Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Bangkok Tattoo
    Unavailable
    Bangkok Tattoo
    Unavailable
    Bangkok Tattoo
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    Bangkok Tattoo

    Written by John Burdett

    Narrated by Paul Boehmer

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep of the Royal Thai Police returns in his riveting and smokily atmospheric new thriller.A farang-a foreigner-has been murdered, his body horribly mutilated, at the Bangkok brothel co-owned by Sonchai's mother and his boss. The dead man was a CIA agent. To make matters worse, the apparent culprit is sweet-natured Chanya, the brothel's top earner and a woman whom the devoutly Buddhist sleuth has loved for several lifetimes. How can Sonchai solve this crime without sending Chanya to prison? How can he engage in a cover-up without endangering his karma? And how will he ever get to the bottom of a case whose interested parties include American spooks, Muslim fundamentalists, and gangsters from three countries? As addictive as opium, as hot as Sriracha chili sauce, and bursting with surprises, Bangkok Tattoo will leave its mark on you.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 17, 2005
    ISBN9780739320273
    Unavailable
    Bangkok Tattoo

    Related to Bangkok Tattoo

    Related audiobooks

    Thrillers For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Who’s Who in NICOLA’S WORLD?

      May 10, 2020

      Sexy, aggressive and resilient, she’s the star barrister who turned double agent to inform on her gangland clients to the police. Forced into hiding after being exposed, the turmoil of her dangerous life leaves her riddled with anxiety, depression an

      1 min read

    • Article

      Caught In The Serpent’s Tale

      Dec 29, 2019

      Caught In The Serpent’s Tale
      11 min read

    • Article

      Santa, The Serial Killer

      Dec 1, 2022

      Santa, The Serial Killer
      8 min read

    • Article

      Copper Lady

      Dec 29, 2021

      Copper Lady
      2 min read

    • Article

      Murder He Wrote

      Jan 1, 2021

      Murder He Wrote
      12 min read

    • Article

      He Befriended Tourists... Then He KILLED Them

      Nov 10, 2021

      Teresa Knowlton, 21, was looking for enlightenment. The young woman was travelling in South East Asia, on her way to study Buddhism in Nepal, when she stopped off in Thailand. Then, one night in October 1975, she didn’t arrive back at her hotel. Five

      3 min read

    • Article

      White Supremacist Charged With Killing 2 In Portland, Ore., Knife Attack

      May 27, 2017

      The disturbance began when a man started yelling on train, including slurs at two apparently Muslim women. When others tried to intervene, the man stabbed three of them.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Oct 18, 2020

      THE brutal murder of Free State farm manager Brendin Horner has raised the ugly spectre of racism in South Africa. White farmers, enraged at the senseless killing of the 21-year-old young man, stormed the courthouse in Senekal and clashed with the po

      2 min read

    • Article

      Footage Of Belgian Ambassador's Wife Slapping Shopkeeper Outrages South Koreans

      Apr 20, 2021

      Websites have been flooded with calls for Ambassador Peter Lescouhier and his wife Xiang Xueqiu to leave the country over the incident at a clothes shop in Seoul on April 9, which has sparked a police investigation. The video footage, released by th

      2 min read

    • Article

      A Young Nurse Investigates Murders In 18th Century China In 'The Red Palace'

      Jan 27, 2022

      June Hur's history-based novel binds fiction to fact in a gripping young adult mystery. A nurse in 18th century Korea's royal court tries to track down the killer of four women.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Nabbed Because Of A Cigarette

      Apr 9, 2020

      Nabbed Because Of A Cigarette
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Thrill A Minute

      Nov 24, 2022

      By ANTHONY HOROWITZ Century This excellent adventure is the fourth Sherlock-and-Watsontype partnership between Anthony (the author “playing” himself) and the fiendishly clever detective Daniel Hawthorne. This time, it’s the author who finds himself

      1 min read

    • Article

      Exposé Of Prison Brutality By Someone Who Cares

      Nov 1, 2020

      I’VE NEVER met Ruth Hopkins. After reading her riveting exposé, The Misery Merchants, there’s an indelible bond. She champions the underdog without judging them. Be they murderers, rapists and robbers, they’re entitled to human rights, like anyone. I

      2 min read

    • Article

      Ex-husband And Relatives Charged In Killing Of Hong Kong Model After Body Parts Found

      Feb 27, 2023

      Police in Hong Kong filed murder charges against the former husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law of a model and influencer after they found what they believe to be parts of her dismembered body.

