- Hardcover: 375 pages
- Publisher: Scribner Book Company; 1 edition (9 Dec 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1416593535
- ISBN-13: 978-1416593539
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 15.4 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,230,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Bad Traffic
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Sharon Wheeler, Reviewing the Evidence (crime blog)
One of my outstanding books of 2008 - Lewis's BAD TRAFFIC is an absolutely exceptional novel which had me mesmerised.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Waterstones Books Quarterly. No 69
A smart-paced, thoroughly entertaining crime-thriller, laced with black humour.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bravo to Lewis for combining a unique and exciting thriller with the brutal and topical issue of people trafficking. His delightfully venal anti-hero and guileless side kick find themselves pitched against both convincing and vicious murderers but also the background of a Britain made utterly alien and sinister by being seen through the eyes of the protagonist: a non English speaking Chinese detective,seeking a missing daughter on his first time out of his own country. Memorable.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Inspector Jian, who speaks no English, comes to Britain to find the daughter who has vanished from her University. Ding Ming and his wife Little Ye are illegal immigrants in the hands of ruthless people traffickers. He speaks some English. The books is an exciting and original tale of how the two men are unlikely partners trying to rescue their women. The writing is taut and exciting, and the plot twists and turns. The villains aroused hate and disgust, while the two heroes alternately alarmed and amused me. I read the whole book in just two sessions, pausing only for sleep.
The cover of the paperback features praise from Elmore Leonard, and if Leonard likes it there can really be nothing more to say. Buy this book, and every other Simon Lewis as it appears; reading this novel was over all too soon, and I cannot wait to get the next one.
The cover of the paperback features praise from Elmore Leonard, and if Leonard likes it there can really be nothing more to say. Buy this book, and every other Simon Lewis as it appears; reading this novel was over all too soon, and I cannot wait to get the next one.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Every detective writer wants to create a hero with issues but who we still manage to like, but Simon Lewis really sets himself up with a challenge; Jian, a Chinese answer to Life on Mars' Gene Hunt, is a corrupt, brutal, middle-aged cop who helps enforce human rights abuses in China. Nice! He is in the UK to find his missing daughter, and teams up with Ding Ming, newly arrived in the back of a truck, who is trying to find his wife.
The story unfolds brilliantly from the first page. It is really fast-paced and quite funny, genuinely perplexing as you consider their predicament, and yet is resolved (reasonably) believably. Most of all, the characters are likeable and we see different scenarios, including English culture, from a variety of viewpoints.
There are a couple of bum notes, especially part of the plot that recalls a dreadful tragedy with Chinese immigrants in a tomato lorry, which is in bad taste and makes the story bleaker that it seems intended to be (hence 4 stars instead of 5), and the middle part of the book could do with at least 50 pages trimmed. But overall it is a distinct cut above many of the other page-turner thrillers out there, tackling real issues with wit and panache.
The story unfolds brilliantly from the first page. It is really fast-paced and quite funny, genuinely perplexing as you consider their predicament, and yet is resolved (reasonably) believably. Most of all, the characters are likeable and we see different scenarios, including English culture, from a variety of viewpoints.
There are a couple of bum notes, especially part of the plot that recalls a dreadful tragedy with Chinese immigrants in a tomato lorry, which is in bad taste and makes the story bleaker that it seems intended to be (hence 4 stars instead of 5), and the middle part of the book could do with at least 50 pages trimmed. But overall it is a distinct cut above many of the other page-turner thrillers out there, tackling real issues with wit and panache.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Exciting Could not put it down
Brilliant A really good thriller which is a little different from the run of the mill crime books I read this book in two evenings
Published 14 months ago by Avid reader
Great noir fiction debut set in an alien England
BAD TRAFFIC is a book that epitomises all that is great about the crime-fiction genre. It has a tight plot that unfolds at breakneck pace; it depicts an alien world vividly; there... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Maxine Clarke
High action but lacked depth and dimension
First Sentence: Jian walked into Leeds University and handed his message, written for him on the back of an aeroplane boarding pass, to the front desk security guard. Read more
Published on 9 April 2009 by L. J. Roberts
Decent Thriller with an Interesting Perspective
Human trafficking has gotten enough exposure in the last ten years that its worst excesses no longer have the power to shock and distress as they should. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2009 by A. Ross
A welcome new approach to crime writing
Written as if with film or TV script in mind..... and could well end up as one of these. I liked the unusual view of the UK through Chinese eyes. Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2009 by Ms. M. Kolodziej
What a relief
What a relief to pick this up after ploughing through a staggeringly wordy Iris Murdoch novel. The economy of style and blistering pace made it bliss to read - effortless - and I'd... Read more
Published on 25 April 2008 by C. Poll
Bad Traffic - A review
This is an excellent thriller: fast-paced, gripping and dark. The idea of a Chinese detective looking for his missing daughter in rural England works surprisingly well. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2008 by M. E. Steuerman
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
