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Leo’s looking for the perfect place to propose to the love of his life. When they arrive in the Thai tropical paradise of Koh Tao, he thinks he’s found it.

But before he gets an answer, she’s nowhere to be seen.

On searching the resort, his tranquillity turns to turmoil. Is it a practical joke? Has she run away? Or is it something much more sinister?

Set two years before Luke Richardson’s international thriller series, this compulsive novella turns back the clock on an anxiety ridden man battling powerful forces in a foreign land.

KOH TAO is the prequel novella to Luke Richardson’s international thriller series. Grab your copy for free and find out where it all began!



Praise for Koh
★★★★★ “Intense, thrilling, mysterious and captivating.”

★★★★★ “The story grabs you, you’re on the boat with your stomach pitching. As the story gathers pace the tension is palpable. It’s a page turner which keeps you hooked until the final word.”

★★★★★ “The evocative writing takes you to a place of white sand, the turquoise sea and tranquilly. But on an island of injustice and exploitation, tranquillity is the last thing Leo finds.”

★★★★★ “Highly recommend to anyone who loves adventure and travel.”

★★★★★ "Love the book, it finished too quick!"

★★★★★ "Love and adventure collide in Thailand, love it!"

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 14, 2020

45 people are currently reading
123 people want to read

About the author

Luke Richardson

73 books204 followers
WANTED, adventure lovers for hazardous journey. Must be prepared for nail-biting action, constant danger, fear around every corner, with safe return doubtful.

If that sounds like your sort of thing, in your choice of books at least, then come with me...

Hey there, I’m Luke Richardson, and I’m applying for the job as your next favorite author!

As an Amazon bestselling author, I've had the honour of sharing my stories with readers all around the world. Whether you're a history buff, a travel addict, or just looking for a little excitement in your reading, my books are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

I write books that take you on a journey to foreign and exotic places, blending history, adventure, and suspense into a gripping tale.

In my books, you'll find yourself transported to places like the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the glitzy skyscrapers of Hong Kong, or the shady backstreets of Kathmandu in Nepal. But it's not just about the locations; my stories are also filled with fascinating characters, unexpected twists, and edge-of-your-seat action.

It was visiting India for the first time that actually made me want to start writing. The sun had just risen as we landed at Mumbai airport. The taxi journey that followed was one of the most incredible of my life. I watched the city unfold like a story. People washing, children playing, chickens, cows, goats, all beside an eight-lane motorway.

I love sharing my stories and am proud to say that my books have been well-received by readers and reviewers. One of the greatest compliments I get is when people say that my books transport them to a new place. Although people often comment on the loveable characters, intricate plots, and fast-paced storytelling too. And I'm always working hard to bring you even more thrilling adventures.

So, if you're looking for a page-turning read that will take you on a journey to far-off lands, look no further than my books. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

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5 stars
33 (32%)
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35 (34%)
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24 (23%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
Profile Image for Mark.
1,682 reviews
July 25, 2020
So here is book zero ( love that ) the prequel to the first 3 books in the series and the insight as to why Leo is now searching for missing people
This is a ‘novella’ and so is a quick read but for new readers to the series and for readers who have read all previous 3 its a good and worthwhile read and it crosses the I’s and dot’s the T’s and basically tells you all about Leo and Mya and why the series exists, there is also a side story of migrants and how dangerous their lives are and a starring role for a repulsive Thai Detective, loved the descriptions of
him and his baseness
Once again a well written and enjoyable read from this author and I look forward to Book 4 ‘New York’ which is out end of this year
9/10
5 Stars
Profile Image for Paul Ataua.
2,198 reviews289 followers
September 15, 2021
‘Koh Tao’ is the short prequel to the series and the one that gives the introduction to the characters and the events around Mya’s disappearance on their trip to Thailand. I decided on the audio book version read by the author and really enjoyed the enthusiasm he put into the reading. It was enjoyable and interesting enough to make me want to try one of the main series, but it was also a little lightweight and lacked bite. I expected a much more powerful statement regarding the treatment of migrant workers given the real life treatment of the illegal Myanmar migrants in the 2014 murder case on the island. I will definitely move on to the next in the series, but hope for more bite.
Profile Image for Adrian.
686 reviews278 followers
August 24, 2025
Ad Hoc read August 2025

I fairly recently discovered this author and have added myself to his e mail list (interesting ! ) and , obviously him being British made me investigate him more than if he was a different nationality ( and before anyone jumps on me, all I mean is , both of us being British have a shared upbringing, culture and mores. You only have to look at my read library to see I like authors from all over the world ).
And , when he was offering this prequel novella to his Leo Keane series at a reasonable price, free, it seemed a great place to start my delving into his writing.