      2 min read

    • Article

      FAST & FURIOUS

      Sep 16, 2022

      BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ VINTAGE In The Man with the Golden Gun, the last James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming, Bond returns to London after he’s fallen into the hands of the KGB and been brainwashed by them. He’s been programmed to kill M, but the at

      3 min read

    • Article

      After Thai Dissident Kidnapped, His Sister Began To Investigate

      Dec 30, 2020

      SINGAPORE — Sitanan Satsaksit kneeled outside her brother's apartment building, her eyes lowered in prayer beneath a wide-brimmed hat. As she tried to reconstruct the events of that evening six months earlier, she heard his distressed voice in her he

      6 min read

    • Article

      5 Crime Must-Reads for July

      Jun 29, 2017

      5 Crime Must-Reads for July
      2 min read

    Reviews for Bangkok Tattoo

    3.5/5

    284 ratings18 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I normally do not read mysteries or thrillers, but this book captivated me with its devoutly Buddhist narrator and the juxtaposition of sex, drugs, murder, and the underworld crime that spans two continents.

      A great book for anyone who wants to read an action adventure with an exotic, spiritual twist.
    • 3/5
      Interesting mystery, not so much for the plot, but for the setting. The main character in this mystery is Sonchai Jitpleecheep of the Royal Thai Police, the son of a prostitute turned brothel owner and an American stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Told through Sonchai's eyes, this story immerses you in the culture of Bangkok, from the accepted sex industry to the Buddhist spirituality of the Thai people. I loved the descriptions of Bangkok as Sonchai and his partner race around the city encountering drug traffickers, Muslim fundamentalists and the clueless 'farang' tourists. A great taste of Thailand!
    • 3/5
      I like Burdett and enjoy his forays into the seady soul of Bangkok (and its environs). However, I think his _Bangkok 8_ is still the best. Definitely a book to get used or in the library if you're a fan like I am.
    • 5/5
      Really liked this book. It was gritty and the characters, plot, and setting were all spot on.
    • 4/5
      This is third book in the Sonchai Jitpleecheep series that I have read. It is really well done. You get the feel of being in Thailand, at various locations – Bangkok, in the South and in the North.The book starts with the murder of an American CIA agent in a hotel in Bangkok, where he had gone with one of the prostitutes employed by Jitpleecheep's mother. He and his police supervisor, Colonelo Vikorn manufacture a scenario to cover up the prostitute's role. And, then he has to investigate to discover what the real story is.
    • 3/5
      I didn't like this sequel as well as I liked the first one. This one was meandering, hard to follow, and lapsed into lecturing at times. I do like Sonchai, and the other characters are certainly interesting. I enjoy the vicarious Thai cultural experience, too. I'll probably read the next one.
    • 4/5
      Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep of the Royal Thai Police is quite a character. He is called to investigate the death of an American CIA agent in a seedy hotel room. It was murder and a brutal violent one at that.

      The murder comes at a time not that long after 9/11 and thus the death of any american is automatically assumed to be a terrorist killing with Al Qaeda at the bottom of it. Sonchai and his boss the Machiavellian Col. Vikorn are willing to the let the investigation to lead in that direction while they find the real killer.

      On one occasion Sonchai wants to keep two additional CIA men off the scent and he calls out to them playing the role of a man in the street. at first he can decide on an accent because he can do British and American 'generally one uses Brit when talking to an American and vice versa: the two cultures seem to intimidate each other quite well. On instinct,though, I use American with Enthusiastic Immigrant coloring and in a flash they decide I have Green Card written all over me: obviously I'm the best they can hope for down here.'

      Burdett pokes fun at the West as well as the East and he explains quite bit about the areas including how all religions interact in Thailand.

