Minor Wife

"Moore pursues in even greater detail in Minor Wife the changing social roles of Thai women (changing, but not always quickly or for the better) and their relations among themselves and across class lines and other barriers."-- Vancouver Sun

"What distinguishes Moore from other foreign authors is how much more he understands its mystique, the psyche of its populace ..."---Vancouver Sun

My full apologies to Chris Moore for not doing this review sooner because Minor Wife proves that after ten years of outstanding work in Thailand,Cambodia and Vietnam,both Vinnie Calvino and his creator,Chris Moore,still have the powerful ability to get your attention and make you voluntarily go through thie story.Minor Wife is a very appropriate title in that much of Thai society is a contrast between major wives and mia nois,the lesser wife of a man.This novel takes one through these two worlds that can often intermesh in manners that are not pleasant whatsoever.Moore finds himself involved in this area and deals with it as he has before in his previous adventures in the darkest--and most interesting--hearts of Southeast Asia.It was also sanuk to see his expat friend from Cold Hit,McPhail,return with his own sarcastic outlook of expat life in Bangkok for people such as himself,Calvino and Quinn the upper-class level of expatriate.The chicken fight that McPhail arranges for a chicken named Calvino vs a chicken named Hitler is well worth the price of the book alone and likwise,the chaos of Songkran on the streets of Bangkok is entertaining to those of us who have been in Thailand and are fully expected to act like small children as we soak the hell out of anyone walking before us!For myself,however,I can honestly say that the part of this novel that I find most intriguing and a firm reminder of how long I've been reading about Calvino's life in Bangkok is the scene where he is in the room of his long-term secretary,Ratana.Chris shows us so much of the hidden thoughts and insights of both characters without fully taking you into their feelings or even allowing either character to make a complete verbal statement to the other one and this piece alone is perhaps the best part for fans such as myself who have been here from the start.The last segment to this fantastic story that got my personal attention was the character Darryl,a golf instructor who was badly injured in a motorcycle accident and is currently having troubles with using and pronouncing the proper word in the average sentance.I can relate to this because I was involved in a motorcycle accident in Chiang Mai in '99 that split my head open and left me in a coma for three weeks.It took me a long time to remember even the smallest details and there are times now when I forget names of family and friends and this is a deep time of fear for me.Chris' rendering of Darryl is yet another striking example of a writer who knows how to make his characters realistic and gets you to keep coming back looking for more.Please read this book for the best possible insight into the expat world of Thailand!

After being in Asia 20 plus years and reading a couple of Chris Moores books, his new one "Minor Wife" is a tale that moves quickly through to the murder plot but at the same time slows down to describe each of the main characters Detective Calvino comes in contact with the solve the case. Chris's accurate and detailed descriptions of people and places in Thailand makes you feel like you are sitting in the corner watching the drama unfold before you with the smell of mekong and coke so thick in the air you could cut it with a knife. Detective Calvino leads you thru the best and worst of Thailand from the seamy sides of life in brothels to the upscale country clubs of the rich and famous and untangles the knots that bind them together throughout the investigation that the officials have all but written off as an unsolveable and unworthy expenditure of assets to solve the case of a murdered prostitute nick named 8K, which is also her price for a round of bedroom olympics. A must read, I couldn't lay the book down until Calvino had led me all the way through the labyrinth of pimps, yings, golfers, and real estate tycoons. Too bad that Calvino is only a fictional character because you'll want to book a flight to Bangkok and have a drink with him after you finish the book.