The front cover of this book says “A novel of Bangkok”, which immediately makes me think of a previous book I read by Hallinan, A Nail Through the Heart. Check out my review of that book here. This book is clearly a sequel to the first one, but, does stand up well on it’s own. Hallinan explains just enough so new readers can follow along, without rewriting the previous book, and boring those who had read it. For me, it was a nice review, and I didn’t feel the need to go back to the first book and refresh my memory.

Bangkok is hot, humid, full of bright colors, and packed with people. I read this book during a freak but vivid heat wave, and felt like I was there, in Bangkok, following around the characters. Hallinan’s writing is quick and dirty, with bite sized chapters that always seem to end with me wanting more, and making me dive into the next chapter, (and then the next). Hallinan also has a gift for creating some really interesting turns of phrase, that had me laughing, despite the context.

A bad perfume is described as “Like if a flower threw up.” Chapters are given titles such as ” Karma is a Soft Drink”, and “Carrots were the Last Straw”, and “It Starts Ugly, and Gets Worse”.

The story is, once again, about Poke Rafferty, an American who went to Bangkok to write travel books about the darker side of life. He never left. He is still with his girlfriend, Rose, who is continuing to run a cleaning business with her friend Peachy. Miaow, his adopted daughter, is becoming a “normal” little girl. She adores the color pink, and loves to send text messages on her cell phone. Rafferty is finally part of a happy family. Naturally, this is when all hell breaks loose.

Rafferty has paid an ex spy to teach him how to do illegal things. He wants to experience some things for himself, so he can accurately write about it in his next book. When the book starts, he is being followed by three guys who he has spotted. Thinking back to one of his lessons, he realizes that there must be a “fourth watcher”, the one you don’t see. Neither Rose nor Miaow are happy about what he is doing.

This book has many complex things going on all at once. Peachy has a problem with counterfit money, and the government has become involved. Rafferty’s father has re-emerged, and wants to talk to him, despite the fact that Rafferty wants nothing to do with him. There are several layers of “family” involved. Then, someone kidnaps Rose, Miaow, and the wife of Rafferty’s friend, (who is a police officer). They want something nearly impossible, and a large portion of this book involves watching Rafferty try and figure out what to do to get them back. This is one intricate plan, and I kept going back and forth on my guess about if he would manage to pull it off or not. Most of the story takes place in just a few days time, and the book is a fast, exciting read.

In the 1980’s, three best friends, all twelve years old, go into the woods adjacent to their Dublin neighborhood. Two are never to be found again. The third, Adam Ryan, returns covered in blood, and in a state of shock. What happened to the two missing children? No one knows.

Twenty years later, the body of another twelve year old is found, in the exact same woods. The girl is found lying on top of an altar stone, in the middle of an active archeological dig. No one knows what happened to this girl, so detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Mattox are investigating. Rob has a secret, that only his partner Cassie knows. He is actually Adam Ryan, the boy who emerged from the woods all those years ago.

The story lines in this book branch off and intertwine, separate, and come back together again in unexpected places. It’s a forrest of details. Ryan is trying to remember just what happened in the woods when he was twelve, while working on this new case at the same time. In the process, he is slowly losing his mind. Cassie and Ryan are trying to keep their superiors from discovering exactly who Ryan really is, to avoid getting thrown off the new case. There is a deep friendship developing between Cassie and Ryan, and for much of the book, things kind of hang in the air, waiting to bloom or wither.

Then you have the new case. The body turns out to be Katy Devlin, a local “celebrity”, known because she is an amazing ballet dancer, who was about to attend a specialized school for dance. Many of the details about the way her body was found are questionable, making the case that much tougher to solve. Katy’s father is involved in a group that is trying to prevent the local government from putting a roadway through the woods, directly over where the archeological site sits on. There is a lot of tension between those who want the roadway, and those who are opposed to it, and this makes everything more complex. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Every new lead, each new clue only makes things more tangled. I had no idea what was coming next, or what to believe, until the very end.

Lurking beneath all of this, is something dark, unnamed, and sinister. Is there something supernatural in the woods, or is it just a figment of the imagination of the people who live near it? Or, is it just in Ryan’s mind?

I really enjoyed the way French writes. She paints a picture of the perfect summer day at the beginning, which completely drew me in. She describes everything in the book so well, from the way the sky and the woods looked, to how the cigarettes so many of the characters smoked smelled, to how hot or cold the temperature in the rooms was. I could almost hear the difference between Ryan’s British private school accent, and everyone else’s variety of Irish brogue. You feel like you are there, sitting on Ryan’s shoulder, living it all right along with him. Very compelling.

Readers who are looking for a thick mystery to dive into will love this book. I happen to really enjoy the Irish and British point of view the story takes place in, but, I can see where some American readers who only read books by American authors might have some difficulty assimilating at first. Even so, keep reading, it’s totally worth the mild culture shock. If you love French’s writing as much as I did, you will be delighted to know that she has another book out soon, called The Likeness, which I am dying to read.

This might very well be the most terrifying non-fiction book I have ever read. Burroughs takes the reader on a journey through some of his earliest childhood memories, painting a picture of what his father was really like. In short, his father was, in my opinion, a monster.

The book starts out with a very young Augusten and his mother fleeing the house, and hiding out in hotels, because they weren’t “safe” at home with his father. Which means that some of the earliest memories he has of his father are equated with “not safe”. This is for good reason. Not only is his father an alcoholic, he is also manipulative, sometimes violent, and definitely dangerous. The word “sociopath” comes to mind. Augusten has reoccurring nightmares that involve his father chasing him at night through the woods that surrounded their house. In these dreams, Augusten is certain that his father means to kill him, and thinks that it might be because his dad killed someone and buried the body in the woods. As an adult, Burroughs wonders how much of this nightmare was real, and how much was a dream? Could this have happened? It is from his exploration into that fragmented possible memory that this book about his father comes from.

What is certain is that his father was a monster. Young Augusten witnessed his father verbally abuse his mother, (and overheard him physically abuse her some nights as well). He would often wake up to find his father standing menacingly over him as he was asleep in bed. One of their dogs used to protect Augusten, (until his father somehow got the dog on his side). This is a man who would willingly and intentionally let pets die from neglect. He was also neglecting Augusten, refusing to give him any affection or attention at all whatsoever. There are painful stories in this book about how badly young Augusten just wanted his father to love him, only to be shunned over and over again. What makes this even more sad is that his father did not treat his older brother the same way. In fact, when Augusten and his mother have to flee the house again (and again), because they are “not safe from your father”, the older brother does not have to run away with them. Somehow, he is safe, but Augusten is not. It is heartbreaking to read how much young Augusten just wanted his father to love him, and to be denied that love, intentionally, by his horrible father.

I could never understand why his mother decided to return to his father at all, but she did. His mother was never very psychologically stable to begin with (as readers of Running With Scissors may recall), and I can see where living with Augusten’s father would push her over the edge. At one point, Augusten’s mother goes away to get some mental help for herself, leaving Augusten home, alone, for days on end with his father. The man mumbles words of gibberish to himself, while sharpening knives. He drinks for hours, and leaves Augusten to starve, hoping his mother will return home soon. Absolutely terrifying.

Do not expect to find any of Burroughs sarcastic wit in this book. This one is deadly serious, but just as achingly honest as his other books. In this book we have some snapshots of what it is like to grow up with a dad who is insane, and mean, and brutal, but can appear to be perfectly normal to outsiders when he wants to. Readers who have abusive family members will relate only too well to this book. I couldn’t put it down, and am haunted by it still, as I write this today.