A Nail Through the Heart
Timothy Hallinan
William Morrow/Harper Collins Publisher
A Nail Through the Heart is Timothy Hallinan’s first Bangkok
mystery/thriller and is an exceptional winner.
Poke Rafferty is a writer of travel books. Although in one of his last
books the subject was ‘how to find men in Bangkok that didn’t want to
be found’. Now he has a reputation of being a finder of lost people.
He has made Bangkok his home. When he first arrived in the City he
found a young girl, Miaow, who touched his heart and he has taken her
under his wing. Rafferty wants to adopt Miaow but there are many
obstacles to overcome before he can do so; not the least of which is
having money to grease the palms of certain officials. He has a
girlfriend, Rose, who means the world to him but their worlds are so
different they both wonder at times if they can bridge the differences
to have a relationship that lasts.
Clarissa Ulrich comes to the city looking for her lost Uncle. She knows
Uncle Claus as a good, kind person who took care of her and raised her
in a loving home. Arthit refers her toRafferty after she was ripped off
by some dishonest officers saying they would help her but after getting
paid just give her lip service. He agrees to help. The more Rafferty
delves into the life of Claus Ulrich in order to try to find him the
more he finds out that the Claus Clarissa knows and the Claus of
Bangkok are worlds apart in every way. There are secrets he finds along
the way that literally make him physically ill. This man repulses him
in the worst way but he promised to do what he can to find him.
Shortly after accepting the job from Clarissa he is contacted my two
thugs who want him to come with them. It isn’t so much of a question
but a demand in which he has no choice but to comply. He is taken to
the home - fortress - of Madame Wing. A cold, cruel paragon who
instills fear in those who have heard of her and those that work for
her.
Madame Wing wants him to find something that was stolen from her. She
offers him a lot of money to do so and he really doesn’t want to but he
knows that he will need the money for a successful adoption process.
Her only instructions are to keep him posted daily on his progress and
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES is he to look at the items that were stolen -
just return them.
Both of these jobs are leading him into the sordid parts of Bangkok
where anything is sold from drugs to sex and every dark corner has
gangs of adults or children willing to kill anyone that crosses their
paths. The danger he is in for pursuing the clues for both jobs invades
his home and threatens the pending adoption. Poke’s world is falling
apart and he needs to right it. The pressure is great since he has been
physically threatened and now Miaow and Rose are being threatened.
A Nail Through the Heart catches your attention from the very beginning
and is a wonderful story of 3 people surviving, loving and growing
close in a city that isn’t the easiest to live in. There is also a
great mystery with lots of twists and turns along the way which include
coming up against very dangerous people. Timothy Hallinan who has lived
in Thailand for 20 years does a superb job entwining the history of the
area into the novel making it a fascinating read. I will be
looking forward to more Bangkok mysteries by Mr. Hallinan.