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BREATHING WATER
by Timothy Hallinan
William Morrow, August 2009
352 pages
$24.99
ISBN: 0061672238


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

One thing I really love about crime fiction is that in addition to standalone individual books, a large number of authors also write continuing series. What's great about that is if you like a character or premise, you know there will be more to come as you finish each book. Each succeeding entry becomes like a visit with a friend that you are growing closer and closer to, almost like building a relationship with someone that you don't see often.

A series that I have liked since the very first book was published in 2007 (A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART) is the Poke Rafferty series by Timothy Hallinan. The protagonist is an American living in Bangkok with his Thai wife, Rose, and their adopted daughter, Miaow, who was once a street child. In my opinion, the series just keeps getting better and better. BREATHING WATER is truly an excellent book—I don't know how Hallinan can get any better—he has set the bar pretty high for himself!

As the book opens, Poke is engaged in a card game with an extremely powerful man by the name of Pan. In an effort to save face, the last hand is very high stakes. If Pan wins, then Poke must leave Thailand. If he loses, then Poke will be rewarded with the opportunity to write Pan's biography, something which he has steadfastly refused to agree to in the past. As it turns out, Poke wins—or does he? There is a contingent intent on making sure the book gets written, and another intent on making sure that it does not. As a result, Poke and his family are in danger. Poke is extremely resourceful when it comes to protecting them and is helped by his closest friend, Arthit, who is a police detective, along with one of his trusted colleagues.

Pan is an interesting character. On the one hand, he is enormously rich and powerful and possibly looking for a political career. Born in one of Thailand's poorest regions, he likes to rub high society's noses in their excesses. For example, he throws a lavish charity event at his home and makes sure not to muck out the pig pens, going so far as to set up fans to make sure the offensive odor pervades the atmosphere. On the other hand, he performs some heart-touching acts of kindness to help those who are less fortunate. As a result, the poor citizens idolize him. Truly, he's a man of many contradictions.

A secondary plot in the book focuses on a baby-selling ring. A group of beggars are managed by an organized crime group who forces them to turn over their earnings at the end of the day. To earn more sympathy (and, therefore, more money), the group provides the female beggars with a baby to hold as they work the streets. A new recruit, Da, is assigned to a baby boy whom she names Peek. She soon finds out that the babies are only with the women for a short while; it is only a matter of time before Peek will be taken from her and sold to a wealthy family. One of the street leaders, a teenager named Boo, helps Da and Peek escape that fate. Readers of previous books in the series will remember Boo as "Superman," a friend of Miaow's. Boo and Poke had a serious confrontation; it's interesting to see how they work through that in this situation.

BREATHING WATER was a wonderful book in every way. The characterization is immensely strong, from the complex persona of Pan, to the still-evolving relationships within Poke's family and his continuing acculturation into Thai life, to the poignant love of Arthit and Noi, and the return of the unusual Boo. The plot is very complex; there are many things going on but the sequencing and flow keeps it comprehensible. I do confess to getting a little bit lost in some of the political maneuvers of some of the characters. Hallinan sprinkles perfectly wrought phrases throughout the narrative, like gems falling on to the pages, never failing to delight. His observations on Thai life are fascinating and informative. As much as I liked the book, I did find an imperfection—the final denouement and showdown scene felt rushed to me after the careful development that had preceded it.

In some ways, it's harder to write a review for a book that you love than for one for which you have mixed feelings. The tendency is to want to put out all sorts of superlatives, to gush with adjectives. Please indulge me for just a moment: the book is extraordinary, magnificent, exceptional, heart-shaking, heart-breaking, brilliant. As I read this book, I laughed, I cried, I gasped—but I never, ever yawned. BREATHING WATER is a great book. Period.

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, August 2009

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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