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Product Description
Product Description
Two-timing bargirls, suspicious spouses and lesbian lovers it was all in a day s work for Bangkok Private Eye Warren Olson. For more than a decade Olson walked the mean streets of the Big Mango. Fluent in Thai and Khmer, he was able to go where other Private Eyes feared to tread. His clients included Westerners who had lost their hearts and life savings to moneyhungry bargirls. But he had more than his fair share of Thai clients, too, including a sweet old lady who was ripped off by a Christian conman and a Thai girl blackmailed by a former lover. The stories are based on Olson s case files, disguised to protect the innocent and the guilty by bestselling author Stephen Leather. Olson has now relocated to his native New Zealand with his Thai wife and daughter, but the agency that he founded is still open for business at www.thaiprivateeye.com.
About the Author
*Stephen Leather is the author of more than twenty novels, including Private Dancer published by Monsoon Books in Singapore, and the Dan Spider Shepherd series and the Jack Nightingale series, both published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK. Stephen Leather has sold more than 2 million books worldwide. Leather has also written for TV shows such as London s Burning , The Bill and the BBC s Murder In Mind . Warren Olson worked as a horse trainer in New Zealand and Thailand before becoming the marketing manager at a hotel in northeast Thailand. Not only did the hotel boast eighty local ladies in its massage parlour, but the mafia family who owned it imported Russian prostitutes on the side. Olson then successfully reinvented himself as a private detective and worked the bars and back alleys of Bangkok for almost a decade.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"We may not be James Bond ... Our word is our Bond"
Such is the claim on the website for Thai Private Eye, a Bangkok-based private detective agency founded in the 1990s by an ex-horse trainer from New Zealand, Warren Olson. His accumulated case notes have been turned into CONFESSIONS OF A BANGKOK PRIVATE EYE by ghostwriter Stephen Leather, who, in real life, pens noteworthy thrillers out of the UK. Not wishing to make his British publisher cranky, Leather downplays his role in the creation of CONFESSIONS now published by Thailand's Monsoon Books.
Monsoon has previously released another of Leather's novels, PRIVATE DANCER (see my 11/22/05 review "Hey, Joe! Me love you long time."), based on the amorous pitfalls entrapping "farangs" (foreigners) that foolishly fall for the alluring bar girls of Thailand's famous sex-for-money industry. Here, in CONFESSIONS, Leather and Olson expand on that theme inasmuch as the vast majority of the cases involve a farang - usually a lovesick Yank, Brit, Aussie or Northern European - that hires Olson to investigate and confirm the fidelity of his bar girl/mistress, especially after returning home while continuing to send regular funds to his Thai honey as a token of everlasting commitment and in hope of hers.
The human male's biologic, moth-to-flame attraction to the neon-bathed Thai fleshpots being a given, it shouldn't surprise the reader that the vast majority of the individual chapters are repetitive. Only rarely is the mold broken, as when a very proper Thai lady is conned out of her life savings by a Western, bible-toting preacher turned scam artist. Otherwise, the victims are lovesick, middle-aged, white guys thinking with their genitals rather than their heads, and Leather's and Olson's lesson is "Don't let this happen to you, chummy!"
CONFESSIONS could have benefited from some editing. As it was, I didn't have to be reminded by the PI in every chapter that the "customer is always right", and I got the picture after reading for the first time early on that motor scooters aren't allowed on Bangkok's motorways. That said, the volume is both entertaining and illustrative of very basic cultural differences between East and West. Indeed, I'm fairly certain the Thai Tourism Board wouldn't place CONFESSIONS on its recommended book list as the country isn't painted in the best light. Olson himself gamely attempts to restore some balance in an Afterword in which he compliments Thailand as a beautiful and bewitching land that provided him with the loves of his life, his wife and daughter.
CONFESSIONS and PRIVATE DANCER should be required reading for any punter intending to sample the x-rated delights of Patpong, Nana Plaza, and Soi Cowboy.
In a personal email, Leather, evidently a hands-on kind of guy, inferred that he himself modeled for the book's front cover, and that he could personally introduce me to the two girls clinging to him should I ever wish to visit Bangkok. Would my wife let me go, you think, with our retirement savings converted into cash?
Such is the claim on the website for Thai Private Eye, a Bangkok-based private detective agency founded in the 1990s by an ex-horse trainer from New Zealand, Warren Olson. His accumulated case notes have been turned into CONFESSIONS OF A BANGKOK PRIVATE EYE by ghostwriter Stephen Leather, who, in real life, pens noteworthy thrillers out of the UK. Not wishing to make his British publisher cranky, Leather downplays his role in the creation of CONFESSIONS now published by Thailand's Monsoon Books.
Monsoon has previously released another of Leather's novels, PRIVATE DANCER (see my 11/22/05 review "Hey, Joe! Me love you long time."), based on the amorous pitfalls entrapping "farangs" (foreigners) that foolishly fall for the alluring bar girls of Thailand's famous sex-for-money industry. Here, in CONFESSIONS, Leather and Olson expand on that theme inasmuch as the vast majority of the cases involve a farang - usually a lovesick Yank, Brit, Aussie or Northern European - that hires Olson to investigate and confirm the fidelity of his bar girl/mistress, especially after returning home while continuing to send regular funds to his Thai honey as a token of everlasting commitment and in hope of hers.
The human male's biologic, moth-to-flame attraction to the neon-bathed Thai fleshpots being a given, it shouldn't surprise the reader that the vast majority of the individual chapters are repetitive. Only rarely is the mold broken, as when a very proper Thai lady is conned out of her life savings by a Western, bible-toting preacher turned scam artist. Otherwise, the victims are lovesick, middle-aged, white guys thinking with their genitals rather than their heads, and Leather's and Olson's lesson is "Don't let this happen to you, chummy!"
