Bangkok Haunts

A Royal Thai Detective Novel (3)

By: John Burdett

Narrated by: Glen McCready

Sonchai Jitpleecheep, the devout Buddhist Royal Thai Police detective who led us through the best sellers Bangkok 8 and Bangkok Tattoo, returns in this blistering novel.Sonchai has seen virtually everything on his beat in Bangkok's District 8, but nothing like the snuff film he's just been sent anonymously. Furiously fast-paced and laced through with an erotic ghost story that gives a new dark twist to the life of our hero, Bangkok Haunts more than lives up to the smart and darkly funny originality of its predecessors.

A bit more wordy than previous novels in the series

Narration was weirdly Grand Elocution Theatre, not quite right for this series. And the story itself, intricate and winding as usual, was weighed down by an attempt, I think, to counterbalance an exploitative story (porn, sex, wet dreams) by an almost moralizing tone. Also, the supernatural plays a much more unequivocal role here than in earlier books; you are not really left with the option of alternative explanations for the denouement, which a reader may or may not like.

"Haunted" is a better title

As always, Burdett's prose landed me in Bangkok and immersed me in his Thai world so that I could almost smell it. But each character is "haunted" by something so big that it bleeds into every aspect of their lives. it's not tangible, but all of the analysis and philosophical discussion of their actions, based on what haunts them, gets tedious. The story seemed to wander.

Excelant

this is my favorite book of the detective series so far. Just purchased Book 4of the series.

Outstanding

I have purchased all of Mr. Burdett’s books in this series and all of them are outstanding! I have given these books as gifts—so, my friends will get this latest book this year. We all love this series—and can hardly wait for the next book!

this series should have ended on a better note

The characters are no longer interesting.. somehow, the thrill that I used to get with this series is gone.. this book killed it.. too bad. I recommend the first 5 books.. and skip this.. leaving a better memory of this colorful series before this last book tried to milk out just one more.. boring... really boring.. could not finish..