What do you think?
Rate this book
Vincent Calvino #10
Paying Back Jack: A Vincent Calvino Novel
Christopher G. Moore’s prize-winning series of crime novels set in Bangkok has been translated into eleven languages and critically acclaimed around the world. Featuring Vincent Calvino, a disbarred American lawyer working as a PI in the dangerous and steamy Thai capital, the books offer gripping plots, fascinating characters, and unparalleled insight into one of the world’s most entrancing cities. In Paying Back Jack, Calvino agrees to follow the “minor wife” of a Thai politician and report on her movements. His client is Rick Casey, a shady American whose life has been darkened by the unsolved murder of his idealistic son. It seems to be a simple surveillance job, but soon Calvino is entangled in a dangerous web of political allegiance and a reckless quest for revenge. And, unknown to our man in Bangkok, in an anonymous tower in the center of the city, a two-man sniper team awaits its shot, a shot that will change everything. Paying Back Jack is classic Christopher G. densely-woven, eye-opening, and riveting.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
8 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Christopher G. Moore
70 books66 followersChristopher 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 21, 2020
Habitually, (Usually)
in the stories of "Snipers",
the shooter works "solo",
he has sophisticated equipment, but often
the specialist puts a touch
very personal who signs his work.
The place, the information is very precise
and the sniper performs a contract. There is for him,
no hatred, no revenge, no regret, no morals ...
The preparation is so thorough and the information
so precise as well
in the cinema, in a novel or in reality the process seems the same and always without failure.
In "Paying Back Jack" none of that.
They are actually several,
things are not going as planned,
New information is needed and may take time to be provided by a private investigator which may screw up the mission.
There isn't really a contract but
a settlement of accounts in the plural.
There isn't that clean, spotless side
with a job quickly executed with the solitary sniper and unknown to the police services who immediately disappears once the mission is accomplished.
I imagine that in reality, the mission would be canceled.
The author gives us the impression of being caught in a spider's web.
A tangle of business, places, (Pattaya, then Bangkok, then a sniper who disappears etc ...
Untangle such a bag of many knots
related cases (the mission and the murder of the Ying in Pattaya)
seems an insolvent Chinese puzzle.
I regret that Calvino is apart after the beginning of the book
not very present and that there is almost no involvement
or relationship with ‘Colonel Pratt” which seems non existent
and at the end of the story,
for lack of complicity in the case Completely removed from the mission and the truth,
by Calvino himself who also settles in fact a personal matter.
Exciting chapters and more
where I was very bored without Calvino
nor “Pratt” and around the pool table.
I put four stars because I have less
loved this story sometimes a little tiring to read that
"Spirit House" which I really liked a lot.
In "paying Back Jack"
It's a bit like reading the adventures of
Tintin without "Captain Hadock"
or "Asterix" without Obelix,
or even "Sherlock Holmes" without
the Dr. Watson.
The end of the story reminds me of
the Bible.
"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him,
"for all who draw the sword will die by the sword."
Here it would be:
"Whoever kills with .308 will die with .308."
That said a nice (great) story though.
Thank you.
Christian Dufourmentel.
in the stories of "Snipers",
the shooter works "solo",
he has sophisticated equipment, but often
the specialist puts a touch
very personal who signs his work.
The place, the information is very precise
and the sniper performs a contract. There is for him,
no hatred, no revenge, no regret, no morals ...
The preparation is so thorough and the information
so precise as well
in the cinema, in a novel or in reality the process seems the same and always without failure.
In "Paying Back Jack" none of that.
They are actually several,
things are not going as planned,
New information is needed and may take time to be provided by a private investigator which may screw up the mission.
There isn't really a contract but
a settlement of accounts in the plural.
There isn't that clean, spotless side
with a job quickly executed with the solitary sniper and unknown to the police services who immediately disappears once the mission is accomplished.
I imagine that in reality, the mission would be canceled.
The author gives us the impression of being caught in a spider's web.
A tangle of business, places, (Pattaya, then Bangkok, then a sniper who disappears etc ...
Untangle such a bag of many knots
related cases (the mission and the murder of the Ying in Pattaya)
seems an insolvent Chinese puzzle.
I regret that Calvino is apart after the beginning of the book
not very present and that there is almost no involvement
or relationship with ‘Colonel Pratt” which seems non existent
and at the end of the story,
for lack of complicity in the case Completely removed from the mission and the truth,
by Calvino himself who also settles in fact a personal matter.
Exciting chapters and more
where I was very bored without Calvino
nor “Pratt” and around the pool table.
I put four stars because I have less
loved this story sometimes a little tiring to read that
"Spirit House" which I really liked a lot.
