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Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1)
Bangkok 8 - Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1
Author: John Burdett
Witnessed by a throng of gaping spectators, a charismatic Marine sergeant is murdered under a Bangkok bridge inside a bolted-shut Mercedes Benz. Among the witnesses are the only two cops in the city not on the take, but within moments one is murdered and his partner, Sonchai Jitpleecheep -- a devout Buddhist and the son of a Thai bar girl and a ...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9781400032907
ISBN-10: 1400032903
Publication Date: 7/13/2004
Pages: 336
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 89

3.9 stars, based on 89 ratings
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1) on + 107 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I thought this book was hilarious. If you like offbeat, tongue
in cheek humor, you will probably like it. He wrote a sequel,
which is also good.
reviewed Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1) on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Interesting twist on the hard-boiled mystery drama. This is set in Bangkok, the narrator is a Thai detective searching for the killer of an American Marine and avenging the death of his partner. There's also a bit of drug trading, transgenderism and prostitution thrown in to the mix just to keep things more interesting...
reviewed Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1) on + 108 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This book is FANTASTIC! Very different from usual thrillers and keeps you on edge until the end. Thailand background with protagonist as Buddhist policeman with lots of info on Thailand prostitution and jade trade make it very UNIQUE.
reviewed Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1) on + 289 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Bangkok 8 packs enough punch to hit many types of literary taste receptors. It is foremost a hot mystery thriller, which begins with two Thai policemen trailing an American marine to his death by drug-crazed snake bites in a bolted-shut car. Having lost his partner, Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep is on a mission to find the perpetrators and avenge his soul brother's death. Sonchai's devout Buddhist beliefs takes the story to another dimension, as his reflective meditations bring intuition into crime-solving, balanced with reason and technology supplied by the FBI, represented by the sleek blond Special Agent Jones. Even though he is probably the only cop not on the take, as the half-farang son of a former prostitute and long gone American serviceman he is a credible and amusing guide to this lush, exotic locale and its under-culture of drugs, sex, and other illicit trades. Finally, it is a deeply meditative social commentary on the West by realistically presenting Sonchai's and indeed all of Thailand's on-the-ground modus operandi as not necessarily an inferior but different way of going about life, written in vivid and accessible language. So dig in.
bookaddict avatar reviewed Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1) on
Helpful Score: 2
unusual "police procedural"--in that the "procedure" is largely Buddhist. Exotic location, entertaining.
Read All 21 Book Reviews of "Bangkok 8 Sonchai Jitpleecheep Bk 1"

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reviewed Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1) on + 4 more book reviews
Sonchai is a detective with the Royal Thai police. The setting is the seamy side of Bangkok. John Burdett's hilarious writing makes his books fun.
reviewed Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1) on + 4 more book reviews
This book blew me away to say the least. I read a lot, and can clearly declare that Burdett is on the top of my list. I got all the sequels and loved them as well. Great characters, action, and settings are fed to the reader in the smoothest way. I love this guy's writing.
reviewed Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 1) on + 13 more book reviews
Fascinating look at a culture I have never known much about. Enjoyed the book immensely and have read book #2 and recently swapped for #3. Really got into Sonchai and his Buddhist outlook. What a gentle soul! It was amazing how he compartmentalized his life. As much as I am enjoying the books, I do not want to go to Bangkok!


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