Kolkata: The American Boyfriend, a domestic psychological romantic suspense-thriller by London-based award-winning author and editor, Ivy Ngeow. would hit the stands in India on August 15.
The gripping novel takes readers on a heart-racing journey through the risks and rewards of online dating, interlaced with themes of cross-cultural relationships and the dynamics of race relations in the West, publishers Penguin Random House announced.
The book is currently available for pre-ordering on all major e-commerce websites in India.
The American Boyfriend introduces readers to Phoebe Wong, a Malaysian-Chinese single mother living in London. Tired of her dead-end job and aching to escape the British winter, Phoebe eagerly accepts an invitation from her long-distance titular ‘American’ boyfriend to meet him in sunny Key West, Florida. Accompanied by her teething toddler, Phoebe arrives ahead of her boyfriend and experiences a nightmarish turn of events when she is robbed on her first night.
Stranded in Key West without money, cards, or passports, Phoebe finds solace in the support of friendly locals. However, when a British ex-pat she meets is mysteriously shot dead, Phoebe realises she is trapped in a dangerous situation as things continue to go out of hand.
As suspicions surrounding her boyfriend's delayed arrival grow, Phoebe becomes determined to extricate herself and her daughter from the escalating danger.
Through the pages of the novel, Ngeow also sheds light on the nuanced dynamics of race relations and gun violence in the subtext. The story delves into the complexities of identity, love, and survival in a world fraught with danger as the readers go on this journey which is full of unexpected twists and turns and a shocking finale for the protagonist.
Talking about the publication of her book, author, Ivy Ngeow said, ‘I wrote a book that I wanted to read. I was frustrated that there was a serious lack of commercial fiction with strong female Asian protagonists. Much of Asian literature for the Western market falls into the literary fiction or historical category with romanticised tropes of the empire, WWII and “Malaya” nostalgia.
"But so much has happened since 1957. I write to challenge those tiring stereotypes and cliches. The story I want to give the world is what it means to be a modern Asian woman. She is confident, open-minded and independent, both financially and emotionally," said the author. (UNI)