CONFESSIONS could have benefited from some editing. As it was, I didn't have to be reminded by the PI in every chapter that the "customer is always right", and I got the picture after reading for the first time early on that motor scooters aren't allowed on Bangkok's motorways. That said, the volume is both entertaining and illustrative of very basic cultural differences between East and West. Indeed, I'm fairly certain the Thai Tourism Board wouldn't place CONFESSIONS on its recommended book list as the country isn't painted in the best light. Olson himself gamely attempts to restore some balance in an Afterword in which he compliments Thailand as a beautiful and bewitching land that provided him with the loves of his life, his wife and daughter.
CONFESSIONS and PRIVATE DANCER should be required reading for any punter intending to sample the x-rated delights of Patpong, Nana Plaza, and Soi Cowboy.
In a personal email, Leather, evidently a hands-on kind of guy, inferred that he himself modeled for the book's front cover, and that he could personally introduce me to the two girls clinging to him should I ever wish to visit Bangkok. Would my wife let me go, you think, with our retirement savings converted into cash?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Unputdownable True Life Tales of Uncovered Infidelities. It's all here in Olson's excellent exposé.
8 Feb 2009
Format:Paperback
We all know what it's like to have our trust shattered. But what would it be like to make a living from investigating the infidelities of others? One need look no further than this book to find a very amusing, and deeply captivating exposé of life behind the captivatingly innocent smiles and "miss you my honey" (B.S.!) that all too many men fall for as regards certain night time ladies...
Olson discusses in depth the workings of his job as a private investigator in a country where (albeit unsurprisingly) his work as such is hardly ever quiet. From paying motorcycle couriers to pass on sightings of the alleged cheater to how much he is charging for assignments - it's all here. He is even paid to trace allegedly 'missing' persons who were, strangely enough, easily located before the money was sent...
A common theme runs throughout these tales: one side was too trusting and the other side abused that trust. But Olson never lets that foreknowledge become boring, as he maintains interest throughout the book with the most interesting anecdotes; beside, not everything went smoothly for him.
This book remains a most interesting warning to anyone whose heart has been overcome by a... certain type of lady. "A must read", particularly for those men whose passions for Thailand don't particularly include its temples, beaches, climate and fine food. So what else is left? Apart from the obvious, there's this book, of course... ;-)
Olson discusses in depth the workings of his job as a private investigator in a country where (albeit unsurprisingly) his work as such is hardly ever quiet. From paying motorcycle couriers to pass on sightings of the alleged cheater to how much he is charging for assignments - it's all here. He is even paid to trace allegedly 'missing' persons who were, strangely enough, easily located before the money was sent...
A common theme runs throughout these tales: one side was too trusting and the other side abused that trust. But Olson never lets that foreknowledge become boring, as he maintains interest throughout the book with the most interesting anecdotes; beside, not everything went smoothly for him.
This book remains a most interesting warning to anyone whose heart has been overcome by a... certain type of lady. "A must read", particularly for those men whose passions for Thailand don't particularly include its temples, beaches, climate and fine food. So what else is left? Apart from the obvious, there's this book, of course... ;-)
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
A light-hearted read which I downloaded onto my newly acquired Kindle
and into which I thought I could dip in and out of as my mood prevailed.
I did not rate it higher than two stars because the stories
are all similar in their outcome. It also led me to appreciate what an
unenviable and sordid job is the life of a private eye!
and into which I thought I could dip in and out of as my mood prevailed.
I did not rate it higher than two stars because the stories
are all similar in their outcome. It also led me to appreciate what an
unenviable and sordid job is the life of a private eye!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A fantastic insight into the life of Thais and Farangs!
I bought this book because it was written by Stephen Leather and I am making it my mission to read everything he's ever written. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Freddie
Read 1st Story Xxx Times
Being a bit of an addict for Stephen Leather and his ex-SAS hero who goes running in hob-nailed boots with a sack of bricks I was looking forward to reading this title. Read more
Published 5 months ago by KazMax
Should be compulsory for single males visiting Thailand for the first...
I bought this book a whim, having lived in Thailand 20 years ago and visited it a few times since. The stories are short and sweet, often very funny and on occassions razor sharp. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Undermanager
A guilty pleasure
Leather spent a lot of time in South East Asia and indeed Bangkok and penned these stories from a true expat private eye hired by wives to check on roaming expat men, or the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Clive
Repetition a bit annoying.
The repetition at the start of each story is a little annoying.
The other books set in Bangkok (Bangkok Bob & Private Dancer) are great though.
The other books set in Bangkok (Bangkok Bob & Private Dancer) are great though.
Published 8 months ago by David Chugwater
In Bangkok the truth is always stranger than fiction ...
This book had me chuckling behind my Kindle on a flight from London to Thailand. The author, Stephen Leather, whose book Private Eye is another favourite of mine, has done a great... Read more
Published 12 months ago by asiaphile
Stephen Leather - Full of surprises
It is interesting that the same author who has penned the Bangkok tomes has also written Rough Justice and Nightfall! Read more
Published 13 months ago by kalamaya
Great entertainment
Whilst this book is not literature with a capital 'L', it certainly achieves what the author(s) no doubt set out to accomplish, which is to entertain the reader. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Andrew W
thai private eye
Confessions of a Bangkok Private eye was the first book by Warren Olsen,I had read his second book first Thai Private Eye which was okay,I then bought Confessions of a Bangkok... Read more
Published 15 months ago by jay
Interesting read
I very much enjoyed this book and being short stories was good.
I cannot believe men are so stupid. Good read.
I cannot believe men are so stupid. Good read.
Published on 2 Feb 2010 by Mrs. Sally A. Searle
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