Dawn Farnham Books

Set against the backdrop of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore in 1942, the story follows two seasoned homicide detectives: a Eurasian caught between cultures and a pacifist Japanese grappling with his own troubled past. Together, they must navigate the challenges of a brutal military regime while solving a high-profile murder. Their partnership forces them to confront their differences and the harsh realities of their world, revealing deep themes of identity, morality, and the impact of war on personal lives.

Set against the backdrop of World War II, this narrative delves into the experiences of individuals living in Singapore during the Japanese occupation. It explores the harsh realities faced by the local population, highlighting themes of resilience, survival, and the impact of war on everyday life. Through personal stories and historical context, the book sheds light on the complexities of occupation, cultural clashes, and the struggle for identity amid turmoil. This poignant account offers a deep understanding of a pivotal moment in Singapore's history.

In Volume 2 of The Straits Quartet, Charlotte Macleod is nineteen, pregnant, and alone in 1842. Through loss and pain, Charlotte will find a way to make a life with a man she does not love.

In Volume 3 of The Straits Quartet, young, beautiful and wealthy widow Charlotte Macleod leaves Batavia in the 1850s and returns to Singapore for the English education of her two young sons. She is determined not to be drawn back into a secret affair with Zhen, the married Chinese merchant, triad-member and man she loves who is, unbeknownst to him, the father of her eldest son, Alex. Charlotte is convinced she can find happiness in a respectable marriage with the attractive but reticent Captain Maitland. But when murder and death strike, Singapore erupts in the violence of triad wars and Zhen's growing affection for Alex gives cause for alarm, she must make some hard decisions, for her children and herself. Drawing on the real-life historical personalities of the time, Dawn Farnham mixes fact and fiction to paint a rich portrait of mid-nineteenth-century Singapore and the realm of the White Rajah of Sarawak, at a time when triads, piracy and crime were rife and life in colonial Southeast Asia was anything but safe.

The final volume of the Straits Quartet or the Red Thread series about 1860s Singapore

Amidst the struggles of war-torn Singapore, the chaos of the Malayan Emergency and the violence of the Maria Hertogh race riots, a journey into the past brings a chilling discovery. Finding Maria is at once a mother's quest for her child, an unravelling mystery and a journey into suppressed memory and the nature of self-delusion.

Set against the backdrop of 1830s Singapore where piracy, crime, triads and tigers are commonplace, this cultural romance follows the struggle of two lovers: Zhen, once the lowliest of Chinese coolies and triad member, later chosen to marry into a Peranakan family of Baba Chinese merchants; and Charlotte, an 18-year-old Scots girl and sister of Singapore's Chief of Police.