In "paying Back Jack"
It's a bit like reading the adventures of
Tintin without "Captain Hadock"
or "Asterix" without Obelix,
or even "Sherlock Holmes" without
the Dr. Watson.
The end of the story reminds me of
the Bible.
"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him,
"for all who draw the sword will die by the sword."
Here it would be:
"Whoever kills with .308 will die with .308."
That said a nice (great) story though.
Thank you.
Christian Dufourmentel.
June 24, 2024
This is the first time I've been disappointed in one of Moore's Vincent Calvino novels. Calvino's stories grab me most when he interacts with other longtime characters in the series. That doesn't happen much here. Secretary Ratana is barely to be seen, and Col. Pratt, Calvino's friend and contact in the Thai police, almost seems peripheral to the story. Instead, Moore substitutes a rogue one time American Special Forces psycho, Casey, and the rest of Casey's now privately operated fellow mercenary services. The two associates are Jarrett and Tracer, an American assassination team. For some reason, Moore saw fit to bring in Jarrett's backstory, concerning his father and the reason the novel is called Paying Back Jack. Unfortunately, this only causes things to meander about endlessly, with the backstory intermittently popping up and derailing any momentum the story had built up.
There is also a more mature, and less likeable, Calvino in this book. Taking the first date of publication for the first novel in the series, Spirit House, as the introduction to then 37 year old Calvino, I take he must be pushing something fiftyish in Paying Back. His love life has degenerated into something constantly sordid. And you can practically smell him through the pages. His rancid, sweat stained clothes and fetid breath merge with what must be a growing paunch of indolence and alcoholism. Meanwhile, once again Calvino's face is cut up, punched up, and smashed in. He's not looking too good these days.
The story is all over the place as well. What looks to be a sort of typical Thai corruption and exploitation story detours into human trafficking for a while before settling on a misplaced espionage revenge story. I just wanted it to end. But even that was a chore, because Moore doesn't want to let things finish. As a result, the last three chapters seem like a death march.
There is also a more mature, and less likeable, Calvino in this book. Taking the first date of publication for the first novel in the series, Spirit House, as the introduction to then 37 year old Calvino, I take he must be pushing something fiftyish in Paying Back. His love life has degenerated into something constantly sordid. And you can practically smell him through the pages. His rancid, sweat stained clothes and fetid breath merge with what must be a growing paunch of indolence and alcoholism. Meanwhile, once again Calvino's face is cut up, punched up, and smashed in. He's not looking too good these days.
The story is all over the place as well. What looks to be a sort of typical Thai corruption and exploitation story detours into human trafficking for a while before settling on a misplaced espionage revenge story. I just wanted it to end. But even that was a chore, because Moore doesn't want to let things finish. As a result, the last three chapters seem like a death march.
June 4, 2023
3.7 stars. Just wanna bother me because it was way too much time spent with other point of view characters outside of Calvino and I thought it took away from the story. One of the more interesting subplots about rescue in the girl got short shrift in the process. And while I understand craftwise why the other point of view was needed to build tension, I think it could’ve been done it in shorter snippets, and still effective. As it was, I felt like it telescoped a lot of the plot ahead of time just such a degree that weakened it. However, to his credit, and let’s face it Moore is great at this, there are still a few twisted surprises at the end to keep us guessing enough to make it fun. Recommended for fans.
June 2, 2018
Always enjoy Christopher G Moore’s books. The writing is very good. Had some difficulty following the payback to Jack, but other revenge threads in book were fine. I like protagonist PI Vinny Calvino, though in this book in series did not warm to Calvino’s references to his past in NYC. Moore writes accurately of Bangkok. Recommend.
July 22, 2017
Had a hard time following the "paying back Jack" part of this one. I do wish more of his novels were available to me.
November 18, 2020
Fun and Interesting Read especially for those who know Thailand a bit. The PI and his friends are entertaining.
February 17, 2021
So good, so just, so dark. Calvino and Pratt stay steady, and Calvino evades romance, murder and corruption *again* though he's so aware of it all.
Read
August 30, 2022No recollection of this book
May 31, 2014
PROTAGONIST: PI Vincent Calvino
SETTING: Bangkok
SERIES: #10 of 10
RATING: 3.5
Vincent Calvino is an expatriated American and disbarred lawyer who lives in Bangkok and makes a living as a private eye. He is hired by another American who is obsessed with the unsolved murder of his son. The job seems simple enough—follow the mistress of a Thai politician. But as these things tend to go, the situation rapidly gets out of hand, with Vincent nearly being killed and then positioned to be framed for a murder. Fortunately, he has a friend in the Thai police who helps him escape that fate.
