One of the world’s most exotic cities, Bangkok, Thailand, makes a sweltering setting for John Burdett’s murder-mystery Bangkok 8 (Corgi Books, 2004, London, 431 pages).
A Hong Kong lawyer turned author, the British-born Burdett creates exciting moments, but perhaps not often enough. He also wrote A Personal History of Thirst and The Last Six Million Seconds, plus a sequel novel, Bangkok Tattoo.
Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, the narrator and protagonist, and his partner Pichai, both devout Buddhists, begin Bangkok 8 as the city’s only honest police. Readers living in the Thai capital may dismiss the notion of any cops being immune to corruption as entirely unrealistic.
As these pristine officers trail an American marine, their target dies, killed by drug-crazed snakes inside his Mercedes. When Pichai rushes too close, the snakes kill him too, and Sonchai vows to take revenge on the people responsible.
The son of a Thai prostitute and of a farang (Westerner), Sonchai struggles with his personal demons while investigating the murder with Kimberly Jones, an attractive but off-limits FBI agent. They assemble vital clues while encountering gangsters, beggars, sex-change surgeons, amorous tourists, prostitutes, AIDS victims, drug smugglers, art fraudsters and jade traders.
When Sonchai takes time out to eat, he explains: “Thai cuisine is the most complex, subtle, variable and generally the best in the world. It knocks the socks off fussy French and flaky Chinese…. Every Thai is a natural gourmet, and cops don’t bust the best food stalls if they know what’s good for them.”
Fascinating scenes unfold inside the District 8 police station, presided over by the respected Colonel Vikorn who has gained riches worthy of a tycoon. Eventually, the rampant corruption begins to sound logical. As a caller to a radio show asks: “If the cops didn’t get bribe money, their salaries would have to be increased, which would mean an increase in tax, wouldn’t it?” The show’s host replies, “That’s a very Thai question.”
Burdett strains to capitalize on the setting. Too often, he pauses to explain that Sonchai, like millions of Thais, has motivations, such as “taking a crack at nirvana”, different from those of most Westerners. Such moments slow the pace, a serious flaw in chaotic Bangkok.
Score Bangkok 8 as an entertaining book that might have been even better.
Approval rating: 64 per cent.
For more information: www.booksatransworld.co.uk
(January 23, 2007)
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John Burdett:
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