Spirit House

On lazy days I look for a novel that will take me into an unexplored world, will carry me along so that I don't move from the chair. Maybe once in 3 years, I find such a novel and then tell everybody to leave me alone so I can read it. After reading "Infidelity Index" I hoped that this might be as good. It is a fluid, fun read and I just sat back and ate it up, pushing away all distractions until it was done. I hope Moore gets the audience he deserves. I have a friend who burnt his eyes out on the kindle edition and since I have been singing his praises, there is a little Moore cult forming, as it should. This book is fantastic. Get on it.

I have read many, many mysteries and thrillers, and I was really happy to come across this particular book by Christopher G. Moore. It's a little bit different than what I was used to reading. His protagonist is definitely reminiscent of the detectives from film noir movies. But, wow, what a great setting for a story! I really enjoyed being taken to Bangkok by this author. It made the book incredibly interesting and definitely was a learning experience for me. I guess that is why I enjoyed it so much. I thought the plot was very good, the characters were interesting, and, as a bonus, I got to learn about a very exotic locale. When a book offers me both entertainment and the opportunity to learn something new, well, that is just about as close as I can get to heaven, here on earth. I think this book would also appeal to male readers, either as well as, or maybe even more so, than to female readers. So many of the thrillers I read seemed geared to a female audience. I think it is great that this mystery series could appeal to readers of either sex. I certainly look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Through the underbelly Bangkok, Vincent Calvino confronts crime bosses, corrupt cops, prostitutes, slum dwellers, and addicts to unravel this murder mystery. Where the truth often takes the back seat to other other cultural values, Thailand is a perfect setting for the novel. The reader is positioned right on the edge between the expat life and local community- getting real insight into both worlds. It feels like you could get sucked into the Bangkok mess at any moment. To this end, Christopher Moore is a very clever author, with a style closer to Film Noir rather than the everyday P.I./mystery writers. His protagonist, Vincent Calvino, is an unassuming hero who regularly drinks, visits the red lights of Patpong, and barely scrapes by. Yet, he preserves relentlessly where few others do (or are willing to go). He is certainly not against rolling up his sleeves and getting dirty, or bloody, whatever the case may be.

Brilliant! Plot, pacing, characters, and - above all - a totally immersive sense of place; this one has it all. I was disappointed not to find anything else by Mr. Moore avaliable for the Kindle. Hopefully that will be rectified soon.

The locale is Bangkok, Thailand and the story begins with the dream or nightmare of Vincent Calvino. Calvino is an ex-lawyer, ex-cop who does private investigation work - when he can get it. He is a drunk and also uses whores, smokes, etc. His dream is about a friend who was recently killed and in the dream someone is coming after him as well. He wakes from this dream/nightmare at his apartment next to a Thai whore whose name he has forgotten - again. That is because he was so inebriated he couldn't remember. His housekeeper, Mrs. Jamthong - who is a hoot all by herself!, wakes him yelling at him that he is late for work and to come eat breakfast. The prostitute leaves and Calvino (known to the Thais as "Khun Winee" since they can't pronounce the "v" for "Vinee") gets to the table to read the paper. He sees a photo of a man slumped over a desk - dead. His assistant, Ratana, calls and tells him to call her as soon as he is through with his meal. He recognizes he knows the dead "farang" - white man or foreigner to the Thais. He is a Brit named Ben Hoadley. He gets to his office and finds that Ben Hoadley's father in England wants Calvino to investigate his son's murder. The Thai newspaper reported that a "thinner addict" had done the deed. Into his office comes Kiko, friend and romantic interest, who knows the thinner addict, Lek, and swears that he could not have done it. Thus begins an amazing string of events as Calvino works with Kiko, Pratt (a friend in the Bangkok police) and uncovers the motives and events of why first Jeff Logan and then Ben Hoadley and during the course of the story several others were murdered. How Calvino gets to the resolution amid the extreme dangers he and others around him face is a fantastic tale of suspense, mystery, intrigue and the underworld. As a woman, I would say that Vincent Calvino is a true man's man and the kind of detective that men more than women would enjoy reading about. The Spirit House is the first of the many novels that Mr. Moore has written about Calvino. The details and descriptions are very image and thought provoking. I highly recommend it!