About the author: John Burdett is a former lawyer who worked in Hong Kong until he found his true vocation as a writer. An Englishman by birth, he has lived in France and Spain, and now splits his time between France and Bangkok.
Read the first chapter of Bangkok Haunts here.
Backcover blurb: Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep has seen just about everything in Bangkok's crime-riddled District 8. But the terrifying snuff movie he's been sent is something else: the person who dies is Damrong, the beautiful woman he once loved and whom he still dreams about.
And there's more: slayings turn the ensuing investigation into a murder enquiry, and Sonchai into an obsessed and haunted man.
Sonchai's enquiries form a dizzying route from his own apartment, where he sleeps next to his pregnant wife while his fantasies deliver him up to Damrong; to the backstreets of Phnom Penh where street gangs are only the most visible threats; to the gilded rooms of the most exclusive men's club in Bangkok, whose members will do anything to explore their darkest fantasies...
My thoughts: I must say that this is a very far-out read compared to Jake Needham, another author who based his novels in Thailand. I am not talking about the crime part of it which in this book, does not stand out as much as the other part of the book which I have termed "far-out" - namely the supernatural, phobias, superstitions, rituals, witchcraft and the general atmospheric nature of a city teeming with salaciousness, corruption and hypocrisy. But what did I expect? Bangkok is the focal point of an industry as old as time itself.
I am sorry but I cannot get into this book and must say it is rather disappointing. I much rather prefer Jake Needham's books which are more civilized, solid and enjoyable. Have I started out with the wrong book? Perhaps. I do not know... (Bangkok Haunts is the third in the Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep series). The only redeeming qualities of the book are there are more than a few good literary moments and it is funny.
Having said that, I am not altogether giving up on this author because anyone who reads this book will agree that Burdett is a very articulate writer. I just don't like the lack of a tight plot and the excessive information on culture and myths of a larger-than-life city which I think I would have enjoyed reading more if it was a totally separate book.
Rating: 2/5
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