Christopher G. Moore’s internationally-acclaimed, prize-winning series starring Vincent Calvino, disbarred American lawyer turned Bangkok P.I. finally comes to North America with The Risk of Infidelity Index, a gripping novel set in a superbly textured, masterfully rendered Bangkok. When his surveillance of a major drug piracy ring ends in definitive video evidence, it looks like Vincent Calvino’s fortunes are about to turn. But when the client dies of a heart attack and Calvino finds the body of a murdered massage girl downstairs, the authorities get suspicious of the farang who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. To make matters worse, with the dead client unable to pay, Calvino is desperate and forced to take on a job he doesn’t want: following husbands for jealous expat housewives. Featuring a brilliant cast of characters including a wealthy Thai celebrity protected by important political connections, a lawyer with perfect memory, a Shakespeare-quoting police colonel, and Calvino’s loyal assistant, Ratana, The Risk of Infidelity Index is a thrilling read from an important name in literary crime fiction.
Moore, whose novels have been translated into German, Japanese and eight other languages, makes his U.S. debut with a low-key thriller, part of a series to feature Vincent Calvino, a disbarred American lawyer working as a PI in Bangkok, Thailand. An apparent suicide in a failing massage parlor below Calvino's office may be related to the suspicious heart attack of his biggest client, attorney Andrew Danielson. When Danielson's law firm refuses to pay Calvino's outstanding fees, luck arrives in the form of prissy attorney John Lovell. Lovell has been cut loose from the same law firm because of fears he might pry into Danielson's death. He also knows a lot about local celebrity Khun Weerawat's shady deals, which may be relevant to Calvino's investigations for Danielson. As Calvino tries to connect the dots and find out what happened to Danielson, he also attempts to solicit business from four women afraid their husbands are cheating on them. The breezy quality of the scenes with the suspicious wives, the lack of depth to Calvino's character and a predictable resolution undermine an otherwise complex, intelligent novel. (Jan.)
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