborne arrives in Singapore for a final roll of the dice to get his once promising career back on track. However not even a boyhood spent growing up in...
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Why Our Great Leader was Not So Great and Not Much of a Leader

Why Our Great Leader was Not So Great and Not Much of a Leader

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

For many Singaporeans, Sir Stamford Raffles was Great Leader and White Saviour all rolled into one. The one man, one country narrative allowed a simplistic telling of a complex tale concerning Singapore's birth to take root. But Raffles was a deeply flawed man. Whether he was palming off most the heavy lifting to Farqhuar—and then publicly taking all the credit whilst privately criticising his man on the ground—or providing women for his sex-obsessed friend Alexander Hare, the governor of Banjarmasin, Raffles had almost 50 shades of grey to his character. He wasn't particularly impressed with the locals either, clumsily dividing them into racial ghettos and practically starving the military. But he was kind to animals. In fact, he had quite a few stuffed and brought back to his beloved London Zoo. For any revisionist historian, Raffles' role in Singapore's founding is complicated. He was, after all, a white imperialist subjugating an island of indigenous people in...
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Bloody Foreigners

Bloody Foreigners

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

London is angry, divided, and obsessed with foreigners. A murdered Asian and some racist graffiti in Chinatown threaten to trigger the race war that the white supremacists of Make England Great Again have been hoping for. They just need a tipping point. He arrives in the shape of Detective Inspector Stanley Low. Brilliant and bipolar. He hates everyone almost as much as he hates himself. Singapore doesn't want him, and he doesn't want to be in London. There are too many bad memories. Low is plunged into a polarised city, where xenophobia and intolerance feed screaming echo chambers. His desperate race to find a far-right serial killer will lead him to charismatic Neo-Nazi leaders, incendiary radio hosts and Met Police officers who don't appreciate the foreigner's interference. As Low confronts the darkest corners of a racist soul, the Chinese detective is the the wrong face in the wrong place. But he's the right copper for the job. London is about to meet the bloody foreigner who...
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Secrets of the Swamp

Secrets of the Swamp

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

Three brothers are supposed to go to a mangrove swamp to take pictures of horseshoe crabs for a school project, but they really just want to have some fun.  They end up having more than just fun – they have the adventure of a lifetime. In this humorous tale full of twists and turns, Alfie, Pacey and Luke discover many mysterious secrets of the swamp: up-close encounters with wildlife big and small, a spooky house and an underground staircase, plastic birds in a future world – and a strange little man with an ingenious plan...Contains extra interactive content, including a free pull-out map, a word-puzzle and a scavenger quiz! Published in partnership with Singapore's National Parks Board (NParks), Secrets of the Swamp is a rollicking kids' adventure story that emphasises the importance of encouraging children's relationships with nature, and our shared responsibility in nurturing the natural environment around us.
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Premier Leech

Premier Leech

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

Sometimes scoring isn't the only thing when you're a striker, as top tier footballer, Scott, has found out. He's awoken to find himself in over his head—he's just shagged someone who's not his wife, rather his best friend's wife, to be precise. Keeping such indiscretion under wraps isn't easy, especially when your every move is fastidiously documented on every tabloid and broadsheet all over the world, your every thought tweeted and followed by millions. It is especially difficult when there are reporters in woodwork, eager to sniff out a story that will expose the corruption, decay and sleaze that fuels this fraudulent and multi-billion dollar industry known as the Premier League. In a world where the currency is fame, how much is Scott willing to lose to keep everything he's gained? If you've ever wanted to know what goes on behind-the-scenes of one of the most prestigious football leagues in the world, consider this book your grandstand season ticket.
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Be My Baby

Be My Baby

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

When two lines appear on the pregnancy test kit, Humphreys' world is turned upside down. He is excited but clueless and urgently needs some directions. After all, his biggest responsibility to this point had been a pet hamster and he lost that twice. From the moment his doctor tells him to book an obstetrician's appointment, he knows he is out of his depth — he doesn't know what an obstetrician is.Humphreys deals with parents who mock his sex drive, midwives who question his usefulness, friends who share only horrific birth stories, strangers who rub his wife's belly and folks who seem to know everything there is to know about pregnancy (but often don't have kids of their own). And there's that troubling dream about her giving birth to a plastic toy lizard made in China.How will he deal with his parental insecurities? What's the secret to being a decent dad? Will he drop his baby at the birth? Both funny and poignant, Be My Baby is a frank account of Humphreys' quest to...
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Saving A Sexier Island

Saving A Sexier Island

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

With Singapore evolving at blistering pace, old Singapore is being left behind, neglected or just plain dying? As a result, active citizenry is taking off like never before with Singaporeans campaigning to save Bukit Brown, Joo Chiat HDB flats, Rochor Centre, with Jalan Besar, Balestier and Tiong Bahru championed for their history/heritage. Basically, as Singapore becomes more of a global metropolis, the search to save its soul has been taken up like never before. Nostalgia is spreading through the country. Old Singapore has never been more hip, more trendy as Singaporeans cling to the last vestiges of what actually makes them Singaporean. The race is on to save an even sexier island. So as the nation celebrates its 50th anniversary, Neil Humphreys heads off on a tour of old Singapore to find 50 sights and sounds that are at risk of being overlooked, forgotten or even bulldozed and lost forever. Some are historically significant (like Queenstown or Tiong Bahru). Some are...
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Lost Women

