Fools' River

Starred review from September 25, 2017
At one point in Hallinan’s outstanding eighth thriller set in Bangkok and featuring American expat Poke Rafferty (after 2015’s The Hot Countries), Rose, Poke’s Thai wife, muses, “People never knew until it was too late... whether the place where they pitched their tent was on the banks of some Fools’ River.” That noirish metaphor is central to the missing-persons case that travel writer Poke, who has a reputation for solving problems outside official channels, takes on through his teenage daughter, Miaow. Buddy Dell, the independently wealthy father of Edward, a school friend of Miaow’s, has vanished. Since Buddy maintains four separate houses, each presided over by a different “auntie,” his absence from Edward’s home is not unusual—except that it’s been 12 days. Poke soon learns that a dozen other men, most of them foreigners, have recently disappeared, only to be found floating in a canal with casts on at least one leg. Perhaps Buddy has fallen victim to the same criminal or criminals. Hallinan makes the most of his chosen setting, as well as the challenges his ethical lead faces to save a life, despite the indifference of a corrupt police force. Fans of hard-boiled detective fiction will feel right at home. Agent: Bob Mecoy, Bob Mecoy Literary.

December 1, 2017

In his eighth Bangkok-set adventure (after The Hot Countries), Poke Rafferty has 48 hours to rescue Buddy, the father of one of his daughter Miaow's friends, who has been kidnapped by a pair of killers who prey on the city's "sexpats." Maintaining the high quality of previous titles, this mystery features the humor, favorite characters, and fast-paced action Hallinan's fans expect.--ACT

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2017
Some people, says teenager Miaow, the adopted daughter of Poke Rafferty, travel writer, off-the-grid sleuth, and star of Hallinan's acclaimed series set in Bangkok, have the guts to become who they want to be. That declaration applies in varying degrees to almost everyone in this intense and deeply moving thriller, which steamrolls its way through 48 hours of excruciating tension set against subtle moments of remarkable tenderness. Poke is at the center of it all as he attempts to find Buddy Dell, father of Miaow's would-be boyfriend, Edward. Buddy, a middle-aged sexpat (expats who move to Bangkok to immerse themselves in the city's smorgasbord of erotic delights), appears to have been abducted by predators who keep their victims, usually wealthy foreigners with tastes like Buddy's, alive only long enough to drain their bank accounts. Layered against that grisly main plot, Hallinan tells the intertwining stories of Lutanh, Miaow's transgender friend and a bar girl in Bangkok's notorious Patpong district, who is trying to reinvent herself as a high-school student; Rose, Poke's pregnant wife, a former bar girl herself, who has not been forthcoming about her past pregnancies; and Miaow and Edward, who are both dreaming of other lives of their own. In a bravura performance, Hallinan brings all these stories together around Poke, whose mission as a sleuth is to clear obstacles from the paths of those with the guts to become who they want to be. A gripping thriller, yes, but one that never loses the rhythm of its characters' beating hearts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)