Ah, the Thai stories. I only looked into these in order to expand this web site beyond the Chinese and Japanese worlds in which I feel comfortable. And, oh my gosh, there's a lot going on in Bangkok.

Of course, most of it is sexual. That is the part that the tourist sees most readily, so it appears in good measure both in the stories of John Burdett, and also in the stories of Chris Moore. But there's so much more. The Buddhism of Burdett's novels is the wonderful practical Buddhism of most Asians. I remember staying at a temple in Taiwan, and talking with the Taiwanese family that was spending a couple days there. "So," I asked, "Do you eat like this (vegetarian) when you're at home in Taipei?" "Oh, no," dad laughed. "We're just here for my mother's birthday, and we obey the rules while we're here." When you're in Asia, this makes perfect sense. And when you read Burdett, you're in Thailand.

You'll love Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, even if you can't spell his name. He's a police detective, who therefore works for a huge crime boss, a gangster of the highest level. But no matter how bad things seem, Sonchai is always working for truth, justice, and the Thai way. My hat is off to him, and I extend my sincerest wishes that his child was born safely and is healthily nursing at his mother's delightful breast.

Vince Calvino, the creation of Chris Moore, takes Brooklyn to Bangkok. Vince has more or less escaped from domestic troubles in the States, and is finding himself in Thailand. Of course, a lot of trouble is finding him, too, or we wouldn't be reading about him. He's good friends with a Bangkok cop, which helps out a great deal with the various scrapes he gets into.

Jake Needham comes highly recommended, and in fact his first novel (The Big Mango) is scheduled to be filmed soon. We'll be able to see Thailand as well as imagine it. Can't wait, but we'll absorb some of the writing first.

We've now discovered Tim Hallinan, who has produced a series featuring his detective Poke Rafferty. All I can say is that Thailand is one hot-bed for generating detective fiction.

Michael Broschat, Feb 2009