John Burdett (born 1951) is an English crime novelist. He is the bestselling author of ''Bangkok 8'' and its sequels. His most recent novel in this series, ''The Bangkok Asset'', was published on 4 August 2015.

Biography

Burdett was born in London, England, the son of a London policeman. Burdett is a former lawyer who practised in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. As of 2007, he split his time between southwestern France and

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Novels

''The Last Six Million Seconds''

Set in Hong Kong in April and May 1997, just before the British turnover of the territory to mainland China, this novel deals with a horrific murder investigation. Three severed heads are found in a floating garbage bag on the maritime border between Hong Kong territory and China. Fortunately, they match the three DNA profiles found in a vat of minced human meat that had been abandoned in a warehouse. Political implications of the crime may complicate the turnover, and political pressure is brought both to halt the investigation and to hurry it. The detective, a half-Chinese half-Irish HK resident, finds himself threatened by both sides—all the more so when a WMD smuggling plot that threatens to force outright war between Britain and China is uncovered.

''The Sonchai Jitpleecheep Series''

The Sonchai Jitpleecheep series of

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

s is mainly set in

and consists of six books: ''Bangkok 8'', ''Bangkok Tattoo'', '' Bangkok Haunts'', ''The Godfather of Kathmandu'', ''Vulture Peak'', and ''The Bangkok Asset''. They centre on the philosophical Thai Buddhist detective, Sonchai Jitpleecheep, and his meditative internal dialogues. Sonchai is a "'' leuk krung''" or half-caste. He is the son of a former "''rented-wife''" (a type of prostitute) and a "''

farang Farang ( fa, فرنگ) is a Persian (and Southeast Asian) word that originally referred to the Franks (the major Germanic tribe) and later came to refer to White Europeans in general. The word "Farang" is a cognate and originates from Old F ...

.''" His father was a U.S. military officer whom he never knew. Sonchai has spent much of his childhood in Europe and the U.S.. A born "outsider", he is also seemingly unbribeable, which increases his alienation from his colleagues. The novels involve Thailand's

sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide Sex worker, sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of s ...

and the

red-light districts A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...

of Bangkok. Sexual matters are part of the narrative, including the juxtaposition of often conflicting Thai and Western norms and

mores Mores (, sometimes ; , plural form of singular , meaning "manner, custom, usage, or habit") are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable ...

. They have been widely praised for the breadth and depth of understanding of a number of different cultures. Apart from the Anglo-Saxon cultural traditions with which he was brought up, Burdett has shown considerable familiarity with Confucian, Buddhist, Latin and North African societies, due to his extensive travels. The novels contain larger-than-life characters intertwined with a wry sense of humour and bizarre crimes. The crimes include execution by the release of a container full of cobra snakes into a car where the driver is forcibly prevented from escaping (''Bangkok 8''), the theft of valuable tattoos (and their associated human skin) off the backs' of murder victims (''Bangkok Tattoo''), and homicide related to the production of a

snuff Snuff may refer to: Tobacco * Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose ** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco ** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste Media and entertainment * Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder Literat ...

video (''Bangkok Haunts''). Juxtaposed is the investigative nonchalance and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

acceptance of an "''

arhat In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

''" detective who can meditate even in a Bangkok traffic-jam. Many popular

shamanistic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

superstitions that have carried over into Buddhism in Thailand are explored. Past lives (

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

) and

hungry ghosts Hungry ghost is a concept in Buddhism, and Chinese traditional religion, representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way. The terms ' literally "hungry ghost", are the Chinese translation of the term ''pret ...

also contribute to the atmosphere and texture.

Film

All of Burdett's published books have been optioned for films, but due to the exotic location and multi-racial characters, film makers have found it difficult to find appropriate 'stars' and screenplays. ''Bangkok 8'' was optioned by Millennium Films, which produced the fourth movie in the ''

Rambo Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...

'' series in Thailand, and is serious about making the film according to Burdett.At Home Amid the Red Lights
''The New York Times'', 25 October 2007 Producer John Thompson scouted locations in Bangkok, and

James McTeigue James McTeigue (born December 29, 1967) is an Australian film and television director. He has been an assistant director on many films, including '' Dark City'' (1998), the ''Matrix'' trilogy (1999–2003) and '' Star Wars: Episode II – Atta ...

, the director of ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing serial in the British antholog ...

'', had been hired to direct, but production looks to have been cancelled.http://www.beyondhollywood.com/2007/06/james-mcteigue-to-direct-bangkok-8/

The Sonchai Jitpleecheep Series

# ''Bangkok 8: A Novel'', Alfred A. Knopf (2003) # ''Bangkok Tattoo'', Vintage Reprint edition (11 July 2006) # ''Bangkok Haunts'', Alfred A. Knopf (2007) # ''The Godfather of Kathmandu'', Alfred A. Knopf (2010) # ''Vulture Peak'', Alfred A. Knopf (2012) # ''The Bangkok Asset'', Alfred A. Knopf (2015)

Other published works

*''A Personal History of Thirst'', William Morrow & Co (February 1996), *''The Last Six Million Seconds'', Hodder & Stoughton (2 January 1997), *''Freedom Angel'', Ai Press (July 2011) *''Death Effect'', Kokoro Press (April 2017)

References

External links

John-Burdett.com
Official Website

a review of ''Bangkok Haunts'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Burdett, John English crime fiction writers Living people 1951 births Writers from London