review: match fixer by neil humphreys
Match Fixer by Neil Humphreys
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Neil Humphreys and I have quite a lot in common. We're both writers, we're both ang mohs who've lived in Singapore (though he now lives in Australia), we're both new dads of daughters. He and I have spoken briefly on Twitter and Facebook, and I've enjoyed his writing. His nonfiction is funny and self-deprecating, much like Dave Barry. Also like Dave Barry, Humphreys' first foray into fiction is a crime novel, and when it was released, I snapped it up.
Match Fixer takes place within the S-League world of football, something that I know virtually nothing about, and, up until now, have not cared to. Yet despite not giving a jot for local Singaporean soccer, I was riveted by this book. It's less about the sport itself than the massive gambling, both within the country and outside its borders, associated with the game. It's indeed true that Singaporeans love to gamble; the reports from the limited opening of the new casino here reveal a subculture rife with addiction and debt. And Humphreys probes that world with a deft touch, bringing to the page a cast of characters including football stars from England, reporters, magazine publishers, senior narcotics officers, team owners, gangsters, and undercover police.
The result is a crime novel that sings like Elmore Leonard's best. The plot is twisty enough to invite surprises, but thick enough with ambition and betrayal that the characters live in the mind separate from the page. Humphreys' ear for Singlish (the local staccato patois that includes Malay and Chinese dialects, as well as its own lexical logic) makes the dialogue feel snappy and very authentic.
Match Fixer is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and Humphreys has set himself up as a worthy successor to Leonard himself.