Bangkok Tattoo

By: John Burdett

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

From the author of the best seller Bangkok 8, a head-spinning new novel that puts us back in the company of the inimitable Royal Thai Police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep.

We return to District 8, the underbelly of Bangkok's underworld, where a dramatically mutilated dead body is found. It's bad: he was CIA. It gets worse: the murderer appears to be Chanya, a tough, sweet working girl who's the highest earner at The Old Man's Club, jointly owned by Sonchai's mother and his boss, Police Colonel Vikorn.

Alerted by Sonchai, Vikorn quickly concocts a cover-up that involves Al Qaeda and Thailand's porous southern border where, since 9/11, the CIA has been an obviously covert presence. But the truth will be harder to come by, and it will require Sonchai to find an ever-more-delicate balance between his ambition and his Buddhism, while running the gamut of Bangkok's drug dealers, prostitutes, bad cops, worse military, and the pitfalls of his own melting heart (Chanya!), most of which he can handle. But even Sonchai is not prepared for what he discovers at the end of his investigation.

Piercingly smart and funny, densely atmospheric, and, as we already know to expect from John Burdett, packing a surprise at every turn, Bangkok Tattoo is sensational.

©2005 John Burdett (P)2005 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

“An original, imaginative thriller.... Burdett writes like a dark angel.” (Chicago Tribune)

“You will read on and on, with wide-eyed fascination, some horror...and considerable delight.... If you’re looking for a good time, look no further.” (The Washington Post Book World)

“Mesmerizing: a comic tour of the underbelly of Bangkok in pursuit of both a murderer and the sublime.” (The New Yorker)

Love the series

I love the series, and was so disappointed when I started with library copies of the audio books and found there were only a few available. Really excited to find this on Audible and jumped right in. Maybe I missed too many books between my last read and this one, but I wasn't as into the main character as I have been. Weird ending, without much purpose to the horror scene. I'll continue to read John Burdett, to see if this is just a one-off.

bangkok tattoo

this was the second book that i have heard for this author. this was disappointing. It kept my attention, but was slow. The ending was unexpected.

One of the Better Ones

I listened to this on the strength of someone recommending Bankok 8 which I listened to later. I found this to be superior and thoroghly enjoyed both. If you ever thought of going to Thailand this is a must. Themes helped put our western morality judgments in perspective. The narration is great.

As a Sermon, Pretty Good; As a Novel, Not so Hot

Too bad Mr Burdett couldn't take some time out from his witty sermonizing about the evils of Christianity, America and the CIA (not highly differentiated here) in order to write the police novel which "Bangkok Tattoo" purports to be. Burdett is an amusing preacher, but only occassionally remembers to get out of the pulpit and return to the story upon which he hangs so many screeds against capitalism and the West.
The protagonist, Thai police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, convincingly acted by the reader, Paul Boehmer, is an engaging guide to Thailand whenever Burdett allows him to be himself and not just a mouthpiece for the author's standard British Leftism.
For Americans who indulge in self-loathing as a form of broadmindedness, this audiobook may be a real treat.

Enjoyable Book

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator was excellent, and made the characters really come alive! The storyline is engaging, and the book is very funny.

The author sometimes makes some harsh statements about westerners, but I generally found the contrasts between Thai and American/Western worldviews and culture to be really interesting.

International Intrigue

Travel to the slums and see the hookers of Bangkok to the dinner table of CIA operatives in Washington.

Great Read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Very fun read. Decent plot and many funny moments. I rate it marginally higher than Bangkok 8, which I also liked.

Pretty good pulp

I read Bangkok 8 previously and enjoyed it a bit more. This one drags and gets messy at the end. I also feel like the author forgot the thrust of his main character, that of a strict Buddhist negotiating a contrary life/career. Other than at one point saying he doesn't take bribes there's none of the internal conflict that I found compelling in the first book. That seemed to balance out the sermonizing of the Western way, which in this book is completely unfettered.

Just OK

Slow and jumpy. It is fun to look a world like this but just didn't care about the characters.

a wild ride

This audio book kept me riveted from beginning to end. The author so clearly knows his subject and I didn't mind the occasional sermonizing one bit. It doesn't mean I agree with everything he says, but it's nice to occasionally get a different point of view. Like Bangkok 8, the story gets a bit baroque towards the end, but that's a minor quibble. If you want to learn something about a different culture and be entertained at the same time, this book is for you.