Bangkok Tattoo by
John Burdett
hbk out June 05
Published by Bantam
at £12.99
Excellent sequel to Bangkok 8 with police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep having to deal
with dirty washing on the doorstep so to speak. An American punter has been killed,
mutilated and his back flayed in the brothel owned by Sonchai's mother and his boss, Police
Colonel Vikhorn. Killing the customers is not good for business – or pleasure – so a cover-
up is mounted and the working girl involved despatched out of town. Unfortunately, the
corpse is a CIA man and his colleagues soon show an unwelcome interest in the case. As
Sonchai struggles to maintain the cover-up while sniffing out the truth, his efforts lead him
through the sleazy under-belly of the sex-tourist capital of the world. Along the way,
Sonchai does his best to educate the reader about the East-West clash of cultures with
some acute observations. The final revelations are in the realms of the ridiculous but no
doubt stranger things happen in real life – especially in Bangkok. Surreal, hard-boiled, witty
and vivid.
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries and the series creator of TV Blue Murder)
Bangkok Tattoo by
John Burdett