I have to say I wasn’t disappointed the writing was good, the story line interesting and the characters well written, if a little icky at times. Anyway the upshot is, that I have bought the first book in the series Kathmandu Killers and hope to get onto it soon, when my reading slump passes completely.
Profile Image for The Mare.
135 reviews
September 19, 2020
I had seen the 1st Leo Keane book advertised 'Kathmandu', and then found out there was a prequel to this, 'Koh Tao'. So, before reading the first book in the series I decided to read 'Book 0' first. Whilst this book did given an introduction to the characters of Leo and Mya and events that happened around Mya's disappearance, I'm not sure all events seemed that realistic when it came to the Thai Police force. The Thai Police officers were portrayed as quite stereotypical and the story around the refugees Omar and his wide Nafisa I'm not sure would have been as clear cut in how they were portrayed. Maybe the events are based on the author's own experiences, but as the book was quite short (only 118 pages), had the book had been longer, extra narration of events may have helped to develop the plot over a longer period of time and so may have not felt like a 'rushed' prequel. I'm also not sure why the author has his characters refer to Koh Tao as being 'difficult to reach'. I have visited the island a couple of times myself whilst in Thailand, and getting the boat there seemed no problem at all.
However, having said all this, I have also now read 'Kathmandu' and absolutely loved it, and cannot wait to read the second book 'Hong Kong' which follows this. I don't feel you have to necessarily read 'Koh Tao' in order to understand 'Kathmandu'. In my opinion, skip this short prequel and start the first book of the series.
Profile Image for Allison Valentine.
674 reviews18 followers
August 14, 2020
Koh Tao is the prequel to Kathmandu by Luke Richardson Leo Keane series.

Whilst Leo and Mya went travelling through Thailand they decided to end there trip at a beautiful and exotic island of Koh Tao.

Leo has been waiting to ask Mya to marry him for the last couple of months and descending on this island seems to the perfect chance.

Omar the man that picks them up from the dock yard and takes them the the front beach cottage is the perfect gentleman and nothing is to good for the guests.

Leo picks up the courage to ask Mya to marry him, she looks at the ring and asks him to come back to the cottage in five minutes for the answer.

When he returns there is no sign of Mya.

Read Kathmandu for what happens next.
Profile Image for Julie Howard.
Author 2 books31 followers
February 20, 2021
This is a nice introduction to a new series. I think it explains or at least gives you an idea of why Leo goes on to do what he does. It is a short read or listen and is given to you by two perspectives, Leo who's girl friend goes missing and refugee Omar who helps him try to find her only to be accused by the police of her disappearance. This works well as you get told the police's thinking or investigation from both sides, although they did seem a bit hopeless. I liked it but think it either needed to be longer or you need to read the next book straight away to keep it going. The characters were interesting but not sure who will be in the next book.
Leo and Mya are on holiday and at there final stop Leo hopes to have built up enough courage to ask her to marry him. But rather than answer him she heads to there room and disappears. She is very independent and likes to do things her way but did he disappear from her own choice or was she taken? At the same time Omar hopes to raise enough money to be able to pay for his wife to stay in the country, before the police find her there illegal. Omar joins in for the search of Mya only to become the police's number one suspect. Can Leo prove Omar had nothing to do with it and find Mya?
I like the fact that the narrator read the book because he put in a lot of enthusiasm into the story that I am not sure you would get with anyone else. I obviously enjoyed writing this book and it comes across in his re telling.
I was given this free review copy book at my request and have voluntarily left this review
Profile Image for AR bee.
240 reviews4 followers
February 24, 2021
Like others, I started with this prequel Short Story before planning to go on to the series novels.
The story started out slow and choppy with all the short ‘chapters’, but developed nicely as I read further.
Being a prequel, there were some hanging plot lines not wrapped up in the end. It’s clear that Leo has a future task ahead, but what happened to Mya despite hints during the book, and was the Chief Inspector allowed to simply walk away from the mess he made?
Overall, a good first effort from this new author.
7,759 reviews50 followers
February 21, 2021
Prequel to Kathmandu and this the beautiful exotic island in Thailand.
The perfect place to ask her to marry him. The reply was unusual, and when going to get Mya answer was another surprise awaiting him, and one he didn’t expect. Good series, with good characters of Leo and Mya. Given audio which added to this prequels story, and enjoyed.
Profile Image for iansomething.
183 reviews
November 11, 2021
Geez where do I start? This book is all over the show, bouncing from one character to another in short chapters which I found irritating. I felt the author was trying too hard using words that weren't needed being overly descriptive about ordinary things. The amount of times a character's "big almond eyes" were mentioned was just ridiculous. Another was how he referred to a ferry as a boat. I think it has potential and at times it was gripping but the story had so many holes. Arguably one of the most frustrating novels I've ever read. I'm glad that it's over and no, I don't care where Mya is.
Profile Image for Ann.
953 reviews
February 4, 2021
Binge-worthy❣️

You are hooked as soon as you start reading...Binge-worthy❣️
Very anxious to read more . . .
Next please⁉️ More and more difficult to put down . . .
81 reviews3 followers
December 26, 2020
Entertaining

A relatively entertaining read. Was well enough written that I managed to read the book in 2 sittings. While the story was absorbing, there was a certain lack of depth in the description of most of the characters and this was slightly disappointing. Hopefuls story is continued and gives us more in depth character information to fill the story out
22 reviews
December 8, 2020
Great read!

