Bangkok 8 — John Burdett

A thriller with attitude to spare, Bangkok 8 is a sexy, razor-edged, often darkly hilarious novel set in one of the world's most exotic cities.

Witnessed by a throng of gaping onlookers, a charismatic Marine sergeant is murdered under a Bangkok bridge inside a bolted-shut Mercedes-Benz. Among the spectators are the only two cops in the city not on the take, but within moments one is murdered and his partner, Sonchai Jitpleecheep--a devout Buddhist and the son of a Thai bar girl and a long-gone Vietnam War G.I.--is hell-bent on wreaking revenge. On a vigilante mission to capture his partner's murderer, Sonchai is begrudgingly paired with a beautiful FBI agent named Jones and captures her heart in the process. In a city fueled by illicit drugs and infinite corruption, prostitution and priceless art, Sonchai's quest for vengeance takes him into a world much more sinister than he could have ever imagined.