As the book progressed, the plot became more and more complex and I found myself struggling to follow the narrative. He follows the mistress to a beauty salon where the mah-jongg games were being used as cover for a voter bribing operation. A creative way of evicting a non-paying tenant leads to more trouble than any one person should experience. A young girl tumbles off a hotel balcony—the story behind that is disturbing on more than one level. And then there are the snipers who are set up for a big kill, one that doesn't go exactly as planned but is satisfying nonetheless.
The one thing that kept me going were the primary characters. Calvino is an interesting enigma, a man of two cultures in his upbringing (Jewish and Italian) and in his residence (American and Thai). His assistant, Ratana, and his best friend, Colonel Pratt, add an authenticity to the tale since they are Thai through and through. There were too many secondary characters, but most of them were engaging on one level or another.
I was immediately caught up in the world of Bangkok as created by Moore. The journey into the book was more than just being immersed in a setting that has been featured in many books of late. Perhaps because he is an expat himself, Moore excelled at presenting many nuances of the Thai culture. There's a funny scene near the start of the book involving motorcycles, accidents and bombs where the main point is to let everyone save face. The city is full of contradictions, its beauty and grandeur contrasting to a dark undercurrent that threatens to destroy it. It's a place that is very alive and very passionate, paradise as well as purgatory.
PAYING BACK JACK is the tenth in the Calvino series. Unfortunately, almost all of the earlier books are very hard to find, as they were published by a small Thai press. I would like to be able to see where Vincent began, but doubt that is possible unless an enlightened publisher decides to invest in reprinting the series.
SETTING: Bangkok
SERIES: #10 of 10
RATING: 3.5
Vincent Calvino is an expatriated American and disbarred lawyer who lives in Bangkok and makes a living as a private eye. He is hired by another American who is obsessed with the unsolved murder of his son. The job seems simple enough—follow the mistress of a Thai politician. But as these things tend to go, the situation rapidly gets out of hand, with Vincent nearly being killed and then positioned to be framed for a murder. Fortunately, he has a friend in the Thai police who helps him escape that fate.
As the book progressed, the plot became more and more complex and I found myself struggling to follow the narrative. He follows the mistress to a beauty salon where the mah-jongg games were being used as cover for a voter bribing operation. A creative way of evicting a non-paying tenant leads to more trouble than any one person should experience. A young girl tumbles off a hotel balcony—the story behind that is disturbing on more than one level. And then there are the snipers who are set up for a big kill, one that doesn't go exactly as planned but is satisfying nonetheless.
The one thing that kept me going were the primary characters. Calvino is an interesting enigma, a man of two cultures in his upbringing (Jewish and Italian) and in his residence (American and Thai). His assistant, Ratana, and his best friend, Colonel Pratt, add an authenticity to the tale since they are Thai through and through. There were too many secondary characters, but most of them were engaging on one level or another.
I was immediately caught up in the world of Bangkok as created by Moore. The journey into the book was more than just being immersed in a setting that has been featured in many books of late. Perhaps because he is an expat himself, Moore excelled at presenting many nuances of the Thai culture. There's a funny scene near the start of the book involving motorcycles, accidents and bombs where the main point is to let everyone save face. The city is full of contradictions, its beauty and grandeur contrasting to a dark undercurrent that threatens to destroy it. It's a place that is very alive and very passionate, paradise as well as purgatory.
PAYING BACK JACK is the tenth in the Calvino series. Unfortunately, almost all of the earlier books are very hard to find, as they were published by a small Thai press. I would like to be able to see where Vincent began, but doubt that is possible unless an enlightened publisher decides to invest in reprinting the series.
February 9, 2016
“Paying Back Jack” is one in a long line of Bangkok-based detective novels by Christopher G. Moore. Based on Private Investigator (PI) Vincent Calvino, a failed American lawyer living in Thailand, author Moore weaves tales of evil and corruption that are as much about living in Bangkok as they are about solving the mysteries of a prostitute’s murder and a planned hit on a Thai politician’s life. It’s all about “paying back Jack,” an expression used by a group of former (and current) CIA operatives who are seeking to claim vengeance after one of their own’s son is killed.
There are a whole series of stories happening at once, which makes for great reading and plenty of action sequences. There’s Calvino’s blunder in a previous case, which has enflamed Thai sentiments; there are thugs seeking to shoot a general; sharp shooters (black ops) CIA agents trying to “pay back Jack”; and a prostitute pushed off a hotel balcony, whose death is being pinned (incorrectly) on Calvino.
It doesn’t help matters that Calvino is trying to lay low after a blunder on a previous case or that Calvino has a new client whose pushy behavior is a clear signal of future danger for Calvino. In the midst of all this, Calvino befriends a UN worker who is trying to rescue a Burmese child from sex trafficking in Bangkok and return her to her father (placing Calvino in yet another precarious situation as he seeks to protect the woman and child as they escape from the touts who run the sex ring). After awhile, it’s hard for Calvino to tell just where the threats are coming from, there are so many potential enemies out there. If all this seems convoluted, surprisingly the story is easy to follow, except for some flash back scenes about the origin of the “paying back Jack” phrase.
