Book Review – Bangkok Haunts
Author: John Burdett
Publisher: Knopf
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: June 2007
Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep reflects the mysticism and apparent contradiction of Thailand that those of us of ‘Western’ origin just cannot understand. Yet he stands somewhat apart from Thai society as a half-caste who spent a significant time abroad while growing up. Firmly rooted in his Thai background and with his understanding of the Western world, Sonchai, son of a prostitute, devout Buddhist, and detective in one of the most corrupt police forces in the world, may be the only honest cop in the whole of Thailand – or at least what passes for an honest cop in that part of the world – and he’s the perfect guide through the dark, hot streets of Bangkok.
“Few crimes make us fear for the evolution of our species. I am watching one right now.”
A horrific snuff film has been sent to Detective Jitpleecheep and Sonchai knows the victim intimately. She worked in his mother’s brothel where he became deeply enthralled by her. Now happily married, he is tormented by the film and feels driven to bring the killer to a uniquely Thai form of justice without regard for his own safety. Sonchai teams up with his trans-gender partner and a soul-searching FBI agent as men of power are implicated in a growing chain of murders. Ghosts, mysticism, and even sorcery clash with the world of prostitution, pornography, and poverty with Sonchai realizing his own role in the middle of it all an elephant hair too late.
Like Bangkok 8 and Bangkok Tattoo before it, Bangkok Haunts drags us through the underbelly of Thai society, through brothels and poverty in a very foreign land. Living most of his adult life in East and Southeast Asia, Burdett shows his deep understanding of Thailand and presents a different point of view, showing the hypocrisy of the West and its ‘good intentions’ through the jaded eyes of Sonchai. The story is dictated from his unique point of view to a Western audience, offering a subtle criticism of the West and its impact on the East through a dark, witty humor that blatantly challenges our basic assumptions.
She stands up. “I need air.”I think: in Bangkok? But I lead her through a couple of corridors then out into the public area where brown men and women not much more than half her size wait to tell a cop of their homely grievances. It’s not exactly a festive atmosphere, but it’s human. An American extravert, Kimberley doesn’t mind dabbing her red eyes with a tissue in front of an audience, who naturally assume I’ve just busted this female farang on some minor drugs charge – cannabis, perhaps. Like my own, her eyes naturally seek out any attractive young women sitting in the plastic seats. There are three, all of them prostitutes (no respectable Thai woman dresses like that). They resent the attention and glare back. I think Kimberley would like to hug them in gratitude that they’re still alive. I take her out into the street: not quite what the words “fresh air” normally invoke, but she fills her lungs anyway. “My god, Sonchai. The world. What monsters are we creating?”
Though it’s the third book featuring Detective Jitpleecheep, Bangkok Haunts stands on its own as a solid hard-boiled, noir crime novel without significantly spoiling the earlier books. However, a more rounded understanding of Bangkok, its sex industry, and some of the peripheral characters is gained from reading his earlier journeys – and they are journeys as much as anything.
I enjoyed Bangkok Haunts very much, but not quite as much as Bangkok 8 and Bangkok Tattoo. It lacks the punch in the gut of the culture shock and wry humor of Bangkok 8 and brilliance of the post-September 11th world revealed in Bangkok Tattoo, yet still captures feeling of ‘getting it right’ that Burdett creates in his vision and understanding of Bangkok. I highly recommend entering the world of Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep and the dark Bangkok night – while Bangkok Haunts isn’t as strong previous entries, it’s not a book to pass by.
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