Tom Vater

Private eye and former war reporter, Maier is sent to Cambodia to track down the missing heir to a Hamburg coffee empire.

His search leads him into the darkest corners of the country’s history, through the Killing Fields of the communist revolution, to the White Spider, a Nazi war criminal who reigns over an ancient Khmer temple deep in the jungle.

But the terrifying tale of mass murder that Maier uncovers is far from over. And soon Maier realises that, if he is to prevent more innocent lives from being destroyed, he will have to write the last horrific chapter himself.

The Cambodian Book of the Dead – it’s where Apocalypse Now meets The Beach…

“The narrative is fast-paced and the frequent action scenes are convincingly written. The smells and sounds of Cambodia are vividly brought to life. Maier is a bold and brave hero.”
- Crime Fiction Lover (The Site for Die Hard Crime & Thriller Fans)

UK Print
Date: 4th July 2013
ISBN: 9781909223189
Format: Medium (B-Format) Paperback
R.R.P.: £8.99

US/CAN Print
Date: 25th June 2013
ISBN: 9781909223196
Format: Large (Trade) Paperback
R.R.P.: US$14.99 CAN$16.99

Ebook
Date: 25th June 2013
ISBN: 9781909223202
Format: Epub & Mobi
R.R.P.: £5.49 / US$6.99

May 24th, 2013 | Tags: A Detective Maier Mystery, Asian Noir, Cambodia, crime fiction, Crime Wave Press, detective fiction, Detective Maier, eBook, Emlyn Rees, Exhibit A Books, print, The Cambodian Book of the Dead, thriller, Tom Vater, UK, US | Category: Cambodia, UK, USA | Leave a comment

I put my guide book author hat on last week and gave a live radio interview/podcast on Rudy Maxa’s World, America’s most widely-syndicated weekend travel radio show, on Saturday, May 11th.

I’ll be talking about travel writing, tourism, publishing and my new US published guide to the Angkor temples in Cambodia from Moon Guides.

Here’s an interview I did with Moon a while back.

May 24th, 2013 | Tags: Angkor Wat, Asian Noir, Cambodia, crime fiction, Guide books, Moon Angkor Wat, Moon Guides, podcast, Rudy Maxa, Tom Vater, USA, writing | Category: Cambodia, USA, Writer´s Corner | Leave a comment

Kathmandu, Camino al Infierno, the Spanish edition of The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu, published back in March by Xplora Editorial is reviewed extensively at Leer y Viajar.

The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu is available from Crime Wave Press both as Kindle ebook and paperback.

May 15th, 2013 | Tags: Camino al Infierno, Kathmandu, paperback, review, Spanish language, The Devil's Road to Kathmandu, Tom Vater, travel ficitoon, xplora editiorial | Category: Crime Wave Press, Nepal, Spain | Leave a comment

I’ve been interviewed by acclaimed travel blog Where Sidewalks End, about travel, crime fiction, Sacred Skin, Burma and The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu.

May 15th, 2013 | Tags: Aroon Thaewchatturat, crime fiction, Crime Wave Press, Ian Ord, Interview, Mittie Roger, Sacred Skin, The Devil's Road to Kathmandu, Tom Vater, travel writing, Where Sidewalks End | Category: Writer´s Corner | Leave a comment

I’ll be giving a live radio interview on Rudy Maxa’s World, America’s most widely-syndicated, weekend travel radio show, on Saturday, May 11th at 10.18 am EST US, which is 9:18pm Bangkok time.

I’ll be talking about travel writing, publishing and my new US published guide to the Angkor temples in Cambodia from Moon Guides.

Here’s an interview I did with Moon a while back.

