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lavoiture's review against another edition
4.0
I keep telling myself I'm not going to buy these on my Kindle because they're just suspense/thriller novels, but they're really good...
sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the Bangkok setting, the writing, and the characters but the plot was a bit far fetched for my liking. Listened to the audio version which was read by Victor Bevine.
emilyknap's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, this book is well done. I enjoy the characters. Poke is a genuinely good guy who uses his skills to help children and the people he cares for. I love Miaow and the elusive "superman" makes an appearance which made me happy. This book pretty much covers every aspect of the dark side of Thailand. Politics, cops (good and bad), the extremely rich and extremely poor and follows Poke as he navigates his way though the mess that has been created for him. The only problem I had was keeping all of the "bad guy" characters straight. It got confusing in the end when everyone was flipping and I had a hard time remembering who was in cahoots with who. This is an easy, fast paced novel that I would recommend if you are interested in finding justice for the corrupt.
P. 340
P. 340
liberrydude's review against another edition
3.0
Poke helps his cop buddy with a poker sting and ends up in a gamble that threatens his family. The richest self made man in Thailand loses a bet and Poke gets to write his bio. However, Poke's family is soon threatened by competing forces who don't want the book published. Then he gets threatened if he doesn't publish it. Like Sherlock Holmes Poke relies on the unseen street children to help him out as he eludes the many forces tracking his daily activities. A good yarn that keeps you guessing throughout as to who is behind the latest transgression. I could feel the humidity dripping off the pages of this one.
pauldaly's review against another edition
3.0
Much as I like Hallinan’s other characters, burglar Junior Bender in one series and private eye Simeon Grist in the other, I just can’t seem to warm to his main man, writer Poke Rafferty. Or maybe it’s the awfulness of the Bangkok setting, an unreleaved urban jungle with its constant supply of poor women and abandoned feral kids to feed the male adult predators. An honest depiction I’m sure and probably no fiction can match the awfulness of the real city, a place I don’t want to spent much time, whether in the real world or this one.
sceadugenga's review against another edition
4.0
Yes, a good read.
One thing bothered me, Boo and Poke are friends again, Did I miss something in The Fourth Watcher?
The split in Book one was pretty serious and their reunion seems to be a bit casual.
One thing bothered me, Boo and Poke are friends again, Did I miss something in The Fourth Watcher?
The split in Book one was pretty serious and their reunion seems to be a bit casual.
eakre's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
vkemp's review
5.0
Poke Rafferty is back. Poke and his friend, Arthit, an honest Bangkok cop, are involved in a poker game, trying to catch some criminals. Poke wins the opportunity to write the biography of Pan, a local hero who wants to run for political office, but has some skeletons in his closet that need cleaning. Poke is beset on two sides: one wants to keep him from writing the biography for fear of what it will expose about crime in Bangkok and another who demands he write the book to demonstrate that Pan is not all his mythology says he is. Poke, his wife, Rose and adopted daughter, Miaow, are the targets of several kidnapping and assassination attempts. Meanwhile, Boo, a street urchin from a previous book is back with Da and her baby, Peep, who are trying to escape the clutches of a baby-selling scheme run by another gangster in Bangkok. The excitement is non-stop.
I really enjoy the adventures of Poke Rafferty, knight in rusty armor. He always tries to do the right thing for everyone, especially his friends and family. I waited a while to read this because the next book in the series is due out shortly. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to make sense of the current political uproar in Thailand. It will give you a good understanding of what is happening and why.
I really enjoy the adventures of Poke Rafferty, knight in rusty armor. He always tries to do the right thing for everyone, especially his friends and family. I waited a while to read this because the next book in the series is due out shortly. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to make sense of the current political uproar in Thailand. It will give you a good understanding of what is happening and why.
catmum's review
5.0
Poke is given the opportunity to write the biography of a Thai Robin Hood, a poor man made very wealthy who gives back to the people of his province. But Poke and his family are threatened with death if he does write it, and threatened with death if he doesn't.
I don't know what I am most impressed with in Hallinan's books: the overall quality of the writing that brings Bangkok with all it's sights and smells so vividly to life, or the fact that he can write children better than anyone I have ever read. There is nothing cloying or cutesy, or for that matter, superhuman, about Miaow and Boo and Da. They have been to hell and back but they are still real kids. I cannot say enough about these books.
I don't know what I am most impressed with in Hallinan's books: the overall quality of the writing that brings Bangkok with all it's sights and smells so vividly to life, or the fact that he can write children better than anyone I have ever read. There is nothing cloying or cutesy, or for that matter, superhuman, about Miaow and Boo and Da. They have been to hell and back but they are still real kids. I cannot say enough about these books.