The Scoreless Thai (Evan Tanner, 4)

Block delivers as usual. Well written, funny, poiniant, really captures the world of the late 60's.

Barry Eisler, Vince Flynn, and Brad Thor fans will love this Evan Tanner series, if they can keep their sense of humor and have some notion of what the world was like during the Cold War. I read the entire series in a heartbeat, every book in the series is book-candy. You must, however, read the first in the series first, The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep.

According to the author's note in the back of this book, "The Scoreless Thai," is the reprint of Block's 1986 novel "Two for Tanner." Block obviously likes puns in his titles and was, he says, puzzled and disappointed at the pointless title devised by the 1986 publisher. Anyway, the story has to do with Evan Tanner's adventures while venturing through southeast Asia in search of his girl friend, a jazz singer abducted during a tour. The title "The Scoreless Thai" derives from the traveling companion Tanner acquires -- a young Thai lad aching to lose his virginity. (Or did the young lad derive from the title?) The deal is that for having helped Tanner escape imprisonment, Tanner will see that this deflowering is accomplished. This is an amusing little novel with plenty of action. It doesn't suffer from the excessive cuteness Block can sometimes employ.