The Godfather of Kathmandu

John Burdett’s latest novel in the Sonchai Jitpleecheep series is The Godfather of Kathmandu and was, as usual an enjoyable read. However, there are some flaws in his books and the main one in this is the obvious insertions of pop culture references like the Godfather trilogy and other cultural references thrust into the murder scene of the fictionalized Hollywood director Frank Charles. The strengths lie in his depictions of Bangkok and the battle between Police Colonel Vikron and Army General Zinna. The subplot about the huge heroin deal that makes the rivals business partners is almost eclipses the murder investigation of Frank Charles. There might be too many Wikipeida references and exposition about the different types of Buddhism, but that’s one of the things that separates Burdett from other crime novelists.