Timothy Hallinan : A nail through the heart [ISBN 978-0-06-125722-3]
We discovered the books of Timothy Hallinan belatedly. We noticed 'A nail throught the heart' a few times, amidst the dozens of books written by Bangkok-novel amateurs. Then we noticed that the writer produced a number of other novels in the 1990s before embarking an a new series of 'novels of Bangkok'. In an interview online the author recommends to read his books in chronological order, since the main protagonists and other characters remain the same throughout the series. So we bought the three books published up to now (after reading some good reviews on Amazon) and are not disappointed. I doubt Timothy Hallinan is as well known as other writers such as Christopher Moore, Jake Needham, Stephen Leather, but this is surely a question of poor marketing.
The author has been staying on and off in Thailand for the last 20 years and is clearly familiar with Bangkok.
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A Nail through the Heart by Timothy Hallinan |
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The main character in his books is Poke Rafferty, a travel writer, living in Bangkok, and trying to build himself an unusual family. His wife Rose is a former Patpong bar girl, and he wants to adopt a young street urchin names Miaow. Family events play an important part throughout 'A nail throught the heart', in between Poke's investigations and action adventures. It is not clear how Poke Rafferty picked up his skills : He somehow owns a gun, and knows how to use it. He investigates, interrogates, fights as the best, and he has a good friend in the police force to boot.
Poke is asked by his police friend to find the uncle of an Australian woman. He soon discovered that the disappeared uncle has led a secretive life, with an appalling sexual orientation.
During his investigations Poke also comes into contact with another disturbing personality, a vicious Khmer woman called Madame Wing. There has been some digging in the garden of her secured compound on the Chao Phraya river. Some pictures have been found worth killing for. Poke Rafferty (not knowing better at first) is hired to find the perpetrator.
The two mostly separate investigations and events in Poke's family, are intermingled and make for a fast-paced action-filled novel. Sadism is a main topic of the book. Our Australian man turns out to be a sadistic child molester, taking pictures of his victims being tortured. The disturbing Khmer woman (in a wheelchair, though never clear why) turns out to be a member of the Khmer Rouge, responsible for appalling and senseless atrocities years back, and she has not lost any of her proclivities.
Timothy Hallinan is just a bit too graphic in depicting the atrocities committed. At times we felt like going fast-forward to avoid disturbing content.
However, Poke Rafferty and his police friend seem to take the position that some people are beyond redemption and beyond appropriate legal punishment. When these criminals are killed or murdered, well, good riddance. In the end the criminals are eliminated and their executioners absolved.
A lot of the action takes place along Silom Road. It is interesting that the author talks regularly about the old Patpong, rather than about the now more successful entertainment venues (for adults) like Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. There are some interesting interactions between Poke and his girlfriend, trying to explain to readers the complexities of Thai culture, and the inevitable culture clash when foreigners digress from furtive sexual interactions, and try to establish a real emotional relationship with a Thai. As in most books by farangs about Thailand, ghosts and spirits have their place in the narrative, but is is not overdone here.
Timothy Hallinan website : You can buy the books online.
A (long) interview with Timothy Hallinan.
Timothy Hallinan : The Fourth Watcher [ISBN 978-0-06-125726-1]
In his second novel in the Poke Rafferty series, Timothy Hallinan mercifully sticks to 'regular' crimes like money counterfeiting, hostage taking, and thievery.
Poke's family expands in this novel, with his long disappeared father Frank emerging in Bangkok, together with a stunningly beautiful half-sister of Poke, the 19-year old much talented Ming Li.
Poke love life is all bliss, as he proposed to his long term fiancee Rose, and Miaow, a former street urchin, has apparently been successfully adopted.
Poke's family and his wife's business somehow get implicated in counterfeiting money, when they are provided with counterfeit Thai baht initially through their bank, and later, when counterfeit money is planted on the premises of their business. Instead of just hiding the money, or handing it over to the police, Poke feels like investigating, and in the process discovers that the North Koreans are all behind it. His investigations almost result in his good friend, the much more down to earth and reasonable Arthit being killed.
