Winner of the German Critics Award in 2004 and the Spanish Premier Special Director's Award Semana Negra in 2007, that pedigree alone seems as good a reason as any to have a look at this. But that doesn't make allowances for the setting which is fascinating, and the style which is an interesting combination of descriptive, lyrical noir.
From the Blurb:
A Bangkok-based private detective, Vincent Calvino, takes a case in Cambodia. In the early 1990s, at the end of the devastating civil war, UN peacekeeping forces try to keep the lid on the violence. Gunfire is heard nightly in Phnom Penh, where Vietnamese prostitutes ply their trade among UN peacekeepers from the balcony of the Lido Bar.
In the early 1990s, at the end of the devastating civil war UN peacekeeping forces try to keep the lid on the violence. Gunfire can still be heard nightly in Phnom Penh, where Vietnamese prostitutes try to hook UN peacekeepers from the balcony of the Lido Bar.
Calvino traces leads on a missing farang from Bangkok to war-torn Cambodia, through the Russian market, hospitals, nightclubs, news briefings, and UNTAC Headquarters. Calvino’s buddy, Colonel Pratt, knows something that Calvino does not: the missing man is connected with the jewels stolen from the Saudi royal family. Calvino quickly finds out that he is not the only one looking for the missing farang.