Customer Reviews

Paying Back Jack: A Vincent Calvino Novel (Vincent Calvino Novels)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Christopher G. Moore's Paying Back Jack is one of his best Calvino mysteries yet. He links CIA shenanigans and rogue agents to local Thai politics and the ubiquitous, yet barely visible Bangkok (and Pattaya) underworld of girls, guns, and graft. The book is filtered through the eyes of the cynical expat detective Calvino trying, as always, both to make a living and to hold on to his humanity. He ties these and other stories together with the skill of a master weaver and, in the process, Thailand and its generals, superstitions, mia noys, politicians, heat, American expats, and food stalls come to life. The book is the next best thing to being in Thailand, and it doesn't require a plane ticket.

Paying Back Jack is another in the excellent Vincent Calvino series by CG Moore. I first read the Risk of Fidelity Index several years ago and was pleased to learn it was preceeded by 8 other novels all featuring the PI, Vincent Calvino. Unfortunately, none were published in the US so I had to e-mail order them from Thailand. They were all worth it. Mr. Moore's characters are believable, entertaining, humerous at times, but the setting (Thailand) makes these terrific crime stories even more interesting because of the huge cultural differences between east and west. I strongly recommend Paying Back Jack as well as all the previous books if you can find them.

The Vincent Calvino series is a rock solid detective series. I have enjoyed this series for a few years. For a while it was "bootleg" in the US. It was as hard to get and had the same mystique as a can of cold Coors before it went national. Calvino is a disbarred New York attorney with a quick head and quick hands to match. He was framed for something he didn't do in Gotham City ; he has a good heart which is warmed by the heat he packs under his loose fitting unlined Brioni knock-off sports jacket on the steaming hot streets. His haunts are the sois
(streets) of Bangkock. He pursues his capers with a unique combination of Western sensibility but with an understanding of Eastern sensitivity. He is savvy and tough and no babe in the woods. The action explodes off the page as Calvino is the only obstacle between his client the Thai General and a street hit, Bangkock style. I have read other authors and Bangkock procedurals, but, after returning to PAYING BACK JACK C.G.Moore must be crowned the king of this genre. His writing is taut, descriptive and explosive. His protagonist is likeable, believable, fallible and capable. Moores' knowledge of Bangkock as filtered through a knowing occidental's eyes is unbeatable. In short; a winning combination of entertainment.

Christoper G. Moore knows Bangkok probably better than most Thai's. And he probably embarrasses the hell out of them. Another great Vincent Calvino novel.

Moore has done it again. His descriptions of the soi(s) and the way everything comes together and falls into place in the end is unmistakable classic Moore. Can't wait for the next Vincent Calvino novel.

Christopher Moore's Vincent Calvino series is priceless! Now, can we just get Amazon to agree to provide all of the titles, and not just on Kindle??

I have been a fan of Moore since his proverbial salad days and even promulgated his appearance as a guest at several of my social group's Thanksgiving Dinners @ Bourbon Street in Bangkok in the late 90's. At the time Moore was one of the few fiction writers that offered a recurring character based in Bangkok. I remember how difficult it was to find his earlier works and how I would order from overseas anxiously awaiting arrival. Admittedly, my favorite Moore novel is God of Darkness (a non Calvino novel), however, I am sad to report that his more recent efforts are simply not up to stuff. Even with the author's flair for weaving together coincidence, Paying Back Jack was all over the place and is highly unbelievable. I wonder if he added the 2-characters from Spain in order to expense the trip!

With other Authors starting to use Thailand as a staging point, check out Timothy Hallinan as the new king of Bangkok fiction!