Crime Run Amok in Bankok

 Bangkok 8 by John Burdett

In John Burdett’s Sonchai Jitpleecheep mysteries, the aforementioned Sonchai is a:

a).  hard boiled police detective

b).  son of a former prostitute

c).  married to a former prostitute

d).  a Buddhist monk in training

e).  all of the above

Bangkok 8 by John Burdett is the first in a series of mysteries set in modern day Thailand.  Our hero, detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep of the Bangkok police may be one of the few honest cops in town.  While on a hunt to find a bad guy (usually a killer), he’s also fighting crime and corruption within his own department.  In Bangkok 8, Sonchai is on the hunt for the murderer of an American marine.  By the time he finds the killer, he’ll have waded through the muck of illicit drugs and corruption.

Burdett’s stories provide an interesting look at contemporary Thai culture.  He’s a former barrister who brings his knowledge of eastern culture with him from his years working in Hong Kong while still under British rule.

After reading a few of his books, I was so impressed with his take on Thai culture that I recommended them to a library patron in lieu of a travel guide so that she could get a look at modern day Thailand.

Answer: all of the above

Here are more Sonchai Jitpleecheep mysteries.  If you are one of those people who have to read their series in the order in which they came out, here is number 2 in the series:

Bangkok Tattoo

and 3:

Bangkok Haunts

and 4:

The Godfather of Kathmandu

and 5:

Vulture Peak