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The Fourth Watcher by Timothy Hallinan
Review coming soon... |
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Frank, Poke's father appears in Thailand, having escaped from China, where he was working as some sort of accountant, helping an old Chinese Triad leader, Chu. He not only appears but has with him a box of valuable rubies and important documents. Chu chases him down to Thailand, seeking his property and revenge. He has engaged a number of less than dependable Thai corrupt cops to handle his business. Frank is openly hostile seeing his father, who had abandoned his family in the U.S.A years ago, in favor of an old flame in China.
Trying to get hold of his father, Poke's close family members are kidnapped and held ransom. The location of Chu and Poke's family is discovered, and Poke thinks up a rather elaborate scheme to get his family free and Chu eliminated. Since Chu's location is known, and since most of his Thai police friends switch side, the logical think would have simply been to attack him, all guns blazing. What is a bit disturbing is that Poke somehow finds the time to investigate the much less urgent counterfeit money situation, before trying to free his family.
In this novel, Timothy Hallinan seems to have abandoned Patpong, and discovers Nana Plaza as a venue to meet his contacts. Who knows, maybe next he makes the logical step to Soi Cowboy.
As in his previous book (regarding paedophiles and the Khmer Rouge), Timothy Hallinan gives a short background note at the end, telling us North Korea indeed counterfeits a lot of money, and the country has also connections with the Chinese Triads for this purpose.
Timothy Hallinan : Breathing Water [ISBN 978-0-06-167223-1]
Beggars are ubiquitous in Bangkok. Lots of them are maimed, some crawling on their belly along the pavement. Women, sometimes elderly, craddle babies and toddlers. Young children sit alone on the sidewalk, with a minder hidden and observing nearby. Are some beggars maimed at birth on purpose? Are the women the real mothers of the babies? What's certain is that begging is a minor and well regulated industry in Bangkok. Do not think for a moment that they can just sit where they want or that it is a 'free' profession. Behind the scenes rather unsavory characters supervise the scene, and collect the money. Timothy Hallinan again dabbles into the sordid criminality on Bangkok's streets, when his main hero Poke Rafferty is contacted by his long time street kid friend Boo to help save trafficked babies and children from the street.
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Breathing Water by Timothy Hallinan
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To be sure, the major part of this latest novel, has a political undertone. Thaksin is out of the picture (or is he?), and through his characters Hallinan seems to express some sympathy towards him. After all he is reputed to have been on the side of the poor helpness masses of Isaan (Northeastern Thailand), whatever his other intents and policies. Now there is a real new star on the scene : Pan, a rags to riches character, obnoxious towards the elite, but cherished by the poor, and originating from Isaan itself. Could he become the first Isaan prime minister? It so happens that Poke Rafferty 'wins' the opportunity to write the biography of Pan in a poker game.
But as soon as this happens, he is in deep trouble. He is threatened by two different groups. Some want him to write the true biography, and provide a useful list of people to interview. Some want him to ditch the project. No way he can satisfy both groups. He and his family are under surveillance, and are being followed where ever they go. Rafferty has to protect his family and himself, gets beaten up, but of course, the more he is cornered the more risks he takes to solve the problem.
Hallinan does have his moments of irrationality. There is a surreal scene when Poke Rafferty consults his dentist to take care of a smashed hand. Pictures of his hand are taken with an X-ray machine that is normally used to evaluate dental problems.
In this novel Rafferty's family again plays an important part, as well as a few tens of street children. Children play an unusually large part in most of Hallinan's Bangkok thrillers, he may want to cut down a bit on this.
The French writer Balzac is quoted in the novel : "Behind every fortune lies a great crime". What is the crime of Pan, that some want revealed, and some want to keep hidden. Hallinan takes his inspiration from a true event in Thai history, a decade or so ago.
After reading all three of Hallinan's Bangkok thrillers, we find the first one the most interesting. Since the characters develop further throughout the different novels, we advise to start with the first book, and take it from there.
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