Breathing Water (Poke Rafferty Thrillers) - Hardcover

Hallinan, Timothy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061672238 ISBN 13: 9780061672231

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 2009

Synopsis

Innocence and evil, power and poverty collide on the neon streets and in the palatial mansions of Bangkok in this latest tale of intrigue and suspense from the author of The Fourth Watcher and Nail through the Heart. 20,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

"Action-packed and steamily atmospheric, and as cleverly plotted a mystery as you are likely to read this year. " -- www.bookpage.com

"The latest entry in the compelling "Bangkok Thriller" series. I love this series because the Bangkok setting offers a platform for Hallinan to explore social and ethical conventions. (With) a strong theme supporting love, family and loyalty while challenging our Western preconceptions of what those things should really mean."--San Jose Mercury News

"Captures the essence of life in Bangkok and delivers all the mystery, intrigue and breathtaking excitement one comes to expect from the Poke Rafferty series of superb crime thriller novels. With this one, author Hallinan is at the top of his game. "--www.perfecttext.com

"This is a book that can be enjoyed on many levels. The mystery, danger, and intrigue satisfy the lover of mystery and thriller, while the relationships give the story depth. Especially nice is the relationship between Rafferty and Arthit, one of the few honest cops in Bangkok."--www.bloggernews.net/122019

"If you have not yet discovered the Poke Rafferty/Bangkok Thriller series, it's time to put on a wetsuit and start Breathing Water. A rich, multi-leveled, intelligent thriller series that will tickle you to laugh, challenge you to think, and buckle you in for an adventurous ride through Bangkok."--Jen's Book Thoughts

"A Nail Through the Heart was a revelation, yet The Fourth Watcher was a leap forward. Breathing Water takes another step. It's a book you'd be sorry to finish if you weren't so emotionally exhausted by the end. Look for it on award lists at the end of the year."--www.newmysteryreader.com

"Hallinan has crafted a fast-paced, high-energy thriller that grabs you from the very first moment and doesn't let up . . . . Breathing Water is indeed the best crime fiction I've read, not only this year, but in the past ten. "--www.thenovelblog.com

"The thrill in reading Breathing Water comes from the subtle but relentless escalation of tension in the story. . . . The poignant conclusion will no doubt bring a tear or two to one's eyes. A remarkable and unusual novel and may be Hallinan's best to date. "--www.mysteriousreviews.com

"Fast-paced...Beautifully written, with vivid descriptions."--Cambodia Daily

"The book is extraordinary, magnificent, exceptional, heart-shaking, heart-breaking, brilliant. As I read this book, I laughed, I cried, I gasped-but I never, ever yawned. BREATHING WATER is a great book. "--www.reviewingtheevidence.com

From the Back Cover:

Behind every great fortune is a great crime . . .

For American ex-pat writer Poke Rafferty, a late-night poker game delivers an unexpected prize: an "opportunity" to write the biography of Khun Pan, a flamboyant, vulgar, self-made billionaire with a criminal past and far-reaching political ambitions. The win seems like a stroke of luck, but as with so many things in vibrant, seductive, contradictory Bangkok—a city of innocence and evil, power and poverty—the allure of appearances masks something much darker. Within a few hours of folding his cards, Rafferty, his wife, Rose, beloved ­adopted daughter, Miaow, and best friend, Arthit, an honest Bangkok cop, have become pawns in a political struggle among some of Thailand's richest, most powerful, and most ruthless people.

A hero to the poor and dispossessed, Pan is like a bone in the throats of the beautiful, sophisticated "good" people who own and control every facet of Thailand and want more. There are many who would prefer that a book, especially a sympathetic book, stay unwritten. And there are others who want to expose Pan's darker secrets, information useful in a preemptive strike against this profligate billionaire who can threaten their hold on power—a situation they will go to murderous lengths to prevent.

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't, Rafferty is breathing water and sinking deeper in a sea of intrigue with each passing hour. The trouble multiplies when a missing young street friend of Miaow's reappears, needing Rafferty's help to protect an innocent village girl trapped in a baby-selling ring. Pushed ever closer to the abyss, Rafferty has one chance to get them all out alive. But to succeed, this foreigner must do the impossible—keep a cool Thai heart.

Set in the Thailand of today's headlines—a nation of unrest, political uncertainty, corruption, and tradition, where the future looks dangerously precarious—Breathing Water is the story of a deadly game in which the stakes are enormous and life is literally cheap. The most compelling Poke Rafferty thriller yet, it is a journey that goes beyond the illusion of order and stability into a world where a wrong turn can lead to chaos, and where love and courage may not be enough to hold back the darkness.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0061672238
• ISBN 13: 9780061672231
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 346