Bangkok 8

By: John Burdett

Narrated by: B.D. Wong

Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

Electrifying, darkly comic, razor-edged - a thriller unlike any other. 

Under a Bangkok bridge, inside a bolted-shut Mercedes: a murder by snake - a charismatic African-American Marine sergeant killed by a methamphetamine-stoked python and a swarm of stoned cobras.

Two cops - the only two in the city not on the take - arrive too late. Minutes later, only one is alive: Sonchai Jitpleecheep - a devout Buddhist, equally versed in the sacred and the profane - son of a long-gone Vietnam War G.I. and a Thai bar girl whose subsequent international clientele contributed richly to Sonchai’s sophistication.

Now, his partner dead, Sonchai is doubly compelled to find the murderer, to maneuver through the world he knows all to well - illicit drugs, prostitution, infinite corruption - and into a realm he has never before encountered: the moneyed underbelly of the city, where desire rules and the human body is no less custom-designable than a raw hunk of jade. And where Sonchai tracks the killer - and a predator of an even more sinister variety.

Thick with the authentic - and hallucinogenic - atmosphere of Bangkok, crowded with astonishing characters, uniquely smart and skeptical, literary and wildly readable, Bangkok 8 is one of a kind. 

Please note: This is the abridged edition. An unabridged version is also available.

©2003 John Burdett; 2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"A stunning thriller! Bangkok 8 is suspense at its best: a masterfully written tale set in a world that's perfectly evoked and populated with compelling, flesh-and-blood characters." (Jeffery Deaver, author of The Vanished Man and The Stone Monkey) 

"Bangkok 8 is one of the most startling and provocative mysteries that I've read in years. The characters are marvelously unique, the setting is intoxicating and the plot unwinds in dark illusory strands, reminiscent of Gorky Park. Once I started, I didn't want to put it down." (Carl Hiaasen)

“The wildest ride in modern crime novel exoticum. A novel so steeped in milieu that it feels as if you’ve blasted to mars in the grip of a demon who won’t let you go. Read this book, savor the language - it’s the last and the most compelling word in thrillers.” (James Ellroy) 

Bangkok 8 worth the listen

John Burdett presents an engrossing cast of characters in an intriguing city. The plot is somewhat outlandish, and the conclusion quite a bit less than satisfying, but these weaknesses are offset both by the excellent reading by B.D. Wong and the insights into the police force, racial influences, philosophy and sexual attitudes of modern Thailand.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

Unfortunately abridged

The reader is excellent, really creating a compelling atmosphere for the story. The characters are well-developed, the plot a bit outlandish, but interesting, however...it's abridged. I found the gaps in the story to be very apparent. Having read "Bangkok Tattoo" I was aware of this author's voice, and it was extremely obvious that there were gaps, large gaps, in the pace and flow of the story. I would be enjoying the book on my commute, and then WHAM! there would be glitch in story flow, tossing me out of that engrossing world and back to reality. I will never buy an abridged copy of anything again.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Up Country meets Raymond Chandler

An excellent unusual mystery with hints of Traditional Noir and Oriental Mysticism. Read It!!

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Go Sonchai!

Sonchai Jitpleecheep, the protagonist detective in Burdett's Bangkok novels, is the son of a prostitute mother and someone. He's funny, sexy, smart and politically savvy with an ironic edge to his Buddhist side (yup). Burdett has four Bangkok books out now and I'm looking forward to the next three. This one is a great starter to see if they're for you.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Amazing

Loved the pace and excellent narration.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Bangkok 8

This was a deilghtful book, I appreciated the fact that the author has clearly taken the time to steep himself in Thai culture and ways. The pace is perfect for driving or sitting on a plane. His latest book is also very good.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A dark mystery in an authentic Thai voice.

I am not usually a fan of murder mysteries but this story is gripping on many levels. The author shows us both an ancient and modern Thailand, full of designer drugs, buddhist temples and strange happenings. A unique and thought-provoking story.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Better Than Expected

I've never given Thailand much thought but at the end of this book I found myself interested in visiting Bangkok. Enjoyed the narrater very much. Only wish it had been unabridged.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

good narrator, good story

I found this book entirely enjoyable, in part because I know nothing about Thailand and found the cultural musings of the protagonist fascinating (especially in comparison with the western characters), and in part because of the virtuosity of its narrator, B.D. Wong. Wong not only reads with astute, perceptive inflection, but he also manages to carry off a variety of voices and accents without ever going over the top or sounding like he's trying to hard. At times, I was skeptical as to whether it was really the same person, particularly when he did the voice of a large, gregarious African-American character juxtaposed with a female Thai seductress. I'd listen to anything read by him--or by Campbell Scott, but that's another review. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

BAngkok 8

I was unaware that this was the abridged version, so I feel I missed out on much of the daily life details and customs that elevate this series from mere whodunit to cultural history. Never listen to an abridged novel.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful