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Tom Vater
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The Cambodian Book Of The Dead (Detective Maier Mysteries 1) Kindle Edition

by Tom Vater (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 out of 5 stars 82 ratings

Cambodia, 2001 - a country re-emerging from a half-century of war, genocide, famine and cultural collapse.

German Detective Maier travels to Phnom Penh, the Asian kingdom’s ramshackle capital, to find the heir to a Hamburg coffee empire. As soon as the private eye and former war reporter arrives in Cambodia, his search for the young coffee magnate leads into the darkest corners of the country’s history.

A beautiful, scarred woman with a mythical and frightening past, a Khmer Rouge general, an expat gangster, an old flame, a man-eating shark and a gang of teenage girl assassins lead the detective back in time, through the communist revolution and to the White Spider: a Nazi war criminal who hides amongst the detritus of another nation’s collapse and reigns over an ancient Khmer temple deep in the jungles of Cambodia.

Captured and imprisoned, Maier is forced into the worst job of his life. He is to write the biography of the White Spider - a tale of mass murder that reaches from the Cambodian Killing Fields back to Europe’s concentration camps - or die.

This book contains graphic violence and is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

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  1. Book 1 of 3
    Detective Maier Mysteries
  2. Print length
    414 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    August 19, 2021
  5. File size
    2.9 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Vater is a writer working in South and South East Asia. He writes both in English and German. His articles have been published around the world. He is the author of several books and has co-written a number of documentary screenplays for European television. His books on South Asian themes include two novels, several non-fiction titles, travel guides and photo books, including the acclaimed Sacred Skin. TIME Magazine described his recent work as "exuberant writing."

Tom's work has appeared in a wide variety of publications--from well-known dailies to specialist magazines--including The Asia Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Marie Claire and Penthouse. Tom is the co-founder of Crime Wave Press (www.crimewavepress.com), a Hong Kong based fiction imprint that endeavors to publish the best new crime novels from Asia and about Asia to readers around the globe.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09D85GRB6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Next Chapter (August 19, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 19, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.9 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 414 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B09CRNQBJJ
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 82 ratings

About the author

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Tom Vater

Tom Vater

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Tom Vater is a writer and editor working mostly in South and Southeast Asia.

Tom has published six crime novels. In 2022, he sold the film rights to his debut novel, The Devil's Road to Kathmandu, to 108 Media.

Tom has written some twenty non-fiction books, including the bestsellers Sacred Skin with Aroon Thaewchatturat, and Cambodia: A Journey through the Land of the Khmer with Kraig Lieb.

Tom's work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Times, The Guardian, Nikkei Asia, CNN, Marie Claire, Geographical, Eco-Business, The Mekong Review and many others. He is the Thailand Daily Telegraph destination expert and has authored guidebooks on Thailand and Cambodia.

He is the co-author of several documentaries, including the highly praised The Most Secret Place On Earth, a feature on the CIA’s secret war in Laos.

From 2012 to 2021, Tom was co-owner of Crime Wave Press, a Hong Kong based crime fiction imprint which published 36 novels .

Tom writes and edits reports for UNDP, IFC, the EU, Fauna & Flora and others.

Tom is represented by London-based literary agency Marjacq.

Tom's latest book, SHARKMAN, is a true crime non fiction about a kidnapping in West Africa and tiger sharks in Thailand.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
82 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Dirk Swillens
    5.0 out of 5 stars Where humans, ghosts and spirits meet
    Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Wow, what a book! Had been waiting for the Kindle version for some time (the paperback version was available earlier but couldn't find it in Cambodia yet) and jumped on the opportunity to read the digital version - definitely did not regret it. Read it in -almost- one go (my eyes got too tired so slept a few hours in the middle).
    The book is captivating, not only for its mystery and intrigue, but also due to the many references to non-fiction elements of the past, recent and far.
    Ghosts and spirits are common in this part of the world, but in this tale, they become entangled with each other (and the mortals) in a way that is an applause to imagination and the craft of writing.
    Most of the characters are a reflection of personalities that have stayed on after the country's most recent turbulent and war-ridden history or were attracted by it at that time. Not your average man/woman.
    Things are happening fast and often brutal, but you can't put it down!
    Extremely well done Mr Vater - already looking forward to the next one of the Detective Maier Series.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Amy E Sparks
    4.0 out of 5 stars Noir fiction in an exotic setting
    Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2022
    TW: torture, murder

    Tom Vater is an excellent noir writer, as he exhibits in The Cambodian Book of the Dead. Fans of the genre will appreciate his deftness, while newcomers can appreciate the way he draws his readers into his books like a spider collects prey in its web. Readers who enjoy reading Asian literature will find a compelling story but definitely not one for the faint of heart.

