Bookstore and blog for fans of international mysteries and thrillers
Time & Place: late-1990s, District 8, Bangkok, Thailand
Plot: A dramatically mutilated dead body is found in District 8. It's bad: he was CIA. It gets worse: the murderer appears to be Chanya, a tough, sweet working girl who's the highest earner at The Old Man's Club, jointly owned by Sonchai's mother and his boss, Police Colonel Vikorn.
Alerted by Sonchai, Vikorn quickly concocts a cover-up that involves Al Qaeda and Thailand's porous southern border where, since 9/11, the CIA has been an obvious presence. But the truth will be harder to come by, and it will require Sonchai to find an ever-more-delicate balance between his ambition and his Buddhism, while running the gamut of Bangkok's drug dealers, prostitutes, bad cops, worse military, and the pitfalls of his own melting heart (Chanya!) most of which he can handle. But even Sonchai is not prepared for what he discovers at the end of his investigation. Excerpts from Reviews
Publishers Weekly: *Starred Review* "In Burdett's brilliantly cynical mystery thriller, Royal Thai police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep is called in to investigate the murder of a CIA operative found disemboweled and mutilated. Thoroughly familiar with Thailand, Burdett does an impressive job of depicting an often romanticized society from the inside out. His characters are unforgettable, his dialogue fast-paced and perfectly pitched, his numerous asides and observations generally as cutting as they are funny."
The New Yorker: "Bangkok's red-light districts, perhaps the most infamous in the world, have inspired their share of breathless prose. Here, however, the tone is mordant, thanks to the serene narration of Sonchai Jitpleecheep. A devout Buddhist, Sonchai makes complex karmic calculations to justify his roles as law-bending cop and part-time papasan at his mother's go-go bar. The plot showcases Burdett's sly riffs on Third World stereotypes, Buddhism, and the gustatory pleasures of fried grasshoppers. It's a giddy, occasionally over-the-top performance, but mesmerizing: a comic tour of the underbelly of Bangkok in pursuit of both a murderer and the sublime."
Booklist: "You've read a few Italian mysteries, and you think you know what moral ambiguity is all about. Time for a trip to District 8 in the heart of Bangkok's sex district, where Buddhist police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep simultaneously investigates crimes and works the bar in a brothel owned jointly by his mother and his boss, the exquisitely corrupt Colonel Vikorn."
The Washington Post Book World: “You will read on and on, with wide-eyed fascination, some horror. . . and considerable delight. . . . If you’re looking for a good time, look no further.”
ABOUT THE BOOK
Funny, thought provoking, possibly profound. Something to offend everyone. I love these novels. It's best to read Bangkok 8 first.
When Sonchai's true love kills a client, Colonel Vikorn launches a cover up. Books in this Series
Bangkok's Only
Honest Cop
Royal Thai Police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, the son of an enterprising Thai prostitute and a deadbeat U.S. GI, is one of the most entertaining detectives I've met in years.
With some help from illicit substances, Sonchai embraces the complexity of life; he has no choice—he's an honest cop who must somehow serve the cause of justice without losing the patronage of his corrupt crime-lord boss, police chief Colonel Vikorn, all the while staying on the Buddhist path to nirvana. Sonchai and his childhood pal Pichai became Bangkok's only honest cops as a penance. When they were young, they killed a drug dealer. The abbot of the monastery where they were hiding from earthly retribution for the crime told them to become police officers—honest police officers—and had them assigned to work for the powerful Colonel Vikorn, who is also the abbot's brother and Sonchai's mother's business partner.Highly recommended to those willing to have their views on "third-world corruption" turned upside down.
WHO IS SONCHAI JITPLEECHEEP?
Killing Customers Just Isn't Good for Business
