Customer Reviews

Bangkok Laws

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The book is awful. A couple quick quotes:
Snap.
Snap.
Snap.
____and
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.

Great writing, huh? The book is filled with these vapid one two four word
paragraphs.

A dictum: show don't tell. Almost all the big moments in the book are told not shown. Including the entire ending.

And the book reads as if the author is rubbing himself all the way through. Even with that, the "sex crimes" featured as the book's reason for being are not imagined, they're derived from images of "bukake" scattered around on the internet.

And more: every woman in the book is either "hot" or "very hot." There is zero character development, even the hero has only four unchanging traits: he's a wise-ass, he's a sponge, he's a p-hound, and he's a permissive boss, a head of homicide who let's his sassy female partner do and say whatever she wants. One of the institutions featured in the book is a law firm. Unfortunately, we get no sense of the place. Even more striking, the hero's a cop, but there is absolutely no sense of a police department anywhere.

And, the ending, told not shown, makes no sense. The info is supposedly gleaned from the main murderer's computer -- but the guy explicitly said that he had made no such record. And beyond senseless and stupid, the ending is boring.

I got through the whole thing by skipping 75 percent of the one sentence paragraphs once I realized that they were almost always redundant. I mean, one of those sequences was fourteen sentences long.
It went on.
And on.
With a vengeance.
Hump.
Lumber.
Slog.
Onward ever onward.
No quitting.
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
Never.
Ugh.
A wretched novel.

There's no other way to say it, I'm hooked on Bryson Coventry AND the man who brought him to life. Hansen's other characters change with each story and are so full of life and so vivid that unfortunately, I can never put one down until it's finished. This story deals with Bangkok white slavery and a mega law firm As usual, he is working on more than one case and they begin to collide as the body count rises. Naturally it wouodn't be truly Coventry if he didn't have a string of females at his beck and call but maybe Ja'Von will be different and the start of a long romance. No matter how it plays out, Hansen contines to be the best. I can't wait for "Immortal Laws." I'm sure it will just as suspenseful as the others.
Andra Tracy

Twenty-five year old Page Alexander's life was about to change,although she would have never dreamed the road she was about to travel would be a nightmare. She had already learned that Denver didn't have many jobs for a newly licensed attorney, so when she was approached by a mysterious woman who wanted to hire her for an even more mysterious job she decided to give it a go, never realizing from that moment on her life would be in danger. As her new boss Jo'Von Deveraux revealed her story of being forced into sexual slavery in Bangkok, and the plot she had conceived to seek her revenge, Page was horrified but still felt drawn to continue.
In the meantime Denver's Detective Bryson Coventry is again up to his neck in missing women and dead bodies that involve the same sinister people that had enslaved Jo'Von.This connection draws our Detective Coventy to our amature detectives, Page and Jo'Von..
The two women, Jo'Von and Page set out on a quest to find the ones behind these kidnappings before another woman is destroyed, never realizing how deep this would take them into horrifying crimes. Will they be too late? This leads them to some very unscrupulous people and the story keeps you scratching your head not knowing are they friend or foe to our young women; just who can they trust? How many near death situations can they encounter? The pace quickens!
I'm not going to reveal a lot about the storyline of this novel. Mainly because to me it is much more complex than any of Mr. Hansen's previous works. Now, understand this is a good thing, because he gives you layer upon layer of mystery, suspicion, suspense and continues to build upon the total insanity and horror of the actual story and players behind the hideous crimes being committed. The story becomes so intense at times that you wonder how much further it can go without having an ending, but it does. As always, Mr. Hansen's characters are extremely well defined, however, please be forewarned before reading that there is strong sexual content in this work and strong uncensored language.
Indeed, you will find a storyline that is probably more real-to-life than you care to imagine, strong believable characters, both hideous and lovable, and a knock-out conclusion, that trust me, you definitely will never see coming. Another top-of-the-line winner for Mr. Hansen and one you do not want to miss.

This is the fifth book I have read by this author and the twists and turns keep comming! I can't wait to see what messes Coventry finds himself in the next Laws book! Definitely a page turner and highly recomended!

BANGKOK LAWS by Jim Hansen: Thirty four year old Bryson Coventry, head of Denver's homicide unit and serial womanizer, has survived four previous outings but this one may be his undoing, as he becomes involved in the collateral damage of a global killer. Newly licensed attorney Paige Alexander is employed on her very first case. It involves a deadly high-stakes international conspiracy that first manifested itself in Bangkok and will end who knows where. The connection between Alexander and Coventry is San Francisco private investigator Ja'Von Deveraux who combines a lifeguard's body with movie star features. Deveraux has survived a terrible experience and is now looking for revenge. She enlists Alexander to help her and then Coventry. Not for the weak hearted but full of action and coffee drinking, crime solving Coventry and his cast of cohorts continue to evolve with each outing. Rough as the Rockies, but also refreshing. Can't wait for the next in the series.

If you're planning to travel to Bangkok to sample some of the sleazy and forbidden entertainments found there, beware that it doesn't cost more than you are willing to pay. Like Alan Ewing did.

It's his mysterious murder that brings Bryson Coventry into contact with a lovely P.I. who deliberately seeks him out. The question is why? Would you trust her? Would you trust her story? Is she as she appears to be? Where will she lead Bryson and the reader who follow so willingly?

Familiar characters who will be easily recalled from other "Laws" stories guide us into the realm of shady dealings by an international law firm where almost any fantasy or case can be won by manipulating people. Bangkok Laws is a study of methods of revenge by victims of this firm.