      It had been quite a while since I read the first in this series, but I am looking forward to the next.
    • 4/5
      Bangkok Tattoo is another enjoyable mystery from Burdett, and I enjoyed the story yet again. Sonchai Jitpleecheep is a great narrator, and I enjoy getting his perspective on things, as a Thai and as a Buddhist. This is the one thing I find myself wondering about the most when I read both this and the first book in the series - how much can these perspectives be relied on, as Sonchai is written by not a Thai person but a British person? That musing aside, I found the story enjoyable - it was twisty enough to keep me entertained, the characters were non-stereotypical enough to keep me interested, and the flashback in Chanya's diary was thoroughly enjoyable (for those of us who enjoy non-straightforward narratives). It was also quite enjoyable that the action was taken out of Bangkok and into a different part of Thailand for part of the story. Anyway, if you like mysteries, don't have a problem with violence and descriptions of sex work, I can definitely recommend this book.
    • 3/5
      Fun read but far from being as engaging as Bangkok 8, the first in the series. Gets confused and often a bit vain.Still good for its picture of a certain Bangkok.
    • 3/5
      This an excellent book that will keep you guessing until the end. Very vivid if sometimes disturbing characters. It takes a while reconcile my point of view when reading these books.
    • 4/5
      A man is murdered and it appears that Chanya, a bar-girl from a popular bar in Bangkok did it. The man was a CIA agent. Was it self-defence? Was it murder? Are Muslim terrorists from the southern border of Thailand involved? Where do the yakuza come in... or do they? Why is the Chief of Police trying to help protect Chanya? In the steamy city of Bangkok, our intrepid investigator, Jitpleecheep has to find answers, while keeping the CIA agents that are sent to find the murderer at bay. Oh, and he's also helping to break in his new partner, Lek, a young policeman who has been filled with a female spirit and thus wants to become a katoey, a transgender, the 3rd official gender in Thailand.This is a good suspense-filled crime solver with enough twists to keep the reader guessing till the very end, as are all Burdett's books in this series.
    • 4/5
      Another exotic excursion into Bangkok, but mostly into the mind of Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep. This time he is investigating the murder of a CIA agent who just happens to have been seriously involved with a prostitute that Sonchai himself is deeply in love with. The first few pages start off as a very black comedy, but the horror, brutality, and reality of what follows make it pretty hard for a reader to keep a smile for very long. As the story moves along, there are any number of diversions into sex, morality, Buddhism, and (somewhat annoyingly) the shortcomings of the West and America in particular. All in all, this has the same fascination as Bangkok 8, but it comes to a rather inconclusive ending with the main crime solved, but with more than a few loose ends left to perhaps be resolved in a future installment in the series. Throughout the novel, Sonchai's boss, Colonel Vikorn, pretty much steals whatever scene he appears in.
    • 3/5
      Not particularly exciting, but funny, inightful and fast moving.
    • 3/5
      Engaging thriller with a likeable protagonist. Doesn't quite measure up to Bangkok 8, but still worth reading.
    • 4/5
      Clever blending of police drama with religious and the gray moral area of Thai brothels; with a bit of weird spy/underworld stuff tying it all together. Enjoyable. But Bangkok Eight was better.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed the book, but not as much as the previous book: Bangkok 8.The setting, and atmosphere of behind the tourist facade of Thailand and Bangkok is wonderful, gritty, and unique. The characters are interesting, though not as sympathetic as in the previous book. They also seem to be less Buddhist and harder, and more jaded. In fact they seem to be as western as the 'farangs' they sneer at. Granted the book was written by a westerner, but the previous book had a lightness, a quirky charm that seems to have fled in this book. The previous stance made the characters seem less western and more believable as Thais.The story, while ostensibly a mystery, is not really the point. There is a plot and it is laid out and followed to its wrap-up, and its ok. But it never really melds together. There are about 8 layers and they aren't really deep enough to satisfy on plot alone. In the last book the plot was used to explore the difference between the west and the east, between what has to be done and what should be done when viewed through the lens of long-term reincarnation, to explore how each character acted according to their karma and their stage of progress on the journey to enlightenment. That only seems to get lip service in this book.The whole plot of the journey of Lek to become a Katooey could have been expanded and would have made a better book in terms of portraying the differences, and tapping into the energy of the last book.Finally the main character Sonchai spends most of the book sneering in a very smug and superior manner towards the west and farangs. Yet Thais never seem to make mistakes or deserve the same treatment. Sonchai also repeatedly addresses the reader, which I enjoyed, I just wish his tone was not so constantly negative.I would also say that the book goes out of its way to paint a picture of prostitution and sex work that makes it seem not only harmless, but beneficial -- no mention is made of the slavery, the Aids, and the ruin of many women (some of whom are 12 and under). While this is a work of fiction and presents a certain viewpoint, to not even discuss the dark side is a mistake.One of my favorite lines is from the Imam who said something along the lines of our inability to imagine that we may be wrong is our biggest weakness. I really liked how the Muslims in this book were actually not the evil stereotypical baddies. I hope there is another one and it returns to the level of Bangkok 8.
    • 4/5
      Burdett's style of writing demanded some patience from me because many times I didn't understand what was going on until I got the necessary information 2 or 3 pages later. Not my kind of storytelling.Once you get used to his style of writing though it is quite an entertaining story that revolves around the murder of a CIA agent in contemporary Bangkok and it's subsequent cover-up by the local chief of police and his main deputy who are heavily involved in the prostitution business. What amazed me was that Burdett is writing in 1st person from the perspective of this deputy who often directly talks to the reader assuming he's a Westerner. I was reading it while travelling in Thailand and was intrigued by his observations of Thai culture, food, Buddhism, the political system, prostitution, drug trade, Bangkok's underworld, and Muslim culture in the Southern border region.It might not be the best told story in itself but it is a very rewarding book to get an inside perspective on Thai culture. (keep in mind that it's written by a Brit though)
    • 4/5
      3 stars as a mystery because it's so bizarre, but 4 stars as a description of what it's like to live in Bangkok