Good combination of action and describing the beauty and grittiness of the island. Looking forward to the expansion of the character in subsequent books.
48 reviews
December 6, 2020
Fine Read

This was an interesting , thought-provoking story. The author has created a book that kept me reading long into the night. Loved the descriptions of people and places, they seemed real. Now I want to read more by Luke Richardson!
495 reviews7 followers
November 29, 2020
great story, well written and as the prequel to a series, explains how it all begins. well worth reading.
304 reviews1 follower
August 2, 2021
A short story.
Although this is an introduction to the main character there is not enough background or 'meat' to the character to encourage me to want to read more
Profile Image for Saundra Wright.
2,887 reviews13 followers
July 17, 2020
Love life and heartbreak collide in Thailand! What should be the vacation of a lifetime turns tragic for Leo and Mya on the island of Koh Tao. Leo’s life has changed so much since Mya came into it. For the past two months they have been traveling the world, just the two of them creating paradise for themselves at each location they visit.

Koh Tao and its beach front resort should be a lovely relaxing finish to their vacation. But when Mya goes missing, Leo���s trip turns tragic. Will he be able to find her?
Profile Image for Claudete Takahashi.
2,623 reviews37 followers
August 23, 2020
I´ve read all the other books in this series and Koh Tao explains why Leo decided to put a website together to help people look for missing loved ones whilst he also kept on looking for Mya. As usual Luke´s descriptions of places, people and feelings is very accurate and you can almost see the scenery or the faces he is talking about in the book.
Koh Tao is a very entertaining reading, a good love story that is the kick start for Leo Keane Thriller series.
I received a free copy of this book as a member of the author´s ARC team.
1,814 reviews14 followers
August 4, 2020
Great novel, I could not put it down. Leo and Mya are on vacation and Leo is looking to propose. Mya disappears and the local police arrest Omar, a worker at the resort where they are staying. The police want to close the case and do not care who is arrested. They do not even know if a crime has been committed. Where is Mya?
Profile Image for Marlys.
1,511 reviews10 followers
July 18, 2020
This is a great read. I enjoyed it. I am glad the author wrote this prequel to the book. I think Leo is a wonderful character and I am enjoying this series. I received an ARC from an objective review.
37 reviews1 follower
December 19, 2020
Missing Maya

Nothing exciting and no thrills in this story. Action is missing and the characters are not very well portrayed. Not interested in more from this author.
Profile Image for Cindy B. .
3,899 reviews219 followers
July 3, 2021
Entertaining and well narrated. I’d already read the preceding novels so this was extraneous.

Author 9 books16 followers
March 26, 2024
Omar and his wife Nafisa are refugees from Myanmar. They endured a terrible boat ride to Thailand and had money for only one set of immigration papers. They decided to buy papers for Omar. He works hard to get the money for Nafisa’s papers. She must hide in their small apartment all the time. They must stay alert for the local police raids so that Nafisa will hide when the police come. Omar works at a local hotel.

Leo and his girlfriend Mya have been on a wonderful holiday and the island of Koh Tao in Thailand is their final destination. Leo is trying to find the perfect time and place to propose to Mya. When the time finally arrives, Mya just smiles, says: ”Come to me in five minutes and you will have the answer”, and leaves. But when Leo comes to their cabin, Mya has vanished without a trace.

Inspector Kaya hates the sleepy island. But a disappeared tourist might just be the ticket for him to get noticed and get a promotion off the island. Unfortunately, the only thing he knows what to do is to harass the Myanmar refugees.

The start of the novella is a little slow when we get to know Omar, Nafisa, Leo, and Mya. But when the action starts, it continues at a good pace. Leo clearly loves Mya and will do anything to get her back. He’s a former journalist so he has some idea what to do. Meanwhile, we get a hint that Mya is more than just a mysterious girlfriend. Omar just wants to do his job well so that he can buy Nafisa her papers and they can enjoy their life together.

This was a good introduction to a thriller series. The descriptions were vivid and the characters interesting. However, the mystery of Mya’s disapearance isn’t solved. It seems to be Leo’s driving force in the series.
128 reviews2 followers
July 28, 2021
Review of KOH TAO by Luke Richardson

I must say that I have never read a novella so full of fast moving, intriguing characters and interwoven relationships. Sounds like overkill, but it isn't, rather it is exciting and intense to the end. I was sorry it was a novella as it ended all too quickly. It is the perfect prequel to Richardson's book, Kathmandu,which I also highly recommend.

