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Product Description
Nobody knows Bangkok like Royal Thai Police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, and there is no one quite like Sonchai: a police officer who has kept his Buddhist soul intact—more or less—despite the fact that his job shoves him face-to-face with some of the most vile and outrageous crimes and criminals in Bangkok. But for his newest assignment, everything he knows about his city—and himself—will be a mere starting point.
He’s put in charge of the highest-profile criminal case in Thailand—an attempt to bring an end to trafficking in human organs. He sets in motion a massive sting operation and stays at its center, traveling to Phuket, Hong Kong, Dubai, Shanghai, and Monte Carlo. He draws in a host of unwitting players that includes an aging rock star wearing out his second liver and the mysterious, diabolical, albeit gorgeous co-queenpins of the international body-parts trade: the Chinese twins known as the Vultures. And yet, it’s closer to home that Sonchai will discover things getting really dicey: rumors will reach him suggesting that his ex-prostitute wife, Chanya, is having an affair. Will Sonchai be enlightened enough—forget Buddha, think jealous husband—to cope with his very own compromised and compromising world?
All will be revealed here, in John Burdett’s most mordantly funny, propulsive, fiendishly entertaining novel yet.
He’s put in charge of the highest-profile criminal case in Thailand—an attempt to bring an end to trafficking in human organs. He sets in motion a massive sting operation and stays at its center, traveling to Phuket, Hong Kong, Dubai, Shanghai, and Monte Carlo. He draws in a host of unwitting players that includes an aging rock star wearing out his second liver and the mysterious, diabolical, albeit gorgeous co-queenpins of the international body-parts trade: the Chinese twins known as the Vultures. And yet, it’s closer to home that Sonchai will discover things getting really dicey: rumors will reach him suggesting that his ex-prostitute wife, Chanya, is having an affair. Will Sonchai be enlightened enough—forget Buddha, think jealous husband—to cope with his very own compromised and compromising world?
All will be revealed here, in John Burdett’s most mordantly funny, propulsive, fiendishly entertaining novel yet.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"Vulture Peak" continues the wild adventures of Bangkok Police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep. This series is not only somewhat exotic in its Thailand setting, it also includes some of the most offbeat, endearing, off-putting, interesting, repulsive and spiritual characters created for the mystery genre (or maybe any literary genre of any kind). For whatever reason author John Burdett has chosen this direction, it probably (as far as I know) puts his books in a category unique unto themselves. For this reader, this spectrum of extremes works well and I found "Vulture Peak" and its predecessors highly entertaining, if a little shocking in their occasional cold-eyed violence.
There's no way to do justice to the book's storyline in just a few hundred words--it's a roller coaster. But what I found to be the book's greatest strengths, beyond the ever-changing action, was the portrayal of protagonist Sonchai's very human character and his relationships with his wife, mother and colleagues. None of those characters is the least mainstream in general concept (think prostitutes, transsexuals, bipolar Chinese cops, etc.) but they are all given respectful three-dimension personas and the reader comes to invest some interest and sympathy in each of them.
There are times when the storyline and its accompanying violence may cross the line for the average mystery reader, but Burdett probably isn't writing for the average reader of any genre and his books have to be approached in that way. "Vulture Peak" is a wild ride, but witty, entertaining, and worth ignoring the meaner bits.
There's no way to do justice to the book's storyline in just a few hundred words--it's a roller coaster. But what I found to be the book's greatest strengths, beyond the ever-changing action, was the portrayal of protagonist Sonchai's very human character and his relationships with his wife, mother and colleagues. None of those characters is the least mainstream in general concept (think prostitutes, transsexuals, bipolar Chinese cops, etc.) but they are all given respectful three-dimension personas and the reader comes to invest some interest and sympathy in each of them.
There are times when the storyline and its accompanying violence may cross the line for the average mystery reader, but Burdett probably isn't writing for the average reader of any genre and his books have to be approached in that way. "Vulture Peak" is a wild ride, but witty, entertaining, and worth ignoring the meaner bits.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
once again John has done it. A real pleasure to read his novels.
always good to catch up with the characters. More please
always good to catch up with the characters. More please
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
54 reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Offbeat and open to many criticisms but well worth your sampling
10 Jan 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
For me, John Burdett's Bangkok novels are a guilty pleasure comparable to being a chocoholic. Amazon reviewers of Vulture Peak seem to me to be very judicious in their assessments of the weaknesses and off-putting, over-the-top, bizarre, lubricious and ghoulish elements of the plot and style. But... Just one more caramel-loaded candy and I promise to stop.
So, while admitting the flaws, I review why you may want to try out Burdett if you are unfamiliar with his sagas. They are narrated by Sonchai, a young Buddhist cop in Bangkok with a mix of attitude, fatalism and cynicism as he navigates through a swamp of vice and sado-anything violence. He is the son of a good natured and respectable prostitute now turned bar/brothel owner and sort of married to an ex-prostitute who is finishing off her Phd thesis. His transgender deputy is awaiting the operation and his boss is a police chief who runs most of the drug trade and protection rackets in a rivalry with a General who has his own clandestine operations -- and troops.
In Vulture Peak, the emerging racket is kidnapping for body part transfers. The shady figures behind the business and the murders by disembowelment plus face removal that X is assigned to solve include twin sisters, ladies of a decidedly psychotic nature that would attract the admiration of Hannibal Lechter. There's a Shanghai cop who is bipolar to the nth degree of manic and a cagey Hong Kong cop plus Dorothy and Om and Manu, none of whom would be described as normal.
What makes the books work for me is that they never fall into campiness, caricature or cartoon exaggeration. They have a sense of realism, no matter how unreal the situation. Burdett writes with irony and elegance, downplaying the violence in a sort of Buddhist fatalism; everything is calm and lucidly laid out. I personally dislike horror novels and films but somehow the gruesome nature of the story is laconically kept at a distance. It is all definitely weird but in a surprisingly reasonable way/
In his personal interviews and the stories themselves, Burdett makes clear his respect and sympathy for the many prostitutes, bar girls and madams who swirl through the scene. They have made a sensible choice about how to make a living, don't view sex as sin but a routine, and in many instances are primarily committed to helping out their families. In the same way, the transgenders - often cops - are ordinary in their aspirations and just going along with the flow. The bad people are bad mainly because of greed but the "deviants" are ordinary and going with the flows of Bangkok life, some of them good, some bad and varying in their eccentricities. Burdett is quite skilled in getting you to take them as they are and he draws you into their frame of reference. He can be funny and perceptively sharp, especially in knocking the Westerners who are obsessed with sex and sin, in a rush, looking for meaning and purpose, and judgmental.
It's all fun and shrewd. The plotting gets convincingly convoluted. The style is workmanlike with frequent neat observations. It's candy for the mind, but well above average in quality of story, characterization and pacing. It's out of the ordinary in every way and captures and keeps the reader's attention (well, mine, anyway). I recommend it as well worth trying - you may find it surprisingly tasty.
So, while admitting the flaws, I review why you may want to try out Burdett if you are unfamiliar with his sagas. They are narrated by Sonchai, a young Buddhist cop in Bangkok with a mix of attitude, fatalism and cynicism as he navigates through a swamp of vice and sado-anything violence. He is the son of a good natured and respectable prostitute now turned bar/brothel owner and sort of married to an ex-prostitute who is finishing off her Phd thesis. His transgender deputy is awaiting the operation and his boss is a police chief who runs most of the drug trade and protection rackets in a rivalry with a General who has his own clandestine operations -- and troops.
In Vulture Peak, the emerging racket is kidnapping for body part transfers. The shady figures behind the business and the murders by disembowelment plus face removal that X is assigned to solve include twin sisters, ladies of a decidedly psychotic nature that would attract the admiration of Hannibal Lechter. There's a Shanghai cop who is bipolar to the nth degree of manic and a cagey Hong Kong cop plus Dorothy and Om and Manu, none of whom would be described as normal.
What makes the books work for me is that they never fall into campiness, caricature or cartoon exaggeration. They have a sense of realism, no matter how unreal the situation. Burdett writes with irony and elegance, downplaying the violence in a sort of Buddhist fatalism; everything is calm and lucidly laid out. I personally dislike horror novels and films but somehow the gruesome nature of the story is laconically kept at a distance. It is all definitely weird but in a surprisingly reasonable way/
In his personal interviews and the stories themselves, Burdett makes clear his respect and sympathy for the many prostitutes, bar girls and madams who swirl through the scene. They have made a sensible choice about how to make a living, don't view sex as sin but a routine, and in many instances are primarily committed to helping out their families. In the same way, the transgenders - often cops - are ordinary in their aspirations and just going along with the flow. The bad people are bad mainly because of greed but the "deviants" are ordinary and going with the flows of Bangkok life, some of them good, some bad and varying in their eccentricities. Burdett is quite skilled in getting you to take them as they are and he draws you into their frame of reference. He can be funny and perceptively sharp, especially in knocking the Westerners who are obsessed with sex and sin, in a rush, looking for meaning and purpose, and judgmental.
It's all fun and shrewd. The plotting gets convincingly convoluted. The style is workmanlike with frequent neat observations. It's candy for the mind, but well above average in quality of story, characterization and pacing. It's out of the ordinary in every way and captures and keeps the reader's attention (well, mine, anyway). I recommend it as well worth trying - you may find it surprisingly tasty.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Body parts everywhere
4 Jan 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This series has a surreal setting and an intriguing detective. Sonchai Jitpleechee is honest and pure of heart, a Thai Buddhist on the Path. At the same time, he smokes dope when reality gets overwhelming, and he loves (but does not hire) prostitutes (his mother was one). His wife is an ex-prostitute turned academic. And his boss is thoroughly corrupt, a master criminal who makes use of Sonchai's drive to fight crime.
