MichaelJoseph reviewed Bangkok Rules by Harlan Wolff
Review of 'Bangkok Rules' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Carl is a long-term expat living in Bangkok and working as a private detective. When a new client comes around asking Carl to find his long lost 'brother', Carl knows something is fishy when the man pays too much too quickly, but he's too busy counting the money to figure out what's really going on. However, when Carl begins to close in on the man he's hunting, it soon becomes clear that he's become entangled in an affair that goes to the very core of Thai society.
Bangkok Rules is a very interesting mystery, set against a very accurate background of modern Bangkok. The observations about Thais and expats is so accurate that this book could well be read as a non-fiction story. The author is obviously a long-term expat as well. However, the level of detail is so great that it might prove to be a bit of a …
Carl is a long-term expat living in Bangkok and working as a private detective. When a new client comes around asking Carl to find his long lost 'brother', Carl knows something is fishy when the man pays too much too quickly, but he's too busy counting the money to figure out what's really going on. However, when Carl begins to close in on the man he's hunting, it soon becomes clear that he's become entangled in an affair that goes to the very core of Thai society.
Bangkok Rules is a very interesting mystery, set against a very accurate background of modern Bangkok. The observations about Thais and expats is so accurate that this book could well be read as a non-fiction story. The author is obviously a long-term expat as well. However, the level of detail is so great that it might prove to be a bit of a problem for some readers. Little tidbits of information, like why street addresses in Bangkok are almost useless, may make for interesting trivia, but it has no bearing on the story. In a way, it's like the author is trying to prove how knowledgeable he is about Bangkok. Of course, "information dumpers" are one of the common types of expats you'll meet in Bangkok.
The mystery at the heart of the story is quite good, and you won't know until the very end just how Carl will get out of the mess he got himself into.
