After the Inquiry—Second Edition
Police sergeant Hafiz lies in a coma after a gunshot to the head. The investigation by Internal Affairs uncovered a game of Russian roulette gone wrong, and the case is now closed. But there are rumbles of concern in the Ministry, and middle-aged civil servant Boon Teck—assisted by young colleague Nithya—is dispatched to take another look.
Suffused with mystery and intrigue, After the Inquiry steps into the mirror maze of Singapore’s bureaucracy, where silvered surfaces hide troubling secrets, and those who search for the truth risk getting lost…
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We've sold out the first print run of this exciting novel by Jolene Tan, and we're bringing it back this April with a fresh new cover! Designed by Yong Yi of Semi Studio, the cover is inspired by impossible objects: deceptively simple shapes with no start or end and contradicting perspectives, a never-ending maze hidden beneath an innocuous facade.
Orders for this book will open on 24th April 2023. Save this page and keep your eyes peeled for the release!
"Exceptional... an unsettling insight into bureaucratic cruelty, and the best thing I've read from Singapore for years and years."—Peter Guest, Journalist and Editor
“After the Inquiry is a riveting novel that casually exposes the pitfalls of our iron-clad officialdom. Through her incisive, witty prose, Jolene Tan presents a protagonist who is so comfortably entrenched in our systems that he doesn’t know where they end and where he begins. Part mystery, part character study, this novel reminds us of the shadow narratives that run parallel to the ones we are told about Singapore society’s fine-tuned machinery."—Balli Kaur Jaswal, Author of Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
"A gripping novel, both a thriller and an examination into the dark soul of Singaporean bureaucracy. Written in the form of a series of reports, it demonstrates how cool, surgical language can rationalise even the most violent prejudices. A chilling and unforgettable portrait of a functionary who has found all the ways to checkmate his own conscience.”—Alfian Sa’at, Resident Playwright of Wild Rice and Author of Corridor and Malay Sketches
