Lost Women

Detective Low! Brilliant!

A lorry driver is found dead in his van on a lonely stretch of road in Essex at Rainham Marshes. It’s near abandoned warehouses and industrial parks. Ideal for drug deals and the like. That the driver is Chinese is highly unusual. Even more puzzling is that inside are twelve young Asian women. Only one who’s older speaks english. All she will say is that she will only talk to Detective Inspector Stanley Low of the Singapore Police force.
Detective Inspector Mistry Ramila is an old friend of Low’s. Mistry is a British-Indian. Despite her impressive résumé, acceptance from the ranks is tough. She and Low have history. She’s assigned to Low whilst he’s in London. The case leads to Singapore. Her boss can’t authorise travel there but he can give her a week’s leave.
Low is a man who’s somewhat old style, understands people and obligation, and on saving face. His methods are unusual, frowned upon by his peers, but he gets results. Lately he’s been demoted back to raiding brothels, closed down during the pandemic. Now he’s caught up in an international trafficking ring.
Low and Mistry thread their way through the puzzle that this case brings, from London to Singapore, from self made millionaires, the effects of Brexit on the trucking industry, the need for foreign workers, and trafficking.
Timely, complicated and intriguing. I loved it!

A Muswell Press ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Lost Women is the fourth outing for Neil Humphreys' bipolar Singaporean Detective Inspector Stanley Low. Left with psychiatric issues after an undercover operation that made him a national hero Low crashes through the Singapore that outsiders rarely see, often acting, as in this tale literally like a Bull in a China-shop.

The story begins with a murdered Chinese Truck driver found in his cab on the Rainham Marshes in Essex by an elderly man walking his dog. Already traumatised he's shocked to be approached by an Asian woman clutching a knife.........and the shocks keep coming as 12 other women are found in the trailer of the truck. The police are called and the woman demands to speak to D.I. Low.
That begins a wild and violent ride as Low causes mayhem in both England and Singapore. Along with former love interest ,now Met Detective Ramila Mistry Low chases down an international trafficking ring and bumps heads from denizens of the dives of Singapore to pillars of the establishment.

As well as a great story this is an insight into the hidden people of Singapore, the migrant workers who keep the place going ,usually out of sight and unnoticed. It also addresses trafficking and exploitation, the commodification of human beings and is often a tough read.

I'd strongly recommend reading the previous 3 books before this one to get the most out of it. It's easy to write Low off as an over the top caricature but if you know his backstory you'll see him in a different light.

This is a book that will make you laugh , cringe at some of the explicit violence and think about the social issues Neil Humphreys raises. If you've visited Singapore as a tourist you'll never see it the same way again.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Muswell Press for an advance copy of Lost Women, the fourth novel to feature Singaporean detective Inspector Stanley Low, set in Essex and Singapore.

In Essex an abandoned truck is found, the driver dead and twelve women imprisoned in the trailer. None of the women will talk except Grace and she will only speak to Low. He flies in and is met by his ex colleague and lover, Ramila Mistry. Together they start an investigation that moves to Singapore when they realise that more women are about to be trafficked.

I enjoyed Lost Women, which takes a robust approach to the crime of people trafficking and modern day slavery. It is not for the faint hearted as it centres on people trafficking and modern slavery.

I had not read this series before, so, always on the lookout for new authors, I took the plunge. It is a troubling read on several levels, but that’s probably because I’m ensconced in my cosy home and don’t want for much, so I have little understanding of real poverty, cruelty, racism or lack of free will. This novel goes a little way to to opening my eyes and it’s a tough read. It is mostly told from Stanley Low’s point of view, but it also switches to the captured women to narrate their ordeal.

The plot is interesting as Low and Mistry follow breadcrumbs and intuition to get to the traffickers. Low has a flexible approach to policing, which makes him an efficient outcast in a hierarchical institution built on conformity and obedience. It also means that he is never far from violence or trouble. He isn’t afraid to go after the billionaire he believes is behind the trafficking and the disruption he causes in doing it is funny.

I never felt that I got totally to grips with who did what in the novel. Much of it is explained in the final few chapters once Low and Mistry have wrapped up their investigation, and these explanations are satisfying to the reader, but reinforce the feeling of a job half done from a crime fighting point of view. It is a sprawling, complicated investigation with a host of characters, which is probably realistic, but it’s a bit confusing for the reader to navigate comfortably.

The novel centres on the anarchic Stanley Low and his rather manic phases. He is a brilliant but unstable investigator and that has stalled his career in Singapore where calmness, conformity and obedience are prized characteristics. Still, he ploughs on in his pursuit of justice despite valiant efforts to marginalise him and it’s only his results that keep him in a job.

Lost Women is a clever and informative read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

REVIEW
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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The reasons I requested for this book was because I wanted to read a book set in Singapore and Stanley's Bipolar Disorder. In a way, I got what I was looking for. I loved the settings, especially Singapore, it showed the sides we don't normally see, but I was confused by the storyline.
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At first, the book was boring, but it picked up before I reached the middle, but I couldn't understand the procedures of the investigation. It felt like the police officers, Stanley and Ramila were just accusing their suspects with no hard evidence and the suspects will just reveal everything, just like that! It felt too easy and unrealistic to me. Although they did do some investigating in Singapore.
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The end of the book was also confusing and unsettled, especially the main Perp. The perps were not punished, they just confessed and the book stopped there, I wanted more!
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I didn't like that Stanley was still hung up on his ex, Ramila after 20 years of dating, it was so unrealistic! I really wanted more on Stanley's background,and his past,but I didn't get any. However, he's still a charming character and I liked him.
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For Ramila, I also liked her, but she saw all men as misogynistic and all white people as racist, it was too much.
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This book was just okay, with a lot of things missing, if it had one or two more components, it would have been better.

This is a gritty and twisty story, the first I read by this author and it won't be the last as Stanley Low is a very intriguing character and the story was a page turner that kept me guessing.
Good storytelling and character development, a solid and tightly knitted plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Twelve women are found in the back of a truck in Essex Marshlands. The man who found them has informed the local police. The women don't seem to understand or speak English, except for one... in her broken English, she says she will only speak to Inspector Low of Singapore Police Department.

Then, Low is asked to go to London to investigate the case of the twelve women found in the truck. The woman who asked for Low is Grace - a former prostitute known to Low when he was undercover. She had known of his real identity but kept it a secret from her pimp/boss. Soon, Grace and Low were on friendly terms.

The case takes Low and Mistry back to Singapore where the illegal human trafficking first began. The clues lead them to domestic help agencies. The story focuses on the domestic and migrant workers scenario in Singapore. It also brings forward racial profiling, discrimination based on status (rich/middle class/ poor), exploitation of migrant workers, harsh living conditions of migrant workers, and much more.

Low is not your usual badass detective. He's the badass of badasses. He gives no shit about his superiors or the higher ups in the government. This ALWAYS gets him into trouble. But he doesn't care. He believes in justice and would go to any extent to get it. He's also troubled by the ways rich and politicians' swipe things under the rug - things when exposed only results in their downfall.

I was hooked on to the story and couldn't put it down until the end. Having read the first two books, I was eagerly looking forward to seeing how things have improved for Stanley. Though his life seems to be in shambles, he still has that fire and passion to make things right - for those who deserve justice.

It goes without saying that Neil Humphreys is a master storyteller. Be it the character portrayal or murder mystery, Neil's the best.

Lost Women by Neil Humphreys is an engrossing, interesting and completely riveting police procedural. Highly Recommended.

I loved this. Low is a terrific character - flaws and all, he will touch your heart. The story is incredible and touches on some dark topics in a realistic and unsentimental way. I particularly enjoyed getting a sense for the different cultures in which the story is set.

I picked this book because of the description and the setting in Singapore.
It was a little hard for me to get into and often found myself a little confused at times by which character was narrating, where the story was taking place and the procedures of the investigation.
I did enjoy Low’s personality and his dedication to protecting the women he comes across.
I give this 3 stars because I did find myself looking forward to continuing to read the story but I just didn’t love it.