The Queen of Patpong - (Poke Rafferty Thrillers) by Timothy Hallinan (Paperback)

About the Book

"Hallinan is a wordsmith of the first order, and he puts his great narrative skills into overdrive on this one....You won't read a better thriller this year!"--John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of Treasure Hunt Author Timothy Hallinan returns to Bangkok, Thailand--and plunges his protagonist, travel writer Poke Rafferty, into graver peril than ever before--in The Queen of Patpong, Hallinan's fourth Rafferty thriller following A Nail Through the Heart, The Fourth Watcher, and Breathing Water. Fans of John Burdett, Alexander McCall Smith, Daniel Silva, and Alan Furst who love being transported to exotic locales will be riveted when a nightmare figure from the past arrives at Poke Rafferty's door to bring chaos and danger to the lives of the people he loves.

Book Synopsis

"Hallinan is a wordsmith of the first order, and he puts his great narrative skills into overdrive on this one....You won't read a better thriller this year!"
--John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of Treasure Hunt

Author Timothy Hallinan returns to Bangkok, Thailand--and plunges his protagonist, travel writer Poke Rafferty, into graver peril than ever before--in The Queen of Patpong, Hallinan's fourth Rafferty thriller following A Nail Through the Heart, The Fourth Watcher, and Breathing Water. Fans of John Burdett, Alexander McCall Smith, Daniel Silva, and Alan Furst who love being transported to exotic locales will be riveted when a nightmare figure from the past arrives at Poke Rafferty's door to bring chaos and danger to the lives of the people he loves.

From the Back Cover

American travel writer Poke Rafferty has seen--and survived--some of the worst Bangkok has to offer. But now, finally married to his longtime love, Rose, and raising the young daughter, Miaow, they adopted from the streets, Poke believes his life is stable at last. Then a nightmare figure from Rose's time as a Patpong dancer barges into their world, threatening their peace, their love, their home, their lives. Suddenly Poke's only recourse is to uncover the whole truth of Rose's past--to follow the dark and twisting journey that turned a shy, awkward village teenager into the queen of Asia's most lurid red-light district: Patpong Road. But the secrets that await him may be almost impossible for Poke to accept--and even harder to survive.