Leo is a cautious, anxious man who is madly in love with Mya. They have been on a wonderful long trip together now ending in a lovely resort at Koh Tao; they must leave the next day. On the last night, Leo works up the nerve to propose to Mya. Her response is coy, to say the least.

While Leo is agonizing over the proposal, another couple is having quite a different trauma. Omar, an immigrant,works at the resort. He is fully documented, but his wife is not which means they much use some subterfuge while dancing around the authorities. Their lives intersect when Omar is accused of a crime he did not commit and his wife is exposed as undocumented. Leo is convinced that Omar is innocent and comes to his assistance.

The drama in this novella is intense and written as only Luke Richardson can.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes intrigue and mystery. Since it is set in an exotic place the experience is only intensified.

Fritzi Redgrave
Profile Image for Colleen.
447 reviews17 followers
May 7, 2022
Koh Tao is the prequel to this adventure series dictated by the author himself, Luke Richardson, who has stopped teaching to dedicate himself to his natural craft. Indeed, he would have been a gem of a teacher! I'm guessing that covid presented a perfect segueway into doing what he clearly does best, and excels at it, he does. His personality shines through, as, not only does he read his own material with that calm but slightly husky voice, the story was short enough for me to remember all of it and thoroughly enjoy it. I cannot now read the continuing story but will use my next Audible credits toward listening to Luke read the rest of the series at the beach so I can have natural sound affects. The ups and downs were so terrifying, that I'm 😳 left feeling a slight melancholy. I find I'm enjoying audiobooks much better. I want to say more, but I don't want to give anything away! Bravo, Luke, I wish already that your amazing writing can be applied to a movie, and that you have a part acting in it--you rock!!!
Profile Image for Tom Casey.
676 reviews2 followers
March 4, 2021
My first book from Luke and I have the Audio version which is actually read by Luke too.
I like the characters and also the writing style. First impressions for me are it's ok, last impressions are, yes, I definitely like this book, very good story which I found near the end to be so exciting, I felt I was there in that car, shouting faster, faster.
The way the police are and how people are treated makes you think.
I am really impressed with the way Luke has narrated his book, congratulations, Luke.
I am excited now to go on to read the next book in the series.
I received this audiobook for free and wanted to give an honest review.
1,612 reviews32 followers
November 5, 2021
Koh Tao is a novella set two year before Luke Richardson’s international thriller series. It provides insight into Leo’s fight with forces in a foreign land. Leo is looing for the perfect place to propose and make the love of his life his own. When they arrive in the tropical paradise of Koh Tao, he thinks he has found it. But then she disappears. Is it a joke? has she been kidnapped? Has she run away? Could it be a sinister plot? Who will help him? This provides a background for the thriller series to follow. I gave this honest, voluntary review after being given a free copy of the novel
Profile Image for Jan.
6,531 reviews103 followers
March 20, 2021
How it all began.
Leo is on an Asian vacation with his girlfriend and an engagement ring in his pocket. But then it all goes to chopsticks when she disappears and the very helpful Rohingya refugee is tagged by the unpleasant police detective and then...
Lots of suspense, very believable characters, clear imagery, and a solid plot.
You can rarely go wrong with the author doing the narration, and Luke does a fine job!
I won an audio copy in a giveaway. Yay me!
Profile Image for Terry.
1,058 reviews34 followers
July 30, 2021
Audiobook review

A good taster for the rest of this authors books.
I enjoyed this and it will hopefully lead in well to catching the rest of the series.
The reason why Leo is now looking for missing people.
I wasn’t too sure the police & the official office would go quite this smoothly but obviously this is a shorter version so how much can you fit in.
The author narrated and he has a good voice to listen to.
178 reviews3 followers
September 27, 2021
What an amazing story teller Luke Richardson is. I read Kathmandu first, which was truly sensational, such depth of knowledge and understanding of the country, you really felt like you where there. So the prequel to it was Koh Tao. In this you get into how Mya disappeared and how he starts his Missing Person website. Love the character's who now feel like people you know.
Looking forward to the next thrilling episode. Thank you Luke!
Profile Image for Joselyn  Moreno.
865 reviews33 followers
May 8, 2022
Read by the author it was an interesting experience really, I did found it a little slow paced and maybe it's because I haven't read the other ones or something just couldn't really connect with the story or the characters it was heavy.

So we have immigration troubles, maybe a kidnapping? we still don't know for sure, lots of injustices on this one and that's how life for immigrants are in a lot of places it was hard to listen.

It did was interesting it was a thriller weirdly for me I usually love the genre I just felt the story wasn't captivating me enough.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews

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