The Hot Countries
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4,5 • Оценок: 18
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- 9,99 $
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- 9,99 $
От издателя
Back when Poke Rafferty first arrived in Bangkok to write a travel guide, some of the old-timers in the Expat Bar on Patpong Road helped him make sense of the city. Now these men—many of whom have been living in Southeast Asia since the Vietnam War—have grown old and, in some cases, frail. When a talkative stranger named Arthur Varney turns up at the Expat Bar, they accept him without suspicion, failing to see that he’s actually using them to get to Poke.
Varney wants two things: money Poke doesn’t have and a person Poke is unwilling to hand over. It quickly becomes apparent that there’s nothing Varney won’t do to secure his goals. As his actions threaten the foundation of Poke’s life in Thailand, the aging men of the Expat Bar discover that they might still be a force to reckon with.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Edgar-finalist Hallinan's lukewarm conclusion to the trilogy within his Poke Rafferty series finds travel writer Poke enjoying a spell of peaceful domesticity his wife, Rose, pregnant; his adopted daughter, Miaow, rehearsing for a school play; his buddies at Bangkok's Expat Bar always ready to bend an elbow. Then, an innocuous stranger walks into the bar, boring everyone with his garrulous blather, but leaves suddenly with a vague yet nonetheless unsettling threat directed at Poke. With the help of his cop friend Arthit, Poke determines the stranger is Arthur Varney, an experienced killer seeking $3.8 million he believes Poke acquired in the trilogy's opener, The Fear Artist. Poke spends most of the story trying to dodge Varney and move his family out of harm's way before an inevitable confrontation on the muggy, wet, neon-drenched streets of Bangkok. Though Hallinan's deft touch with social commentary is a plus, this entry has long stretches with little happening, and the ending lacks the author's usual punch.
Отзывы покупателей
Great characters, story and exotic Bangkok setting
Hallinan's characters in the Poke Rafferty series are compelling and feel like friends. Poke, Miaow and Rose are creating a family out of the trauma that made up each of their early lives. They overcome their own demons, cultural differences and in the stories, dangerous situations that underscore the fragility of what they have built together. The latest book continues the story of Treasure, the damaged girl Poke befriends in The Fear Artist. Poke has to help keep her away from a man almost as evil as her father while supporting her escape from abuse induced madness.
The supporting cast includes Poke's friend police captain Arthit and his new girlfriend Anna, Miaow's friend Boo who runs the refuge for Bangkok's homeless street kids where Treasure is recovering her sanity and the sad, aging ex-pats who inadvertently lead danger to Poke's doorstep.
The stories take place in Bangkok, which becomes another character with ugliness and beauty similar to the lives of the people who live there. Halinan's strength in the Poke Rafferty books is his ability to transform human ugliness into beauty. The Hot Countries is the latest satisfying tale in the series.