The Half-Child

Jayne Keeney PI in Pattaya

Jayne Keeney is a fiesty thirty-something private investigator who has been living in Bangkok for many years. She has been hired to investigate the alleged suicide of a young Australian woman in a seedy Thai coastal town.

Maryanne Delbeck was happy and harmless, her father refuses to believe she took her own life. Jayne immerses herself in the case, navigating the backstreet world of Thai ladyboys, monks, strippers, expats and corrupt officials. Maryanne's death is not the only mystery awaiting Jayne among Pattaya's neon signs and go-go bars.

While working undercover at the orphanage where Maryanne volunteered, Jayne discovers something far more sinister. Now her life is in danger, her case is still unsolved and she barely has time for dinner with her handsome new love interest, Rajiv.

With love and death both circling, Jayne now has two cases to crack and very little time to do it.

Angela Savage is a Melbourne-based crime writer, who has lived and travelled extensively in Asia. Her first novel, Behind the Night Bazaar won the 2004 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript. She is a winner of the Scarlett Stiletto Award and has twice been shortlisted for Ned Kelly awards.

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'Clever and funny, The Half-Child is full of clashing cultures and a rich sense of place.' Kerry Greenwood

'This page-turner hooks you in from the start. 4 stars' Cosmopolitan

Funny, heart-wrenching and informative, Savage's heroine is someone readers will want to share a beer with. 4 Stars.' Big Issue

'Angela Savage must have to be one of the most talented authors I have come across, and her novel The Half-Child does not disappoint...It is not only a crime novel, but a mixture of genres rolled into one. There is romance, heartache and a cultural synopsis of Thailand - the good and bad. Savage has written a well-researched piece...' Launceston Examiner

'One of the most satisfying aspects of this series is its sense of place...Stylish and witty...with rich characterisation and the portrait of a complex culture under threat from both within and without. Savage has an important point to make.' Sydney Morning Herald

'Savage not only skillfully entertains her readers but also makes us think poignantly and enlighteningly about the big questions of equality and exploitation, sacrifice and the true nature of courage. 5 stars.' Adelaide Advertiser

'This is a gripping novel; an unromanticised travel guide to today's Thailand; a critique of Western missionary endeavours; and a warning to naive young people who stumble into volunteer work without the necessary skills.' Australian Bookseller and Publisher