The Godfather of Kathmandu
John Burdett
I don't read many mysteries, but I started reading John Burdett's Bangkok-based novels in high school, when Thailand was still just a fever dream in my untraveled mind. Burdett's first novel, Bangkok 8, was monumental for me. He does a great job of animating both the glamorous and the seedy; jewel encrusted coffee shops next door to rancid slums and the ubiquitous bastions of Buddhism side-by-side with the flagrant sex industry.
The Godfather of Kathmandu takes the familiar detective Jitplecheep on another rousing case through the fabulously wealthy and grimy underbelly of Bangkok, and it sends him on investigative tangents to Nepal. The Kathmandu piece caught my eye for obvious reasons, as it is always fun to come across printed words regarding places that you know well. This novel, like Bangkok Tattoo before it, breaches the transcendental in an approachable sort of way. In this installation, the mysterious Madame Moi, an all-star psychedelic pharmacist, is involved in Jitplecheep's debunking of the murder of a famous American filmaker. Lusty, ripe, and intoxicating, I can't help comparing these grotesque and beautiful mysteries to the Southeast Asian Dragonfruit. I promise this book and it's cousins will keep you entertained.