I read some earlier Sonchai mysteries, but drifted away from them recently. The author's graphic scenes and bitter ironies are not for the faint of heart, of which I may be one.
Vulture Peak is full of body parts. While the beautiful women and boys of Thailand are selling their bodies to tourists in every bar, a fabulous mansion on a hill overlooking Phuket becomes the scene of a gruesome triple-homicide involving missing body parts. Sonchai's boss, Colonel Vikam, puts him on the case - which quickly expands to an all-out campaign against international organ trafficking.
I liked the author's flashes of sympathy for the outré behavior of transvestites and their psychological struggles surrounding "the operation."
I liked the scenes involved cynical American consultants crafting a political campaign for Colonel Vikam, who is suddenly and inexplicably running for mayor of Bangkok.
And I have to admit John Burdett has a gift for creating bizarre characters: the sadistic twin female organ traders, the crazed ex-soldier with a missing face, the bipolar cop bent on martyrdom...
Burdett has invented his own unique mix of warped humor, brutal satire, manic plotting and unorthodox social and spiritual lessons. The roller coaster ride left me queasy. But hardcore fans of detective Sonchai know the drill, and should enjoy Vulture Peak.
I read some earlier Sonchai mysteries, but drifted away from them recently. The author's graphic scenes and bitter ironies are not for the faint of heart, of which I may be one.
Vulture Peak is full of body parts. While the beautiful women and boys of Thailand are selling their bodies to tourists in every bar, a fabulous mansion on a hill overlooking Phuket becomes the scene of a gruesome triple-homicide involving missing body parts. Sonchai's boss, Colonel Vikam, puts him on the case - which quickly expands to an all-out campaign against international organ trafficking.
I liked the author's flashes of sympathy for the outré behavior of transvestites and their psychological struggles surrounding "the operation."
I liked the scenes involved cynical American consultants crafting a political campaign for Colonel Vikam, who is suddenly and inexplicably running for mayor of Bangkok.
And I have to admit John Burdett has a gift for creating bizarre characters: the sadistic twin female organ traders, the crazed ex-soldier with a missing face, the bipolar cop bent on martyrdom...
Burdett has invented his own unique mix of warped humor, brutal satire, manic plotting and unorthodox social and spiritual lessons. The roller coaster ride left me queasy. But hardcore fans of detective Sonchai know the drill, and should enjoy Vulture Peak.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5th in the Series
24 Jan 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
As Vulture Peak begins, Royal Thai Police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, a former Buddhist monk, still works for Police Colonel Vikorn. Unfortunately for Sonchai, the manipulating colonel is no easier to work for now than in the past. As is often the case with Vikorn, there is more to him than meets the eye and, when he assigns Sonchai to investigate a racket that seems to be centered in Thailand, the motive is more about getting himself elected to political office than it is about shutting down the profiteers. If, in the process, Vikorn also can bring down the equally corrupt General Zinna, his longtime personal rival, it will have been a very successful investigation, indeed.
John Burdett's books, despite their tendency to be over the top at times, are always long on atmosphere and memorable characters. Vulture Peak is no exception. Before it is over, Sonchai's investigation will take him away from the city and into the streets of Hong Kong, Dubai, Monte Carlo, and Shanghai. As the investigation moves forward, he must deal with an extraordinary cast of good guys, cops, suspects, and assorted villains of multiple nationalities. The lineup includes two sisters I defy any reader to forget quickly, Chinese identical twins with a history of weirdness that goes back to their childhood and makes them the perfect criminals.
Vulture Peak is Thai noir at its finest and will likely entice readers to read the entire series from the beginning in order to find out how the relationship between Sonchai Jitpleecheep and Police Colonel Vikorn has evolved over time.
John Burdett's books, despite their tendency to be over the top at times, are always long on atmosphere and memorable characters. Vulture Peak is no exception. Before it is over, Sonchai's investigation will take him away from the city and into the streets of Hong Kong, Dubai, Monte Carlo, and Shanghai. As the investigation moves forward, he must deal with an extraordinary cast of good guys, cops, suspects, and assorted villains of multiple nationalities. The lineup includes two sisters I defy any reader to forget quickly, Chinese identical twins with a history of weirdness that goes back to their childhood and makes them the perfect criminals.
Vulture Peak is Thai noir at its finest and will likely entice readers to read the entire series from the beginning in order to find out how the relationship between Sonchai Jitpleecheep and Police Colonel Vikorn has evolved over time.
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