Gambling on Magic

by Christopher G. Moore

Gambling on Magic is set in Bangkok where life is more than good for Joey Balfour, ex-patriot gambling king, former TV personality, and the current owner of the mysterious and exotic Feng Shui Flower Shop in downtown Bangkok. Then ex-chief of security arrives in Bangkok to reopen an old unsolved Las Vegas casino theft. The thief has disappeared in Thailand and the conventional wisdom has it that Balfour holds the key to tracking him down. Caught in a web of deception and betrayal, Balfour discovers that other forces - more sinister and deadly - are slowly entangling him. The stakes are high, the odds are long, and for his greatest gamble, Balfour bets his own life on winning.

Set in the steamy, erotic underworld of Bangkok, Gambling On Magic is a thinking person's thriller and a brilliant literary portrait of contemporary life inside Southeast Asia's most famous city. The rogue's gallery of whacky, wonderful, and original characters will stick with you long after you finish this page-turner.

330 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Christopher G. Moore is a Canadian author who has lived in Thailand since 1988. Formerly a law professor at the University of British Columbia and a practicing lawyer, Moore has become a public figure in Southeast Asia, known for his novels and essays that have captured the spirit and social transformation of Southeast Asia over the past three decades.

Moore has written over 30 fiction and non-fiction books, including the Vincent Calvino novels which have won including the Shamus Award and German Critics Award and have been translated to over a dozen languages. Moore’s books and essays are a study of human nature, culture, power, justice, technological change and its implications on society and human rights.

Starting in 2017, the London-based Christopher G. Moore Foundation awards an annual literary prize to books advancing awareness on human rights. He’s also the founder of Changing Climate, Changing Lives Film Festival 2020.