Jakarta Shadows - Softcover

Brayne, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0953589587 ISBN 13: 9780953589586

Publisher: Tindal st Pr Ltd, 2003

Synopsis

"There are echoes of Graham Greene in this stylish, thought-provoking thriller that reeks of the damp heat, violence, and corruption of Indonesia."  —Bookseller

In Jakarta, Indonesia, the city is edgy after the fall of president Soeharto, the country engulfed in religious strife and urban violence. Most westerners have fled, but rootless, disenchanted Graham Young has decided to stay. After a skin-crawling encounter in the Hotel Platinum, Graham gets caught up in Detective Suprianto's investigation of a rash of mysterious sex killings. As Jakarta closes in, Graham becomes further alienated from the sterile comforts of ex-pat life—neither East nor West offers solace. With terror everywhere, Graham sidesteps sinister forces and slides from one bizarre locale to another—from a glitzy mall buzzing with the would-be rich to the Moonbeam for pool games with "butterflies of the night." Add to that a thumbprint in blood and malevolent interrogation and his paranoia begins to reach almost unbearable levels. Around every corner there seems to loom the shadows of treachery and unspoken guilt.

About this title

About the Author

Alan Brayne is the author of the additional two books in this trilogy, Kuta Bubbles and Lombok Flames.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Readers will have a tough time believing this is the author's first novel: something this good doesn't just spring out of nowhere. Graham Young, an Englishman living in Jakarta, Indonesia, has a bewildering conversation with a stranger in a bar; hours later, a policeman, Detective Suprianto, appears at Graham's door. It turns out that the stranger in the bar was, or might have been, "Dr. White," the suspected perpetrator of a series of killings in the area; to make matters more baffling, the man is now dead. Following this revelation, Graham finds himself (or so it seems) pursued by unnamed people who want him dead or, at the least, very scared. Does Detective Suprianto think Graham has murdered Dr. White? If he really does believe Graham is innocent, then is he using him to catch White's killer, or perhaps even White himself? Or is it possible that Graham is the elusive Dr. White? Brayne, who has lived in Jakarta since 1996, catapults onto the mystery scene with a lush, captivating thriller. It's a safe bet that most of this novel's potential North American readers won't have set foot in Indonesia, but, through Brayne's precise, evocative descriptions and lively characters, they will feel as though they've just spent several weeks there. A wonderful debut from a writer who deserves a large audience. David Pitt
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About this edition

• Publisher: Tindal st Pr Ltd
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0953589587
• ISBN 13: 9780953589586
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256