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Bangkok Tattoo |  | Author: John Burdett
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Seller: -hungrybookworm
Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 46497
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 1400032911
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781400032914
ASIN: 1400032911
Publication Date: July 11, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep of the Royal Thai Police returns in his riveting and smokily atmospheric new thriller.
A farang–a foreigner–has been murdered, his body horribly mutilated, at the Bangkok brothel co-owned by Sonchai’s mother and his boss. The dead man was a CIA agent. To make matters worse, the apparent culprit is sweet-natured Chanya, the brothel’s top earner and a woman whom the devoutly Buddhist sleuth has loved for several lifetimes.
How can Sonchai solve this crime without sending Chanya to prison? How can he engage in a cover-up without endangering his karma? And how will he ever get to the bottom of a case whose interested parties include American spooks, Muslim fundamentalists, and gangsters from three countries?
As addictive as opium, as hot as Sriracha chili sauce, and bursting with surprises, Bangkok Tattoo will leave its mark on you.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
 Another "police procedural with a difference"... July 27, 2010
Ashish Kumar (Singapore)
This is an extremely satisfying read! But you do need to get your basics right. You shouldn't read it as an introduction to Buddhism, or to Thai culture.
It's a thriller, set in Bangkok.
It's understandable that many "farangs" won't like it - for two reasons. One is that it reflects the views of the investigator, Sonchai Jitpleecheep, and they tend to be cynical and condescending towards the West. However some reviewers stretch things a bit when they day that Burdett sees America as the root of all evil. The other, more valid reason, is that in many parts of the book, we are treated to a farang's view of a Thai's view of farangs. I thought that in some parts didn't ring true. Some reviewers have pointed out factual errors, but personally I can overlook them, as I hardly know the country and on the whole the book did convey a lot about it to me. I agree that all this is arguable. So is the device of the narrator addressing farangs. I found it quite interesting and novel, even though I felt left out - I'm not a farang.
I think it's fair, however, to give this book credit for a few things. For someone who hasn't read the earlier works, the "feel" of the book is quite unique. The characters are developed very well, especially the prostitute Chanya's. Some parts are quite sexy. While you could quarrel with some of the cynicism in the book, there are some points which I found valid. For example, stopping child labour without having the right alternatives in place (such as schools with free meals, or vocational education) will only lead to child abuse. The story grabs attention and holds it. And the whodunit aspect is quite satisfying - the dots were all there, but I didn't connect them till quite late.
I think all this put together makes it an excellent read.
 Nancy in Seattle, WA: Wow, still a mind trip! May 17, 2010
Just reading the convoluted meandering storyline is as good as a drug trip. Really enjoyed this second book in the series and looking forward to the next one. The style of writing has a hot, humid intensity that is unique and totally engrossing. I enjoy the tangled web of connections to the war in Vietnam, USA agencies like CIA (in previous book the FBI), SE Asian politics, money & sex, Americans at home & abroad. Not your mainstream type mystery, but well worth reading.
Murder, Viagra, Hookers and Thailand April 6, 2010
Ken Douglas (Landlocked in Reno)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Thailand is different than America, that is something you'll learn in this excellent thriller. The police work differently too. The values are different, not better, not worse, just different. Different cultures, different ways of doing things. So when the police discover the dismembered body of CIA agent Mitch Turner don't be surprised when they try to make the murder into something it isn't.
Sonchai Jitpleecheep (I don't know why I want to pronounce his name `Littlejeep,' but that's what my mind sees) is back from Bangkok 8, one of the best thrillers I have ever read and he's just as lovable, loyal and quirky here. Sonchai's mother owns a house of ill repute that caters to the Viagra crowd with his boss, Colonel Vikorn and the suspect in the CIA man's death is their star, number one girl Chanya, so naturally Vikorn does not want Chanya jailed, so he shapes her statement, actually writes it for her and makes it look like self defense. But later they find that not only was his you-know-what cut off, but that the skin had been flayed from his back.
So now the murder takes on a new twist and with CIA types after terrorist types, old men taking Viagra, and Sonchai's attraction for Chanya you have all the ingredients of a dynamite thriller. Did I forget to mention that this culture clashing story is funny too. And that these characters will live with you for a long time after you finish the book. Now if Mr. Burdett's publishers would only make his terrific thriller, The Last Six Million Seconds available again. Ah well, this book is as good as, but not better than Seconds and Bangkok 8. All three are at the top of the genre.
It's A Wild Ride February 21, 2010
Utah Resident (Utah)
Take a wild ride through a culture that is at the same time grounded in the hard-core facts of economic survival, but equally steeped in mysticism. The narrator is a most appealing character, who struggles with doing his job while balancing these outlooks in his search for the truth. Wickedly funny also!
Bangkok Tattoo November 23, 2009
Melita W. Thorpe
Bangkok Tattoo provides and insight to the darker side of Bangkok. Brilliantly constructed; a page turner till the last; leaves you reaching for the next one.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
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