Lost Women

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

Detective Inspector Stanley Low. Belligerent, bipolar and brilliant. A Chinese-Singaporean, educated in London with a foot in both cities, his mission to eradicate violent crime wherever he finds it. Twelve women are found in the back of a truck, dumped in the Essex marshlands. They all have knives but have nothing to say, except Grace. She will only speak to DI Stanley Low. Brought in to assist with the case Low finds himself dealing with a global trafficking ring and a high-profile billionaire. As one by one his witnesses are killed off, he has no choice but to return to Singapore to examine the darkest corners of the Asian city in his hunt for the traffickers. He must hurry. Another truck is being prepared. Another twelve, vulnerable women are being groomed. Low can only find them if he uncovers the ugliest of truths.
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Rich Kill. Poor Kill

Rich Kill. Poor Kill

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

Detective Inspector Stanley Low - belligerent, bi-polar and brilliant. A Chinese-Singaporean, educated in London with a foot in both cities, his mission to eradicate violent crime wherever he finds it. When a foreign worker is found dead in a Singapore back street, few people care. Even the police dismiss the killing as another underclass slaying. Then more victims turn up, all killed with the same weapon and Singapore must come to grips with its first serial killer in decades. The murderer must be stopped.In desperation, the authorities turn to the one man they loathe almost as much as the killer himself – Detective Inspector Stanley Low. Angry, bipolar and unrepentant, his career is in tatters, but he is also the only man capable of understanding what drives the serial killer.Low must solve the case quickly, stop a serial killer, and save his sanity. The second in the popular Inspector Low series, Rich Kill Poor Kill is a dark, disturbing examination of the income divide...
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Marina Bay Sins

Marina Bay Sins

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

Detective Inspector Stanley Low – belligerent, bipolar and brilliant. A Chinese-Singaporean, educated in London, with a food in both cities. His mission, to eradicate violent crime wherever he finds it. Low is having a bad day. His bipolar disorder is ruining another session with his psychiatrist, and when a murdered prostitute and a dead expatriate are discovered at Singapore's most prestigious hotel in the glamorous Marina Sins Bay, he is plunged back into the sordid underworld he was desperate to leave behind. Low goes undercover returning to a world that the city refuses to acknowledge; a world of gambling addiction, crime syndicates, international money launderers, immoral celebrities and corrupt politicians, all living in Asia's cleanest metropolis. Marina Sins Bay may be the sparkling embodiment of the island's devotion to economic prosperity, yet a corrupt underworld lies within the 'Monaco' of Asia. As Inspector Low gets closer to the unpalatable truth, he will...
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Final Notes From a Great Island

Final Notes From a Great Island

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

First published in 2006, Final Notes from a Great Island sees Humphreys embarking on a valedictory tour from his home in Toa Payoh before he leaves for a new life in Australia. He explores Singapore as he did when he first arrived—a newcomer on foot and inexperienced—visiting his favourite places: the countryside around Lim Chu Kang, the serene beaches of Kusu island, Sentosa, Sembawang Park, St. John's Island, Johor Bahru, and many more. Humphreys treks, cycles and even hitchhikes his way across this great island, encountering murderous dogs, dead cats, wild crocodiles and mad cyclists.
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Return to a Sexy Island

Return to a Sexy Island

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

Singapore got sexy and the country's best-selling author got jealous. After five years chasing echidnas and platypuses in Australia, Neil Humphreys returns to Singapore to see if the rumours are true. Like an old girlfriend getting a lusty makeover, the island transformed while Humphreys was away. Singapore is not just a sexier island, it's a different world. So Humphreys embarked upon a nationwide tour to test that theory. He went in search of new Singapore, visiting only locations that either did not exist five years ago or had been extensively rebuilt, renovated or revamped in his absence. From the cloud-topped heights of Marina Bay Sands and Pinnacle@Duxton to making ill-advised bomb jokes at the subterranean tunnels of Labrador Park, Humphreys walks, cycles, kayaks and swims across a rapidly evolving country, meeting Guinness-swigging aunties in Resorts World Sentosa, eccentric toy museum owners in Bugis, political activists in Aljunied and a security guard at...
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Scribbles from the Same Island

Scribbles from the Same Island

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

Not rich, doesn't own a condo, and doesn't have any expat privileges, but nonetheless he manages to remain the same funny bloke happily living in the heartlands of Toa Payoh. One year after his best-selling Notes From An Even Smaller Island had the whole of Singapore laughing helplessly; Neil Humphreys is still madly in love with his humble but stimulating existence on this sunny island. So much, in fact, that he now makes a living poking gentle fun at every oddball aspect of Singaporean life. In this highly anticipated sequel, the columnist with The Straits Times Newspaper unleashes a fresh selection from his popular pieces, with additional witty material on all the little wonders we have come to take for granted. Expect to find more of his take on SPG, sex, doctors, toilets, fare cards ...... all seemingly innocuous subjects but made hilarious through his witty observations...
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Notes From an Even Smaller Island

Notes From an Even Smaller Island

Neil Humphreys

Neil Humphreys

Knowing nothing of Singapore, young Englishman Neil Humphreys arrives in the land of 'air-conned' shopping centres and Lee Kuan Yew. From the aunties in the hawker centres to expats dressed as bananas, from Singlish to kiasuism, and from Singaporeans at home to Singaporeans abroad, Humphreys explores all aspects of Singaporean life, taking in the sights, dissecting the culture and illuminating each place and person with his perceptive and witty observations. Written by someone who is at once both insider and outsider, the book is wonderfully funny and disarmingly honest portrait of Singapore and its people.
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