What makes all of this worth reading and really steals the scenes in the story is the backdrop of Bangkok and the Thai way of thinking. Thai traditions and cultural motifs infuse every bit of this book and make for fascinating reading. Placed against the background of Western thinking, it’s an exposé of just how differently things can operate in another country, and what it means to be an expatriate living by different rules. Moore obviously brings his own experiences of years of living in Bangkok to the story. His love and understanding of Thai sentiments and protocol come across on every page, making the stories even more rich and fulfilling for his readers.
There are a whole series of stories happening at once, which makes for great reading and plenty of action sequences. There’s Calvino’s blunder in a previous case, which has enflamed Thai sentiments; there are thugs seeking to shoot a general; sharp shooters (black ops) CIA agents trying to “pay back Jack”; and a prostitute pushed off a hotel balcony, whose death is being pinned (incorrectly) on Calvino.
It doesn’t help matters that Calvino is trying to lay low after a blunder on a previous case or that Calvino has a new client whose pushy behavior is a clear signal of future danger for Calvino. In the midst of all this, Calvino befriends a UN worker who is trying to rescue a Burmese child from sex trafficking in Bangkok and return her to her father (placing Calvino in yet another precarious situation as he seeks to protect the woman and child as they escape from the touts who run the sex ring). After awhile, it’s hard for Calvino to tell just where the threats are coming from, there are so many potential enemies out there. If all this seems convoluted, surprisingly the story is easy to follow, except for some flash back scenes about the origin of the “paying back Jack” phrase.
What makes all of this worth reading and really steals the scenes in the story is the backdrop of Bangkok and the Thai way of thinking. Thai traditions and cultural motifs infuse every bit of this book and make for fascinating reading. Placed against the background of Western thinking, it’s an exposé of just how differently things can operate in another country, and what it means to be an expatriate living by different rules. Moore obviously brings his own experiences of years of living in Bangkok to the story. His love and understanding of Thai sentiments and protocol come across on every page, making the stories even more rich and fulfilling for his readers.
February 8, 2010
Complex plot about paying back for old scores, in Bangkok, which seems like the most risky place in the world to live. The plot had too many components for my liking. The writing showed promise and flashes of brilliance. I think that Moore could easily use his talents to also write literary fiction. More here. See the full review on my blog.
July 8, 2012
Usual good Christopher Moore tale involving the Bangkok P.I. Vincent Calvino -
Fortunately as an actual bangkok P.I. I didn't seem to encounter quite the amount of problems/near death expereinces as Calvino does ; but a well wriiten tale, some great character details, and all pretty much authentic as far as the Thai/Bangkok scne go's.
Fortunately as an actual bangkok P.I. I didn't seem to encounter quite the amount of problems/near death expereinces as Calvino does ; but a well wriiten tale, some great character details, and all pretty much authentic as far as the Thai/Bangkok scne go's.
February 8, 2016
What a story
Once again Khun Vinny Lewisville thru such a mystery that even he has a hard time trying to know what's up and down . He is in the end the paragon of the ugly American who has seen the truth and flowed his heart .....ended the ones responsible for their sins .... Go vinny .....
Once again Khun Vinny Lewisville thru such a mystery that even he has a hard time trying to know what's up and down . He is in the end the paragon of the ugly American who has seen the truth and flowed his heart .....ended the ones responsible for their sins .... Go vinny .....
October 11, 2010
The most complex plot in the Calvino series, Paying Back Jack is high energy, multi-threaded, and intensely puzzling to the end - with a little extra crescendo thrown in for good measure. It also seems like a great setup for a return of these characters in a sequel.
Read
July 30, 2011Down at the heels expat gumshoe (do gumshoes have heels?) Vincent Calvino is way out of his league as pro assassins make him the patsy. As usual, Calvino wise cracks and interacts regular cast of farangs and mings that populate the Thai-Noir setting.
November 12, 2012
Oops. I purchased this by mistake thinking it was the other Christopher Moore. Once I discovered my error I read ahead anyway. Yuck, I didn't like the characters, setting, story or even the writing style.
October 18, 2009
Pretty good.
March 27, 2010
First sentence - "Calvino's last sports jacket was ruined when Nicky "the Toad" Marras' blood spattered over the lapel and down the pocket."
July 19, 2010
Not as good as the first two in the series
December 28, 2009
The rest of his books are so funny... not this one. Can't really get into it.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews