Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Breathing Water by Timothy Hallinan. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.
Breathing Water by Timothy Hallinan
A Poke Rafferty Mystery
William Morrow (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-06-167223-8 (0061672238)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-167223-1 (9780061672231)
Publication Date: August 2009
List Price: $24.99
Review: Here's what Timothy Hallinan's third Bangkok thriller, Breathing Water, isn't: it isn't a murder mystery (there is no murder to solve), it isn't a police procedural (no crime has been committed to investigate), it most definitely isn't a cozy (no cats or recipes to try at home). It is, however, an exceptionally compelling novel of a man caught up in a sequences of events that are spiraling out of control for everyone involved ... with little chance that anyone can come out unscathed.
The man is journalist Poke Rafferty, who's participating in a staged poker game, though with real and unsuspecting players, at the request of his police buddies, which is being videotaped to teach casino owners how to spot cheaters. One of the players, however, takes exception when he apparently loses to Rafferty. He is Pan, the richest man in Thailand. He isn't pacified when he learns it was simply a training exercise, and challenges Rafferty to another game to save face. The stakes: if Pan wins, Rafferty must exit the country, leaving his wife and young daughter behind; if Pan loses, Rafferty gets to write a biography of Pan with Pan's full cooperation. The journalist in Rafferty understands that behind every great fortune is a great crime. Still, he really has no choice but to play.
Soon after winning the hand, Rafferty is threatened by two separate groups. One insists he not write the biography, the other insists he does. Both make it clear the consequences of his action -- or inaction -- are physical harm to him and his family. Rafferty's sure Pan is behind the "don't write" group, but Pan's sudden cooperation makes him doubtful. "I don't know what I think about him," Rafferty says at one point, "and a lot depends on who he really is." It seems inconceivable, but Rafferty suspects there might be a third, unknown, party involved. Soon it becomes obvious that Rafferty is in the middle of something much bigger than the stakes of a poker game, rather "a maze, an urban labyrinth with several ways in and probably only one safe way out."
The thrill in reading Breathing Water comes from the subtle, but relentless, escalation of tension in the story. A number of unexpected plot points, including Pan's apparent sudden change of heart with regard to the biography, keep the reader wary. There is also a separate subplot that is interweaved into the Rafferty / Pan storyline involving a woman and a child, and the street kids that were introduced in the first book of the series. Interesting and compelling in and of itself, the author does finally merge it into the main story as a way of getting the kids involved in Rafferty's scheme to salvage what he can of his situation; and while it's a welcome addition, it's not clear its inclusion is strictly necessary as it does tend to slow the pace at times. The poignant conclusion will no doubt bring a tear or two to one's eyes.
The title comes from a conversation Rafferty's police friend Arthit has with him. "Let me give you an image," Arthit says. "If it would clarify your situation to think about it visually, then imagine this: You're at the bottom of the Chao Phraya [River], wandering around on the riverbed without a map, and breathing water. You just haven't realized it yet." Breathing Water is really quite a remarkable and unusual novel and may be Hallinan's best to date.
Special thanks to Timothy Hallinan for providing an ARC of Breathing Water for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
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Synopsis (from the publisher): Behind every great fortune is a great crime ...
For American ex-pat writer Poke Rafferty, a late-night poker game delivers an unexpected prize: an "opportunity" to write the biography of Khun Pan, a flamboyant, vulgar, self-made billionaire with a criminal past and far-reaching political ambitions. The win seems like a stroke of luck, but as with so many things in vibrant, seductive, contradictory Bangkok—a city of innocence and evil, power and poverty—the allure of appearances masks something much darker. Within a few hours of folding his cards, Rafferty, his wife, Rose, beloved adopted daughter, Miaow, and best friend, Arthit, an honest Bangkok cop, have become pawns in a political struggle among some of Thailand's richest, most powerful, and most ruthless people.
A hero to the poor and dispossessed, Pan is like a bone in the throats of the beautiful, sophisticated "good" people who own and control every facet of Thailand and want more. There are many who would prefer that a book, especially a sympathetic book, stay unwritten. And there are others who want to expose Pan's darker secrets, information useful in a preemptive strike against this profligate billionaire who can threaten their hold on power—a situation they will go to murderous lengths to prevent.
Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't, Rafferty is breathing water and sinking deeper in a sea of intrigue with each passing hour. The trouble multiplies when a missing young street friend of Miaow's reappears, needing Rafferty's help to protect an innocent village girl trapped in a baby-selling ring. Pushed ever closer to the abyss, Rafferty has one chance to get them all out alive. But to succeed, this foreigner must do the impossible—keep a cool Thai heart.
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