John Burdett - Bangkok Eight

review live on bookshow 11th October 2012, by Ro Bennett Having read the Carl Hiaasen book Lucky You which I reviewed last time, I decided to read a book by John Burdett who was suggested as a similar author. This is another book I have thoroughly enjoyed, so another series of books I can look forward to reading, so I am delighted. Here is a summary: When a US Marine is killed in Bangkok, the task of finding the murderer falls to Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep. Sonchai is the son of a Thai bar girl and an unknown American father but seemingly the only member of the Royal Thai Police Force whose idea of justice excludes the habitual bribe-taking practised by his fellow officers including his boss. This assignment is especially important to the devout detective because during the investigation of the murder scene where a marine was killed, the cobra snakes which bit him are stoked up with methamphetamine and also kill Sonchai's police partner, best friend and Buddhist soul-mate Pichai. The death of the marine brings with it the involvement of the U.S embassy, and Kimberley Jones, a female FBI agent comes over to liaise with Sonchai. His investigation takes Sonchai into the bars and brothels and to drug and jade smuggling rings run by ruthless and dangerous men. It’s an informative book for the reader, covering seedy aspects of Thailand - from its sex industry to the shocking poverty, wholesale corruption, traffic chaos, pollution and the widespread trade in yaa baa (which is methamphetamine), to intriguing facts about jade. The author, John Patrick Burdett was born July 24, 1951. He’s British and was formerly a lawyer. He lived and worked in Hong Kong for twelve years but eventually he decided to abandon law and pursue a career as a detective novelist. Burdett now splits his time between France and Bangkok and continues to research his novels in various locations in Thailand, so this is obviously why the book is so full of interesting local knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It has everything a lovable hero, humour, suspense, pathos, with a great insight into Thai culture and I like his writing style. I will certainly read the sequels.

John Burdett - Bangkok 8

review by showhost dec 2012 Ro Bennett passed this book to me to read after she reviewed it on the show. I don't always share Ro's love of some authors so I was not sure if I would like it. But I enjoyed this book, well the first half! I enjoyed reading about the Thai culture & beliefs (it reminded me of our holiday in Phuket in Thailand). It starts with a wow! when an ex USA marine is found dead in a car full of snakes on an off road track in Bangkok. This discovery causes the death of the main characters soul brother and police partner. the main character, Sonchai, is a fair skinned Thai (USA father unknown to him) & a devout Buddhist vows to avenge the death of his soul brother. Sonchai and his deceased partner were the only 2 cops in Bangkok city not on the 'take'. His search for the perpetrator takes him deep into the Bangkok underworld where dealings in Jade, Ya-ba (drugs), sex and in fact anything that makes money, are big business . The police make good money out of these lucrative ventures, some of which involve USA senators and wealthy business men. It's an interesting story and the setting of Bangkok is very real, temples, Buddhist monks, rent boys & girls, beggars and gangsters all mingle as one. My criticism is that I felt at times it lost me with too much padding, unnecessary info, especially towards the end. I had to go back over some paragraphs as I couldn't retain the info or remember who's name belonged to who (in fact at the beginning of this review I had to look up the name of the main character - unusual for me!). So a kind of book of 2 halves. Not sure what the ending was about either. I think he could have made it a third shorter and still kept the story. But I really enjoyed the setting and mix of cultures.