A few years ago I bumped into a guy called Warren Olson in a bar in Washington Square in Bangkok. Over a few drinks he told me that he had been a private eye in Bangkok for almost ten years. He was fluent in Thai and Khmer so could get more information from bargirls than the average Westerner. I can’t remember whose idea it was but we decided to do a book together, detailing his adventures over the years. Warren had moved back to New Zealand so he’d email me notes on his cases and I’d turn them into stories, changing enough details to protect the innocent and the guilty. In all we did just over two dozen cases, most of which, it has to be said, involve Warren checking into unfaithful bargirls. It’s different from my regular thrillers but it’s fun and gives you an idea of what a crazy place Thailand can be. The book is published by Monsoon Books in Singapore by my good friend Phil Tatham who also publishes Private Dancer outside Thailand. The cover photograph was taken by my pal Paul Owen, who also did the cover for Private Dancer. The Private Eye on the cover is another friend, Andy Yates, who more often than not reads my manuscripts before I send them to my publisher. He’s younger and better looking than Warren, it has to be said, and had a black coat. I ordered a black fedora over the internet and we borrowed two girls from the Big Dog’s Bar in Nana Plaza. It’s a great picture.