Eclectic crime fiction & informed, irreverent non-fiction from Asia & beyond
Between 2013 and 2018, I published three crime novels featuring Maier, a former conflict journalist turned detective.Based in Hamburg, Maier solves crimes involving Germans who have gotten in trouble in Asia.The first two books in the series, The Cambodian Book of the Dead and The Man with the Golden Mind were published to great critical […]
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Laura at Bookscaretc wrote a great review for The Devil’s Rod to Kathmandu. ….Author Tom Vater is described as working predominantly in Asia, and as well as fiction has been a travel writer. And it is clear from his writing that he has both a deep knowledge and a great love for the environments he […]
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The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu is out in a new paperback edition with Next Chapter. ‘The Devil’s Road To Kathmandu’ is a tense, fast paced and kaleidoscopic pulp thriller, following the lives of two generations of drifters who become embroiled in a saga of sex, drugs and murder on the road between London and the […]
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Thanks to Kitty Lisha for a fair review of The Cambodian Book of the Dead, the first Detective Maier Mystery, originally published in 2013. This book….this book. Where to begin. It has a lot of facts in it. I didn’t fact check them. Didn’t really have the desire to if we are being honest here […]
Continue ReadingJohn Wisniewski interviewed me at length about my novels and short fiction, as well as about life in Asia and pop cultural influences for Punk Noir Magazine. 1.When and how did you become interested in writing, Tom? Several different experiences pushed me to become a writer, starting years before I considered writing a serious career […]
Continue ReadingIn the 8th edition of Noir Nation, writer James Newman reviews my latest novel The Monsoon Ghost Image while dissecting the curious Thailand ex-pat literary scene, featuring interviews with Paul French, Angela Savage and Christopher Moore. The third Detective Maier mystery is a taut and crazy spy thriller for our disturbing times. When award-winning German […]
Continue ReadingA short essay on politics and crime fiction, published at b for bookreview. A while ago, I had a conversation with an American book reviewer about politics in crime fiction. He felt that overt political messages do not belong in the genre. I felt that covert or subconscious political leanings are part and parcel of […]
Continue ReadingThe Monsoon Ghost Image, the third installment of the Detective Maier series, published by Crime Wave Press, is on a virtual book tour this week. And an ebook copy is yours for just 99cents. The third Detective Maier mystery is a taut and crazy spy thriller for our disturbing times. When award-winning German conflict photographer […]
Continue ReadingFollowing a great review of my latest novel The Monsoon Ghost Image, Colman from Colman’s Criminal Library has taken the time to interview me, and I in return, have taken the time to ramble incessantly about my self and my work, to the point where it’s almost indecent. Here’s a taster…. From what I little […]
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