It's not as good as Bangkok 8 - in fact, it's a lot more of the same: bad white people going to Thailand to do bad things to Thai women/transsexuals because that's the "Thai way"

The crime story is okay; the mystery would be much better if there was a little less "cultural exploration"... of course, this wouldn't be so bad if this was the first Burdett book you read, but it's the 3rd he wrote on this subject so by now I'm fully aware of how sexually depraved Westerners are.

Maybe it's realistic, maybe it's not... but I'd like a bit more story and a bit less background on Thai-Western sexual relations. ( )

Anyone interested in understanding how the Thais can appear to be so accepting of certain seediness in life while at the same time being so religious, and have a healthy love of police mysteries will love this book.

This has everything that makes up a great story, with the addition of the supernatural. Burdett does a fantastic job of drawing the readers in and then locking them into a web of intrigue while exposing the complexities of the human psyche, that one is held in its grip and powerless to put it down.

A DVD is sent to a Thai police detective containing a snuff video of a woman he once loved. He engages an old friend from the FBI in the US to help him uncover the syndicate behind the investment and the ultimate murder of his previous lover.

Thrown into the web of intrigue are a corrupt Colonel of the police to which our hero reports, his assistant who's in the midst of a gender transformation, an English teacher with a criminal record, an English lawyer, a Chinese banker, a monk, a few prostitutes, a good dose of Thai cultural lessons and Buddhist teachings.

The insights into Thai culture, and Thai words and phrases littered throughout the book rather than detract from the story, adds an interesting dimension to the book.

I'm in search of others in the series now. ( )

This is the third novel featuring Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, a devout Buddhist and possibly the only incorruptible policeman in Bangkok, if not Thailand. But he is not a man without his own existential conflicts: his mother runs a brothel and it is his share of the profits that nicely supplements his police salary while his police boss is one of the most corrupt people in the country, into everything from drugs to blackmail to prostitution; Vikron, the boss, tolerates Sonchai’s eccentric honesty as long as it does not interfere with Vikron’s various enterprises and initiatives.

The story is told entirely by Sonchai and every now and then he addresses the reader directly, always as farang, the Thai word for foreigner, plus he expostulates often (though I think less so than in the other novels) on the differences between Western, principally American, and Eastern philosophies and ways of life. A principal difference in this novel is the Thai belief in ghosts and lost souls that can haunt and destroy the living until they exact revenge or find rest; in fact, it is more than a belief, it is as real and as much a part of life as breathing. This plays strongly into this novel and is, in the end, the key to the mystery.

The story has a few weak points, principally the presence of Kimberley Jones, an FBI agent whom we met in an earlier story, but who doesn’t really have much of a roll here except to act as a foil to highlight those differences between east and west. However, the writing is fast-paced, the plot is well constructed, the characters are varied and well drawn, and Burdett conveys well the sights, sounds, colours, and smells of Bangkok and Thailand.

A mystery featuring Sonchai Jitpleecheep -- most of the characters were charming and interesting but I simply could not enjoy the book. ( )

Third (and most recent so far) in the Sonchai Jitpleecheep series, set in Bangkok, Thailand. I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as I had the previous two books, which were superb in their cultural immersion as well as their quirky stories. This one involved a snuff film involving another of Sonchai’s former lovers, and a twisted tale of a mystery as to who was ultimately responsible. Not sure what jangled my nerves with this one; I think part of it was that at the end of the last book, there was a bit of a cliffhanger regarding Sonchai finally getting to meet his American father, but that didn’t happen in this book and the issue was only addressed very briefly in two or three lines. At any rate, while I enjoyed getting together again with the interesting characters, I find myself not singing this book’s praises as much—possibly just because the novelty of it has worn off some, and from previous books I rather know what to expect. ( )