    The story is set in Cambodia, where Detective Maier is sent to find the missing German heir of a coffee empire. Maier had been a war correspondent during the Khmer Rouge genocide in the mid-1970’s. Maier returns to Cambodia searching for Rolf and encounters the brutality and corruption that has emerged since the war ended. Will he successfully complete his mission? Will he even survive the mission?

    What makes Vater’s writing addictive is how he draws a reader into his world. He says in 50 words what some writers say in 10. If he were to cut down his word count, the remaining story would be so dry it would turn to dust. You feel the booming of the nightclub speakers, smell whatever’s being smoked, and see nearby people struggling in his chaotically presented scene. He presents a vivid picture to readers even those who have never been to Cambodia, never tried to survive in a war zone, never been a detective.

    Tom Vater won’t let you sit in the bleachers as he presents his tale - he grabs you and demands your attention to everything going on. The story is ugly, it’s cynical…and utterly riveting.

    Thank you, Blackthorn Book Tours for providing a copy of this book.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Diane
    2.0 out of 5 stars Why?
    Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Two stars or three? Written well enough but relies on brutality rather than narrative, like an unnecessarily violent movie without a good script. I didn't bother finishing it.
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  • Tawny Molina
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Vator book!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2022
    Once again, Tom Vater gives us an overwhelmingly realistic and painful view on the world as he walks us through another glorious tale from Asia. This time his story takes us to Cambodia in the 90s where we follow a German journalist turned private detective as he searches for his client’s son, pulling together pieces along to form in to a greater and more painful story than anyone would have imagined.

    As with Tom Vater’s other works, the details in to the time and location that the story takes place are so methodically displayed that you feel as if you are sitting there with the character. Those characters? Well, they are wonderfully realistic in their twisted dark ways that make you feel as if they are another damaged person you could have actually met.

    This one was hard for me to read. I actually had to put the book down a couple times because of the content, but I was more than happy I picked it back up and finished it. Vater never skimps on the dark aspects and while they can be a bit much for the reader, they are always placed there for a reason.

    Is the Cambodian Book of the Dead worth reading? Yes, yes, it is! This book, like other Vater stories I have reviewed is certainly a must read.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • avid kindler
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2022
    Actually it's more of an crime adventure than a detective story, as we follow long-bitten Maier through the darker side of Cambodia on a dangerous mission to track down the missing heir to a western business empire. People die along the way. It's complicated. There are no easy answers. It's a book that's ful of atmosphere, full of history, full of menace - a depiction of a ravaged modern country, its brutal recent history overlying an ancient culture that hasn't gone away. It's great as an adventure novel - thrills and spills and dangerous corners - but it also makes you think. The Book of the Dead to which the title refers is an unwritten biography of a Nazi war criminal, a shameless brutal psychopath who has found a congenial home in the space vacated by th come Khmer Rouge. A story within a story within a true history of a troubled and tragic country. Great read.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 20, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Good story and so different .amazing people and places.bring on the next one ☝,
    .thank you for the story and research..Go
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  • StefRo
    5.0 out of 5 stars fast read, gripping story
    Reviewed in Germany on January 10, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I liked the description of the places in Cambodia. It send my mind traveling back to the Kampot, Kep, Ha Tien region, which I really like.
    I remember Bokor as a foggy, spooky place (where they did plan a golf course in the early 2000s).
    The character are a tad cartoonish, but the storyline is moving along swiftly. I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil your read.
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  • Rodney Simpson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant is often confusing.
    Reviewed in Canada on August 9, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Brilliant if sometimes confusing. the background of Cambodian is the basis for a complicate connection of old villains and modern heroes that makes for endless enjoyment.
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  • Tessa Blissett
    4.0 out of 5 stars Dangerous Days in Cambodia
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This novel was recommended by a friend, maybe because c rime fiction set in Cambodia is a novel (if you'll excuse the pun) idea. Being unfamiliar with Cambodia, I had to accept that the happenings of the criminal underworld were feasible; they certainly won't encourage the tourist trade! However, as a holiday read in neighbouring country, Thailand, in a very different environment, it was entertaining.
    I was also curious whether the inheritance of the war is as tough as portrayed in the novel; where distrust still reigns among Cambodian residents.

    it was certainly a thought-provoking book.
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  • Dean Thornton
    3.0 out of 5 stars Looks a decent story.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Looks a decent story, so got it downloaded, for my kindle's library. Good. Thanks.
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