Review Quotes

"Hallinan writes action scenes as good as, if not better than, any thriller writer in the business today.... Exciting, page-turning.... This is the fourth Poke Rafferty thriller and probably the best. Descriptions of the bar girls' lives are beautifully and sympathetically done; depictions of village life is authentic yet depressing; action sequences are fast-paced and realistic; and the final face-off against Howard is edge-of-your-seat exciting. All in all, one hell of a fine book." - Mystery Scene
"[The Queen of Patpong] is a breakthrough. The backstory concerning Rose's impoverished life in a squalid Isaan village, her father's plan to sell her into prostitution, and her escape to Bangkok and life in the sex trade is riveting, genuinely moving, and entirely plausible. Miaow's entry into a stormy adolescence, and her parents' efforts to deal with it, are knowingly written. Even Bangkok seems more richly detailed than in past adventures, and Poke's effort to condense The Tempest for Miaow's school's production is thoroughly charming. The Queen of Patpong is a terrific page-turner, and the surprising denouement will thrill readers who want the good guys--or girls--to win in the end." - Booklist (starred review)
"[The Queen of Patpong] is a breakthrough.... Riveting, genuinely, moving, and entirely plausible.... A terrific page-turner, and the surprising denouement will thrill readers who want the good guys--or girls-- to win in the end." - Booklist (starred review)
"Hallinan takes his Poke Rafferty series to the next level with this taut, offbeat and fast-moving thriller.... Hallinan's unlikely hero shines in this sometimes funny, always engrossing and undeniably authentic story that explores a dark and fascinating side of Thailand." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Compassionate.... [Hallinan casts] an empathetic but incisive eye on a class of people often reduced to mere caricature." - Publishers Weekly
"You'll learn more about Thailand and Thai people than you could from any tour book--and have fun doing it. It's gritty and sad, but with an overlay of hope and love.... Hallinan enchantingly captures the life of a Bangkok bar girl.... Enlightening, educational, and hugely entertaining." - San Jose Mercury News
"The Queen of Patpong is a razor-sharp, convincing, and heartbreaking glimpse of the dark underbelly of a culture, and a white-knuckle thriller all in one. Hold on tight and cancel your morning meetings. Hallinan is a stunning talent." - Gregg Hurwitz, author of Trust No One
"Timothy Hallinan's The Queen of Patpong is pure magic; a compelling thriller grown from a dark and treacherous soil.... Hallinan is courageous in his exploration of sexual exploitation, greed and corruption. I've read no one better on the subject." - Stephen Jay Schwartz, bestselling author of Boulevard
"The Queen of Patpong is simply outstanding. Compelling, heart-wrenching, and oh so satisfying.... Hallinan has once again proved to me why he is one of my all time favorite authors." - Brett Battles, author of Shadow of Betrayal
"Timothy Hallinan has written a thriller that hits every bulls-eye. An exotic locale, a human, all-too-believable protagonist, and a villain that would give James Lee Burke nightmares. The Queen of Patpong reads like a bullet train on fire." - Gar Anthony Haywood, Shamus Award-winning author of Cemetery Road
"Sexy, exotic, and profound. Timothy Hallinan makes noir poetry out of corruption and violence." - Laura Joh Rowland, USA Today bestselling author of the Sano Ichiro series
"Hallinan takes his Poke Rafferty series to the next level with this taut, offbeat and fast-moving thriller.... Hallinan's writing really shines: Readers can feel the grime and poverty of village life, smell the streets of Bangkok, taste the fear.... Hallinan's unlikely hero shines in this sometimes funny, always engrossing and undeniably authentic story that explores a dark and fascinating side of Thailand." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Ferociously compelling and deeply moving - the rare thriller that manages to keep you on the edge of your seat at the same time it opens your eyes and heart." - Lou Berney, author of Gutshot Straight
"I have loved all of Tim Hallinan's "Bangkok" novels, and his latest, The Queen of Patpong, is the best yet.... You won't read a better thriller this year!" - John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of Treasure Hunt
"Tim Hallinan is one of the great unsung mystery writers. His latest in the Poke Rafferty series is his best yet.... John Burdett writes about Bangkok. Tim Hallinan IS......Bangkok. I adore this book." - Ken Bruen, author of London Boulevard
"(A) tale of blackmail, extortion and revenge . . . spinning along at a speedy clip." - Washington Post on A Nail Through the Heart
"Timothy Hallinan is one of my favorite authors and this is one of my favorite series. Rich with locale and characterization, layered with humor and humanity, these books drop you right in the middle of a deeply-imagined world and make you fight your way out with the characters. He is a stunning talent." - Gregg Hurwitz, author of Trust No One, on the "Poke Rafferty" series
"I have loved all of Tim Hallinan's "Bangkok" novels, and his latest, The Queen of Patpong, is the best yet. Hallinan is a wordsmith of the first order, and he puts his great narrative skills into overdrive on this one. A great personal story with universal themes and even a dash of Shakespeare. You won't read a better thriller this year!" - John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of Treasure Hunt
"The Queen of Patpong is simply outstanding. Compelling, heart-wrenching, and oh so satisfying. I didn¹t think there was any way Tim Hallinan¹s Bangkok Thriller series could get any better, but it has. Hallinan has once again proved to me why he is one of my all time favorite authors." - Brett Battles, author of Shadow of Betrayal
"Timothy Hallinan's The Queen of Patpong is pure magic; a compelling thriller grown from a dark and treacherous soil. The brushstrokes that form the fully-realized character of Rose are revealed with honesty and compassion and it's impossible not to fall for her head-over-heels. Hallinan is courageous in his exploration of sexual exploitation, greed and corruption. I've read no one better on the subject." - Stephen Jay Schwartz, bestselling author of Boulevard