<![CDATA[Bangkok 8: A Novel]]>

false <![CDATA[Bangkok 8: A Novel]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177459916m/706011.jpg 706011 15 When a U.S. Marine is killed in Bangkok, the task of finding the murderer falls to Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, seemingly the only member of the Royal Thai Police Force whose idea of justice precludes his fellow officers' customary system of bribery. This assignment's especially important to the devout detective for during the investigation of the murder scene, the methamphetamine-stoked snakes that bit the marine also kill Sonchai's police partner, best friend, and Buddhist soul-mate Pichai. Sonchai's pursuit of revenge will team him with a sexually frustrated FBI agent and leave them at the mercy of yaa-baa-fueled motorcycle-taxi drivers as they hurtle through neon-lit Bangkok and into the labyrinthine and deadly machinations of the international jade and drug trades in search of the killer. As Sonchai himself notes at one point, "This isn't a whodunit, is it?" And, no, it isn't, but author John Burdett (A Personal History of Thirst, The Last Six Million Seconds) infuses the plot with enough suspense, detail, and dry Asian insight to keep readers rapt as the story careens about the bars and brothels of Thailand's flesh trade, through its cut-rate plastic surgery parlors, and ends in a climax with a fittingly Buddhist twist. Bangkok 8 is highly recommended for readers in the mood for Thai. --Benjamin Reese 692291 2002 Bangkok 8: A Novel total:1402|5:265|4:604|3:400|2:101|1:32| 1402 5175 1857 305 3 7 false false Fri Mar 06 16:41:19 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 15 07:59:47 -0700 2009 Bangkok 8 reads like the bastard offspring of a yaa baa-fueled brainstorming session between James Ellroy, Elmore Leonard, and a Buddhist monk gathered around a manual typewriter in a South Asian bar with slowly rotating ceiling fans in the late afternoon, about four hours before the impossibly beau...more...]]> 4 3 false false Fri Sep 07 08:55:02 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 07 09:07:16 -0700 2007
Then I heard about John Burdett's 4 novels (3 are out, he is writing the 4th one) based in Bangkok. Each is a detective story. The main character i...more...]]> 4 3 false false Sat Jun 16 08:13:34 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 22 07:49:17 -0700 2007
“I used to buy whole trays of Rolex watches for police officers,” the city’s top sex tycoon complained to The New York Times recently. “I used to carry cash in black pla...more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 08 15:40:45 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 26 08:24:20 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 2 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 22:50:59 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 13 08:21:07 -0700 2008
i really liked reading about thailand/bangkok...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Sep 02 23:17:25 -0700 2007 Fri Jan 11 22:15:21 -0800 2008
What's most enjoyable about this mystery is how the narrator sees and describes the ...more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Mar 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 05 19:41:15 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 12 13:00:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Jan 04 09:00:49 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 05 03:52:31 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Mar 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 06 13:31:20 -0700 2007 Mon Mar 31 04:47:52 -0700 2008
Allow me to preface by saying that I love good crime noir book- one where the heroes are as fl...more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Dec 27 20:24:57 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 20:26:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false true Wed Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Fri Oct 23 14:55:59 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 15:12:41 -0700 2009
From the first three pages (the entirety of the first chapter) this book had me hooked.

A man named Sonchai is in the car with his police officer partner and childhood friend (they were drug dealers together when they were children, and his friend's mothe...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Apr 09 09:52:27 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 10:11:57 -0700 2009
Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep is the son of a Thai retired prostitute and a white man, w...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Dec 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 04 19:56:20 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 20:05:13 -0800 2009
About three years ago, I started trying to remember the title so I could read it again. I couldn't remember the author, I couldn't remember the title. The clues I ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jan 24 05:54:11 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 20 16:26:02 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 24 05:53:10 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 20:14:42 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 20:15:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Sep 26 11:40:10 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 11:40:32 -0700 2009 PROTAGONIST: Sonjai Jitpleecheep
OCCUPATION: Police detective
SETTING: Bangkok, Thailand
SERIES: #1 of 2
SUMMARY: A Marine in Thailand is murdered by Sssss (slithery reptiles, respecting some list members who have trouble with same) bites, with dozens of cobras ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jan 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 10:56:19 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 29 09:32:32 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jul 13 20:18:23 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 20:18:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 16 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 29 16:29:09 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 29 16:52:37 -0800 2008 2 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 23:55:17 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 00:03:46 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=706011