Nov 4, 2009

Book Review: Breathing Water: A Bangkok Thriller

Breathing Water: A Bangkok Thriller Breathing Water: A Bangkok Thriller by Timothy Hallinan


"Behind every great fortune is a great crime..." is the premise for Timothy Hallinan's latest thriller, Breathing Water.

The book is set in the Bangkok of today and has all the complications of its real life - a shaky political situation, great poverty and great wealth, street children and those who prey on them, corruption, and the pull of love and death. This all makes for a great setting for a thriller, plus an engaging plot that pulls all the complexities of the city together.

From the publisher's description:


For American ex-pat writer Poke Rafferty, a late night poker game delivers an unexpected prize: an "opportunity to write the biography of Khun Pan, a flamboyant, vulgar, self-made billionaire with a criminal past and far-reaching political ambitions. The win seems like a stroke of luck, but as with so many things in vibrant, seductive, contradictory Bangkok - a city of innocence and evil, power and poverty - the allure of appearances masks something much darker.

Within a few hours of folding his cards, Rafferty, his wife, Rose, beloved adopted daughter, Miaow, and best friend, Arthit, an honest Bangkok cop, have become pawns in a political struggle among some of Thailand's richest, most powerful, and most ruthless people.

A great book for mystery/thriller readers.

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6 comments:

  1. The idea of a thriller set in Bangkok is very intriguing - this is definitely a book I wouldn't have normally picked up, but I just added it to my amazon wishlist. I'm following your blog now, too.

    Greg
    http://thenewdorkreviewofbooks.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Greg: Welcome. I look forward to your comments on the book.

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  3. This sounds like an interesting book and would is a great find for my Read Around the World Challenge. Thanks!

    You have an award and an apology here:
    http://abookwormsblog1.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-am-ashamed-to-say-that-book-bird-dog.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sharon: Thanks for visiting! No need to apologize that you are just now seeing an award I gave you some time ago! And thanks for passing back the award to me! Cool! Hope you come back more often.

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  5. I'm interested in this one too. It sounds good and I don't think I have read anything like this one before. It's on my wishlist/Friday Find at GoodReads. Just asked if you would add me as a friend over there. :)

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I appreciate your comments and thoughts...

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