2006 books
73) John Burdett, Bangkok Eight, 2003
Police procedurals have never been high on my reading list, but as there are so few novels about modern Bangkok out there this quickly became a must-read given the glowing quotes (Deaver, Ellroy, Hiaasen...) that line all four sides of its front and back covers. John Burdett has gone so far under the skin of the city - and into the Thai mindset - that the rather straightforward whodunnit of a US Marine killed in a car full of snakes ends up playing a definite second string to the Buddhist prerogatives that give this book a unique direction. It is particularly well researched from the bizarre opening murder scene to the strange karmic resolution, and Burdett's writing throughout is genuinely grown-up, multi-faceted and often darkly comic. There's also a distinct avoidance of the more predictable clichés when dealing with Bangkok's sex industry which forms a large part of this story's background, giving it a level of authenticity than one might not reasonably expect from a farang author. In contrast, his probably unnecessary sequel Bangkok Tattoo (the first two chapters of which are tagged on here at the end) might at first appear to be a work of arrested adolescence in comparison, but Bangkok Eight has unexpectedly turned out to be one of my favourite reads this year.