In George Town, the capital of Penang, the Pearl of the Orient and a Malaysian island hugely popular with domestic and international tourists, trishaws ply the streets ferrying tourists between colonial buildings, temples, food spots and bars. The more enterprising trishaw drivers offer sightseeing with sex, sometimes with unexpected results. Through candid interviews with sources in the sex industry, as well as Penang’s trishaw riders, the author discovers shocking scams, pitiful repentances and happy-ending massages that don’t end happy. Penang Undercover also looks beyond Penang to the neon lights of neighbouring Hatyai and Bangkok in Thailand to expose the shenanigans of mamasans, bargirls, dream-makers and liars. Finally, the author unearths a few hidden nuggets from his hometown of Kuala Lumpur and the subject of his fi rst two books in the Undercover series. Typical of his style, this book is written with wit and candour.

A side effect of Vietnam's stratospheric economic growth has been a burgeoning erotic industry catering to locals and tourists. In his fifth Undercover title and the eighth in the Undercover series, author Ewe Paik Leong investigates the gritty underbelly of Saigon. He chats with bargirls in Bui Vien Street, navigates dark alleys in Little Japan, slurps coffee in ‘hugging cafés' and swigs whiskey in nightclubs with mamasans, hustlers and goons. Hair-raising stories of sexual exploitation, ruthless betrayals and daring scams emerge. From Saigon, Ewe travels to Phuket in Thailand, where he explores Patong's Walking Street, before returning to his hometown of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to unearth nuggets on male webcam models, women go-getters and Hong Kong-style cathouses.

Promising sun, sea, sand and more, Pattaya beach resort in Thailand lures eight million foreign tourists annually. However, behind the glitter lurks broken dreams, ethereal ecstasy and, often, tragedy. And behind every bargirl’s smile and every foreigner’s beer glass lurks a story: happy, touching, heart-wrenching. The author interviews bargirls, mamasans and customers, who reveal true stories of sex scams, doomed relationships and tragic suicides. The author’s investigation takes him to the capital, Bangkok, as well as to an Isaan village in northeastern Thailand, and further afield to Saigon in Vietnam and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. He returns to Pattaya with a warning: You enter the manipulative world of the Pattaya bargirls at your own risk!

Kaaren Sutcliffe delivers a richly layered fantasy tale with intrigue, romance, and compelling characters. The trilogy weaves together a young spy mage on a covert mission, a rogue half-mage, and an alluring bird caller with uncanny abilities. A fiercely competitive dragon boat teams and river dragons with a hidden past seeking amends from a Mages’ Guild founded on deception.