Highly recommended as a tale you will have to finish once you begin to read. Talented author Jim Michael Hansen has woven a fascinating plot from several subplots to satisfy even the pickiest thriller fan. Action aplenty with false trails and red herrings to draw the reader into dead ends and keep us trying to out guess the villains who do what they do sooo well. A book guaranteed to hold your attention and provide you with reading satisfction. Enjoy. I sure did. (But a warning to the girls, don't travel to Bangkok unescorted.)

Each time I get into one of Jim Michael Hansen's books, I feel like I am putting on my old comfortable pair of tennis shoes. The only difference is that my shoes go where I want to go. With the "Bryson Coventry Thrillers," I am never sure where my journey will end.

Bryson Conventry, head of the Denver Homicide Division, is confronted with a killing that should seem cut and dried. A guy stabbed in his bedroom. Bryson figures it should be pretty easy. Instead, it ends up intersecting him with two very interesting women.

The first is Paige Alexander. She is a newly licensed lawyer who is currently working as a waitress. The Denver legal market is turning out to be a bit harder to crack than she thought it would be. But Paige's luck is about to change when she meets the second woman, Ja'Von Deveraux. A beautiful private investigator from San Francisco. Ja'Von wants to hire Paige to help her go after the largest law firm in the city. This law firm had sent the P.I. to Bangkok to do surveillance. Instead, Ja'Von ended up being forced into the sex slave trade. And Ja'Von is sure the firm had something to do with it.

To complicate matters, Bryson is finding himself falling for Ja'Von. The beautiful P.I. is falling for Bryson also, but does not want to tell him the real reason why she is in the city.

Avid readers have their favorite authors and this one has become one of mine. The style of each book is the same, but the plot twists and turns are uniquely different from one another. This is the fifth book in the series and the luster is still there.

Bryson Conventry is just as interesting now as he was in "Night Laws" - Hansen's first book. Especially the women he meets. They just seem to get more beautiful with each new story. The characters that surround Bryson have not lost their luster either. They all come off the pages as living, breathing people.

The best part of Hansen's writing is that I get dropped into the depths of the story within two or three pages. As with most of the series, I started and finished this book in one sitting.

I whole-heartedly recommend reading "Bangkok Laws." It is great, whether or not a person has read the other "Laws" books.

Kathy Martin
In The Library Reviews

I found this book to be a page turner and an easy read. I really enjoyed it, but I couldn't rate it a five. In fact, I had a hard time choosing between three and four; I chose four because I really did enjoy the read, and I plan to read more of the series.

One of the major problems I had with the story were all the sex scenes. They weren't raunchy, or even that detailed, but there were just so many of them. There's hardly a character in this book that doesn't get laid. And I'm not talking about two people who have been in a relationship for even a couple weeks, these people just meet each other, then decide, "Eh, why not?." I mean, not everybody is going to be that loose. There's even a lesbian scene, and you know it's coming, but you're still thinking to yourself, 'please don't go there,' cause it just doesn't belong. I just started to become numb to it after a while.

Oh, and every woman you come across is uber attractive. Apparently there are no more uglies out there, who knew?

He also mentions his other books a little too much. Once, maybe twice I can handle, but it's well over that. Apparently everybody reads his books, even bad guys.

I also had a few ethical problems with how much paper was wasted in the making of this book. There are random breaks in pages that don't belong, and conversations happen a lot like this...

"How was your day?"
Billy shrugged.
"My girlfriend broke up with me."
"Did she?"
She did
That sucks
Billy shrugged again.
"It happens."


Obviously not quite so bland, but you get the picture. As you can see, he also had a tendency to have the characters say things without actually putting the words in quotations, pretty much with every conversation. I've never seen this style that I can recall, it didn't really bother me, but it might bother some people.

All in all though, it was a pretty good book. He might have gotten a little lazy with the ending (Which btw ends with a sex scene.) but a lot of authors do that, so I can't fault him too much. He doesn't confuse his readers, and pretty much just sums up everything for an ending. It was, like I said, an easy read. Worth reading. Good for a plane ride, or while you're looking for another, better book, it'll hold you over.

As a side note, I would try to find it at your library, (or, of course, buy the Kindle Edition, if you happen to have a Kindle) before buying it in paper form, just to save some trees.

The road to crime gets rough as Bryson Coventry; a handsome hunk of a man from Denver homicide is soon in route of another murder suspect. Let's follow him as he leads us, like a blood-hound on the scent of a sly fox. But this sly unforgiving assassin doesn't just want to terrorize a small portion of the world like Bangkok; he is hungry for and waiting to involve every mind and heart of all humanity in his blood-chilling scheme. Will Coventry stop him before his lethal game can break free, like a deadly plague, and make its way to other parts of the world?

The plot thickens! The terror intensifies! Soon our brave hero finds himself knee deep in danger as this nightmarish attention grabber leaves behind a trail of dead bodies. Can this conspiracy be stopped before Paige Alexander, and Ja'Von Deveraux become involved in all the mayhem? Is it already too late?

Magnificently written! Get ready for another shocking crime novel that will have you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails. BANGKOK LAWS is a new top notch winner from one of the greatest thriller writters, Jim Michael Hansen. His wonderful work will leave you wanting more. I know it did me.

Probably one of the best books I have ever read. A few naff references by the author, name dropping his other books into the story, but the quality of writing is so good I can easily forgive this little show of vanity. No lapse in the sheer attention grabbing storyline from the first page to the last.