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The Godfather of Kathmandu (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 4)
The Godfather of Kathmandu - Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 4
Author: John Burdett
Sonchai Jitpleecheep -- John Burdett's inimitable Thai police detective -- is summoned to the most shocking and intriguing crime scene of his career. Solving the murder could mean a promotion, but Sonchai, reeling from a personal tragedy, is more interested in Tietsin, an exiled Tibetan lama based in Kathmandu who has become his guru. — There...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780307263193
ISBN-10: 0307263193
Publication Date: 1/12/2010
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 11

3.7 stars, based on 11 ratings
Publisher: Knopf
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Godfather of Kathmandu (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 4) on + 289 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2

Don't let the title locale fool you: this fourth installment of John Burdett's Sochai Jitpleecheep series is firmly based on the original formula of the earlier Bangkok books. Six years after Bangkok Haunts, Sonchai, now 37, is called to the scene of a gruesome murder. Hollywood director Frank Charles is eviscerated with a chunk of skull and brains removed, in the fashion of foreign noir novels found at the scene. Although this spectacular case is a chance for promotion, Sonchai is not terribly inspired.


Instead he is preoccupied by both personal tragedy and his unofficial promotion. Appointed consigliere to Police Colonel Vikorn's Godfather, Sonchai is responsible for coordinating the joint purchase of forty million dollars of heroin with Vikorn's archrival Army General Zinna from Tietsin, the title Tibetan character exiled to Nepal, raising money to invade China before the Beijing Olympics. Sonchai is drawn to his brand of Buddhism, blade wheel and all.


Unlike previous stories in the series, these two plotlines do not converge to a satisfying climax. Burdett rolls out some new interesting characters, but there is less of a local feel as the operation is scaled up to international levels. Sonchai is slowed down by rolling joints all over town to cope with his loss, while dealing with his largest moral crisis yet. However, there is a refreshing look at the underside of Tibetan-Chinese relationship served up in Burdett's pointed style. I have come to regard this series as a guilty pleasure, primarily on the strength of the original. Now I'm just happily along for the ride with Sonchai.

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aladdin avatar reviewed The Godfather of Kathmandu (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bk 4) on + 154 more book reviews
Sonchai is a hair's breadth away from losing it all, yet again, as he tries to keep huge drug shipments from getting to their destination and still survive, not just his career but also keep his own skin in tact. Burdett does an 'awesome' job of tracking the action as Sonchai battles evil doers and crime lords in different parts of Asia and meanwhile keeping Sonchai alive to protect his beloved THailand the best way he can, as a Buddhist detective in the land of smiles. I can't wait for the next book in the series.


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