About the Author

Jim Algie's short fiction has been included in the Bram Stoker-winning Extremes 2: Fantasy and Horror from the Ends of the Earth. His non-fiction work Bizarre Thailand: Tales of Crime, Sex and Black Magic chronicles the dark side of the country and its strangest tourist attractions. He has contributed to Time Out and The International Herald Tribune, and recently authored Tuttle Travel Pack Thailand.

Reviews

"Many people write about Thailand these days, but very few have the depth and breadth of Jim Algie. With the persistence of a seasoned journalist and the skill of a born story-teller he takes us places and reveals truths that lesser authors cannot begin to match." #8212;John Burdett, author of Bangkok 8 blog
"Jim Algie's elegant, clean prose style delivers the cultural goods inside Southeast Asia with a great deal of wit and charm. These memorable stories spotlight the frontiers inhabited by the supernatural, backpackers, killers, legends, bar girl dreams, and customer nightmares. The stories map the boundary line between the Thais and the foreigners who live, work and die among them. And Algie has the talent to breathe fresh life and meaning into the conflicts that arise when the inevitable misunderstanding happens and a foreigner steps over the line." -Christopher G. Moore, author of the prize-winning Vincent Calvino mystery series
"The Phantom Lover and Other Thrilling Tales of Thailand is perfect for those who want a fun crash course in the darker side of Thailand and its myths, superstitions and folklore. ...Phantom entertains as well as informs, and is a great paperback for holidaymakers or indeed anybody who seeks some substance behind the Thai smile. "-The Bangkok Post
"... often fiction is the only way to tell the truth about Thailand..." -The Phuket News
"The overall success of Phantom Lover cannot be denied, however. The book is at times intensely thought-provoking. What happens the rest of the time will guarantee every reader a few lost nights of sleep." -The Nation
"Thai expatriate Algie (Bizarre Thailand: Tails of Crime, Sex and Black Magic) reveals the seedy underbelly of his adopted country in this dark collection of erotically charged tales set in contemporary Bangkok and environs. Dispelling any doubt that Thai sex trade is flourishing, many of the stories describe how poverty and lack of education leave local women with no other way to earn a living. -Publishers Weekly
"This book makes a welcome addition to the library of armchair travelers, especially those attuned to or drawn by the unusual, the exotic and the bizarre. A dashing and hard-to-put-down read, this volume is not for the faint of heart, however, for among its characters lie cannibals, dead children, brutal killers, and the continuing embodiment of fickle, cruel and unavoidable fate. Positively received by reviewers and fellow authors alike, Mr. Algie's work is thrilling, vibrant and temptingly entertaining. The reader is carried along both on the author's vivid and moody prose, and by the energetic pacing." -Examiner.com
"Asian horror fiction is an expanding, yet still relatively unknown genre. Its rise follows the trend for Southeast Asia noir, and an increasing number of movies that use Bangkok's sultry streets as a backdrop for tales of crime and the supernatural. But Jim Algie's short-story collection, The Phantom Lover and Other Thrilling Tales of Thailand, aims to go further, tapping into the deep vein of superstition that runs through Thai society and blurring the line between precarious reality and a disturbing dream world. [...] But The Phantom Lover is above all a horror show. Fans of the genre will be satisfied, while for everyone else the stories offer an authentic, illuminating and often unsettling ride through Thailand's underbelly." -South China Morning Post