May 10th, 2013 | Tags: Angkor, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, guide, guide book, Interview, Khmer Empire, Moon Guides, radio, Rudy Maxa, Rudy Maxa's World, Tom Vater, tourism, USA | Category: Cambodia, USA | Leave a comment

Journalists, writers, bloggers interested in reviewing my new crime novel The Cambodian Book of the Dead, out very soon with Exhibit A, please follow this trail…..to the advance reading copies….and thank you…

Private eye and former war reporter Maier is sent to Cambodia to track down the missing heir to a Hamburg coffee empire.

His search leads him into the darkest corners of the country’s history, through the Killing Fields of the communist revolution, to the White Spider, a Nazi war criminal who reigns over an ancient Khmer temple deep in the jungle.

But the terrifying tale of mass murder that Maier uncovers is far from over. And soon Maier realises that, if he is to prevent more innocent lives from being destroyed, he will have to write the last horrific chapter himself.

The Cambodian Book of the Dead – it’s where Apocalypse Now meets The Beach…

May 9th, 2013 | Tags: advance reading copy, ARC, Asia, Asian Noir, crime fiction, crime novel, Crime Wave Press, Detective Maier, Detective Maier Mystery, Exhibit A Books, Hardboiled, Maier, The Cambodian Book of the Dead, Tom Vater | Category: Cambodia, UK, USA | Leave a comment

Rosa Ellen reports on all things fiction and Cambodia in this week’s Phnom Penh Post.

Great photograph by Alexander Crook.

May 4th, 2013 | Tags: Alexander Crook, Cambodia, crime fiction, fiction, fiction on Cambodia, Rosa Ellen, The Cambodian Book of the Dead, The Phnom Penh Post, Tom Vater | Category: Cambodia | Leave a comment

There have been media reports of a fight between Sherpas and climbers on the slopes of Mount Everest.

Not surprised.

Rich white men without compassion or mountaineering experience have been throwing dollars at the world’s highest mountain for a couple of decades now and the atmosphere at base camp is one of sloth, luxury and violence.
Nepal remains desperately poor, the mountain gets more crowded every year and most so called climbers are simply there to be able to say that they have been there.

The trekking tourism out of Lukla is utterly deplorable with hundreds of tour groups marching like small victorious and very wealthy armies marching in the face of grinding poverty.
The circus at base camp is even more disgusting with hundreds of mountain tourists lording it over the locals.

Since Hillary and Tenzing went up Everest in the early 50s, nothing much has improved in the life of the people who live around the world’s highest peak. In fact their front door is now strewn with rubbish of all sorts including the human kind.

For the Nepalis the mountain is sacred. For the foreigners it’s just an ego playground. It would be absolutely the best to close the mountain to these people. But the Nepali government makes so much cash from permits, that this is unlikely to happen.
The tensions will continue and the whole spirit of the enterprise has long turned into absolutely crass commercial nonsense.

The situation on Everest is by no means unique. The sense of idiotic entitlement white people feel they have when they come to Asia is visible from the beaches of Ko Panghan to the slopes of the Himalayas.
Resentment will continue to grow and occasionally there’ll be a violent discharge against this aspect of neo-colonialism.

I was in the Everest region last year and posted about the horrors of high altitude tourism several times:

The Rape of Everest

Everest Branded

Everest Connected
Read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air for a great text on the commercial scramble for the world’s highest peak.

May 2nd, 2013 | Tags: arrogance, commercialism, consumerism, destruction, fight, globalization, greed, Hillary, Mount Everest, Nepal, nepalese, Sagarmatha, Sherpas, Solo Kumbh, tension, Tenzing, Western ignorance | Category: Nepal | Leave a comment

British publisher Exhibit A will soon release my second novel, The Cambodian Book of the Dead.

I have been talking to Keith Walters on his popular book blog about the long journey to publication.

May 2nd, 2013 | Tags: Asia, Asian Noir, Cambodia, crime fiction, Crime Wave Press, Emlyn Rees, Exhibit A Books, Guest Blog, Keith Walters, The Cambodian Book of the Dead, Tom Vater | Category: Cambodia | Leave a comment