Inspector Maximo Betancourt is back solving crimes in sweaty bustling 1940 Singapore. Like his first outing, Waking the Tiger, Chasing the Dragon is full of colourful characters, lots of action, and an intriguing crime to solve.

In Waking the Tiger, Betancourt was struggling to investigate a murder due to the victim being an Asian woman, therefore of little interest to the colonial authorities and businesses. In Chasing the Dragon, his investigation is hampered by the victim being an American man, so of such high interest that many agencies want his demise ruled an unfortunate accident and the case closed ASAP.

Betancourt is supported in his quest by his circle of acquaintances, including his colleague-of-interest, Dr Evelyn Trevose, recently appointed the new Police Surgeon. Betancourt had previously pulled away from his feelings for Evelyn, mainly due to guilt – his wife Anna being missing, not dead – but he finds himself aggrieved that Evelyn has now got a suitor, Alistair Grey, ‘the Grey Man’.

As Betancourt persists with the investigation, he must face conflicts between different arms of the police, between different echelons within the same arm of the police, between the police and the army, police and the politicians, and the police and business interests. And then there is the colonial racism: “one dead American will make twice as much noise as twelve dead Chinese.” Betancourt is a Serani, Eurasian, which puts him on the outside of most circles, but at an advantage in some.

Chasing the Dragon is an engrossing murder mystery, Bentancourt finding clues – even a treasure map! The character of the victim is slowly revealed. We read of his infatuations, his addictions, and his expertise in archaeolinguistics – all of which could be motives for his murder. Bentancourt is, sort of, reading Call of the Wild, but those close to him seem to be reading detective novels – which provides texture to the dialog: ‘on it, boss’, ‘to have you bumped off.’

Betancourt is such a good character – he’s rumpled, a bit bumbling, and occasionally unsure of himself, but at the same time he is determined, dogged, and caring. He gets blown up, bashed up, reprimanded, and insulted: “Who’s that she’s with? Is that her driver?”, “[the man] regarded Betancourt as though he was something he’d just stepped in and was having trouble removing from his shoe.”

However, he has staunch defenders and allies. “Betancourt sniffed. The odour of durian hung over Quek”: His relationship with his Sergeant Quek is delightful, and their dialogues a treat. And some on his side are the women who shape his world: his daughter, his missing wife’s best friend, and of course Dr Evelyn Trevose. 

The plotting is solid and the mystery intriguing, with some genuine surprises along the way. Due to Betancourt’s contacts at the racing track, the port, the banks, the morgue, the opium dens, and his entrée into higher society through his warrant card and his past association with his wife’s family, the novel takes the reader through the gamut of 1940s Singaporean society.

Chasing the Dragon describes a ghastly entangled web of greed and privilege, including “The British, not considering themselves forbidden from doing anything they chose”. Betancourt remains an observer: “sometimes I’m unsure what the sides are, let alone who is on which one.” The enduring evils of the British trade in opium sit alongside the fascinating theories of the long history of the settlement of the island.

As with the previous novel, the women are not just adjuncts to the male agents, they are very aware of the limits on their freedoms imposed by their society – and how to take advantage of those limits: “I did my silly-female-forget-my- own-head-one-of-these-days act.” It is possibly Betancourt’s outsider quality  that leads to his being regarded differently by the women, who have preconceptions of European males.  

The writing in Chasing the Dragon is atmospheric: “Thunder rumbled, and through the window he saw clouds like black balls of cotton amassing in the night sky. The beginnings of a headache pulsed across his forehead, and he rubbed his temples as he considered his next move.” The mystery is intriguing and the historical aspects interesting – and it ends with the next instalment in view – I look forward to the further exploits of Inspector Maximo Betancourt!