Inspector Samuel Tay Books in Order

Jake Needham has written 11 Inspector Samuel Tay books, published between 1999 and 2019. The first book is The Big Mango (1999) and the newest is And Brother It's Starting To Rain (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
11
Published
1999–2019
Pages on record
3,742 in 10 of 11 books
Reading time
62–94 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,742 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200300 words a minute, covering the 10 of 11 titles with a page count on record.

The Inspector Samuel Tay listing covers 11 Jake Needham books published from 1999 to 2019, grouped under the Mean Streets of Asia Crime Novels. Inspector Tay and Jack Shepherd are both named as characters. The Big Mango (1999) is the first title, followed by Laundry Man (2002), Killing Plato (2007) and The Ambassador's Wife (2008). Subject headings cite Thailand, Singapore, serial murders, conspiracies and police procedurals. And Brother It's Starting To Rain (2019) is the newest title.

How many Inspector Samuel Tay books are there?

Inspector Samuel Tay has 11 books, released between 1999 and 2019.

Inspector Samuel Tay Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 11 Inspector Samuel Tay books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. 1
    The Big MangoMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #11999 · 372 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999372
  2. 2
    Laundry ManMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #22002 · 378 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002378
  3. 3
    Killing PlatoMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #32007 · 390 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007390
  4. 4
    The Ambassador's WifeMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #42008 · 380 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008380
  5. 5
    A World of TroubleMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #52012 · 412 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012412
  6. 6
    The Umbrella ManMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #62012 · 374 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012374
  7. 7
    The King of MacauMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #72014 · 346 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014346
  8. 8
    The Dead AmericanMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #82014 · 364 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014364
  9. 9
    The Girl in the WindowMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #92016 · 354 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016354
  10. 10
    Don't Get CaughtMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #102017 · 372 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017372
  11. 11
    And Brother It's Starting To RainMean Streets of Asia Crime Novels #112019 · confirmed 2/4
    2019

Do you have to read Inspector Samuel Tay books in order?

You should read the Inspector Samuel Tay books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Inspector Samuel Tay book also stands alone.

Where to start with Inspector Samuel Tay

Start with The Big Mango (1999), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Inspector Samuel Tay book?

And Brother It's Starting To Rain (2019) is the newest Inspector Samuel Tay book released so far.

Is there a new Inspector Samuel Tay book coming?

No next Inspector Samuel Tay book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Inspector Samuel Tay at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Inspector Samuel Tay title on record dates from 2019, 7 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Inspector Samuel Tay books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,742 pages across the 10 of 11 books with a recorded length, a median of 373 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Inspector Samuel Tay books, 7 of 11, were published in the 2010s.

What the Inspector Samuel Tay books are about

4 of the 11 Inspector Samuel Tay books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: thrillers is tagged on 4 of 4. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Jake Needham

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.