A Nail Through The Heart

A Poke Rafferty Thriller

By: Timothy Hallinan

Narrated by: Victor Bevine

Poke Rafferty was writing offbeat travel guides for the young and terminally bored when Bangkok stole his heart. Now the American expat is assembling a new family with Rose, the former go-go dancer he wants to marry, and Miaow, the tiny, streetwise urchin he wants to adopt.

But trouble in the guise of good intentions comes calling just when everything is beginning to work out. Poke agrees to take in Superman, Miaow's troubled and terrifying friend from the gutter. Then he agrees to help locate a distraught Aussie woman's missing uncle and accepts a generous payment to find a blackmailing thief. No longer gliding carelessly across the surface of a culture he doesn't really understand, suddenly Poke is plodding through dark and unfamiliar terrain - and everything and everyone he loves is in terrible danger.

©2007 Timothy Hallinan (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Don't miss your chance to read [ A Nail Through the Heart ] before it starts winning all its awards.... every page shimmers with life and light. Hallinan's is a writer's writer, and this is great stuff!" (John Lescroart)

Best narrator

Best narrator I can ever remember listening too. His voices of the characters makes them come alive and you believe they really exist and have real lives. The subject matter may be hard for some. It is gritty novel of perversion in Thailand. For those of us who have spent some time in Asia, we can relate to third world societies, corruption and poverty all condoned by the ruling elite. I will definitely be reading the sequels.

Poke Raffery is a blast.

Would you listen to A Nail Through The Heart again? Why?

Yes. I love the action. I love the way Poke tries to correct the terrible things done to the people he loves.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. And I liked it so much I went out & bought all the other books in the series.

A High Price

I am so glad that the ending was such as it was..how much it sobered the reader very quickly, and realize the high stakes game so many countries (and each one's citizens) are playing with entire generations. Just look at Mme Wing.

Wonderful Blend Between Thriller & Cultural Study

Having lived in Southeast Asia for over 12 years, I have to admit to having some trepidation about reading a book about a white guy named 'Poke'.

I shouldn't have worried. Hallinan offers up a marvelous blend of noir thriller, ethnographic study and a complex romance. I can honestly say I was engaged every minute of the 10 hours.

His portrait of Bangkok's seamy underbelly is spot on. And yet he takes the reader through it with enough of a detached eye to focus us on the central mystery. His main character is an brilliantly flawed, engaging and open man who draws the reader in and doesn't let go.

The story takes a serious journey into the world of child prostitution, abuse and pornography and the devastation it leaves behind in the lives it's touched. It also takes a haunting trip into the horrors of the Cambodia of the Khmer Rouge. Hallinan wraps it up in a web of police corruption, Buddhist mysticism and the jaded expat's view of Bangkok.

This book is not for the faint of heart. Some of it is extremely gritty. But it is not sensational in its approach and well worth the listening time and the credit.

The narrator is perfect for the story. You couldn't ask for better.

Beautiful Writing...Harsh Reality

Halinan's word craft is remarkable. Beautiful even. The story itself is engaging though harsh. The narration is stellar. The characters are compelling and multi faceted.