Bangkok is the very definition of all things exotic, especially to Western minds. It’s no wonder that British and American writers have found this city an ideal setting for intricate plots and conflicted detectives.
John Burdett
John Burdett’s fascinating characterization against the backdrop of Bangkok’s sharp, seductive cityscape makes his series a thriller in every sense of the word. Detective Sonchai Jitplichip is a devoted Buddhist who is much more concerned with the state of his karma than his status in any earthly realm. And yet his police work constantly forces him to choose between his beliefs and the temptations that come from a completely corrupt environment. As the son of a Thai barmaid and an American soldier, he struggles with self-doubt and fear.
Readers first meet Jitpleep in Bangkok 8 as he investigates the double murder of his partner as well as a sergeant at the US Embassy – both killed by a fatal cobra bite. Bangkok Tattoo is about the investigation of a murdered CIA officer. The main suspect is a pretty girl from a bar, and Jitplug desperately wants to avoid falling in love with her.
Timothy Hallinan
Timothy Hallinan’s protagonist, Poke Rafferty, is a travel writer whose Looking for Trouble series is for those who want to escape the usual tourist routes and experience travel “at the street level.” Readers first meet Rafferty in A Nail in the Heart. He lives in Bangkok with a former nightclub dancer named Rose. But his domestic pleasure is interrupted by two murders, one involving a Khmer Rouge executioner and the other a series of child pornography photos.
A fourth observer sees Rafferty confront a dangerous Chinese gangster, a North Korean counterfeiting operation, and a rogue CIA agent. “Breathing Water” begins with Poke Rafferty winning the right to write a biography of an eccentric Thai billionaire in an alcohol-fueled night of poker. But he has little time to celebrate his victory – a few hours later, he and his family receive a threat.
In The Patpong Queen, the Rafferty family’s peaceful scene is once again threatened by the reappearance of a psychotic figure from Rose’s past. Hallinan writes that in this final novel he wants his readers to know “where the young women who dance in bars come from, how little choice they had along the way, and how some of them survived it with their hearts and spirits intact. It’s a serious book, not an I’ve-loved-you-for-a-long-time exploitation.
Hallinan has written three additional books in this series: “The Artist of Fear”, “For the Dead” and “Hot Countries”. Rafferty “is now married to Rose, a former Patpong bar queen. The couple adopted a daughter from the sidewalks named Miao. Rafferty considers family life in Bangkok more of an adventure than rigorous travel.”
While in college, Tim Hallinan wrote songs and sang in a rock band. Several of his songs were recorded by famous artists, including the platinum-selling band Bread. Hallinan began writing books while working in television. He has lived in Southeast Asia for over 25 years. He currently has homes in Bangkok as well as in California with his wife Munyin Choi Hallinan.