The Risk of Infidelity Index: A Vincent Calvino Crime Novel (Vincent Calvino Novels) [Hardcover]

Christopher G. Moore (Author)

Book Description

Series: Vincent Calvino Novels | Publication Date: December 21, 2007

Christopher G. Moore’s internationally-acclaimed, prize-winning series starring Vincent Calvino, disbarred American lawyer turned Bangkok P.I. finally comes to North America with The Risk of Infidelity Index, a gripping novel set in a superbly textured, masterfully rendered Bangkok. When his surveillance of a major drug piracy ring ends in definitive video evidence, it looks like Vincent Calvino’s fortunes are about to turn. But when the client dies of a heart attack and Calvino finds the body of a murdered massage girl downstairs, the authorities get suspicious of the farang who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. To make matters worse, with the dead client unable to pay, Calvino is desperate and forced to take on a job he doesn’t want: following husbands for jealous expat housewives. Featuring a brilliant cast of characters including a wealthy Thai celebrity protected by important political connections, a lawyer with perfect memory, a Shakespeare-quoting police colonel, and Calvino’s loyal assistant, Ratana, The Risk of Infidelity Index is a thrilling read from an important name in literary crime fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Moore, whose novels have been translated into German, Japanese and eight other languages, makes his U.S. debut with a low-key thriller, part of a series to feature Vincent Calvino, a disbarred American lawyer working as a PI in Bangkok, Thailand. An apparent suicide in a failing massage parlor below Calvino's office may be related to the suspicious heart attack of his biggest client, attorney Andrew Danielson. When Danielson's law firm refuses to pay Calvino's outstanding fees, luck arrives in the form of prissy attorney John Lovell. Lovell has been cut loose from the same law firm because of fears he might pry into Danielson's death. He also knows a lot about local celebrity Khun Weerawat's shady deals, which may be relevant to Calvino's investigations for Danielson. As Calvino tries to connect the dots and find out what happened to Danielson, he also attempts to solicit business from four women afraid their husbands are cheating on them. The breezy quality of the scenes with the suspicious wives, the lack of depth to Calvino's character and a predictable resolution undermine an otherwise complex, intelligent novel. (Jan.)
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Review

"Moore's flashy style successfully captures the dizzying contradictions in [Bangkok's] vertiginous landscape." 
--The New York Times Book Review

"Think Dashiell Hammett in Bangkok. A hard-boiled, street-smart, often hilarious pursuit of a double murderer." 
--The San Francisco Chronicle

"Humorous and intelligent . . . a great introduction to the seamy side of Bangkok." 
--The Daily Mail

"The book's loving evocation of the Thai atmosphere adds a glorious new locale to the detective genre's geography, rendered with a master's hand."
--Evergreen Review

"Christopher G Moore has long been a big name in crime for his Vincent Calvino books, based on the exploits of an American private eye in Thailand's seedy underbelly."
--The Independent --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; First Edition edition (December 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087113974X
• ISBN-13: 978-0871139740
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,290,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting story with a compelling protagonist in an exotic setting!, January 19, 2008

By 

Burleigh-Boy (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Risk of Infidelity Index: A Vincent Calvino Crime Novel (Vincent Calvino Novels) (Hardcover)

A riveting story! Detective Vinnie Calvino is wise to the intrigues of the motley citizens of Bangkok. He's a great character, a man trying to hold on to a battered integrity despite a clear-eyed view of the many lowlifes, high rollers, beautiful girls, and ugly deals in the so-called Land of Smiles. His asides on relationships, love, Buddhism, Thais, and expats are always spot-on. This isn't especially suprising since the author, Christopher G Moore, is according to the book flap, a longtime Bangkok resident. Having been to Thailand a number of times, I can testify that the tiniest details are wholly accurate and the settings are the real deal. No phony surreal stuff. Moore seems to know the secret ins, outs, and byways of the city and beautifully captures its raw and often painfully poignant vibrancy. He made me wonder why a place so ostensibly foreign is nevertheless so intensely familiar. Maybe it's the straying farang husbands, the corrupt careerist lawyers, and the ruthless Thai bigwigs all trying, like Calvino himself, to make it in the most exciting city in Asia.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Publishers Weekly Review, January 27, 2008

By 

Marcus Steiner "Crime Novel Lover" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Risk of Infidelity Index: A Vincent Calvino Crime Novel (Vincent Calvino Novels) (Hardcover)

I have given up on PW with this review. I could smell taste and touch Calvino when I read this. I went immediately on a hunt for more Calvino books and can't wait for Grove to publish more. There is something very subtle in the way that Moore uses non-flowery language to create a scene so strong that I could smell what Bangkok must be like and see the characters in motion. I am glad I found this author as there is much exciting reading ahead. Publishers Weekly go home.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific Bangkok investigative tale, April 23, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Risk of Infidelity Index: A Vincent Calvino Crime Novel (Vincent Calvino Novels) (Hardcover)

In Bangkok, attorney Andrew Danielson hires American expatriate private investigator Vincent Calvino to look into an illegal drug operation. With the $10,000 fee and an expected success, Vincent believes he will obtain an investigative position with the World health organization New York as he has the proof.

Two floors below his office is the One Hand Clapping massage parlor Vincent breaks down the door as he expects trouble inside. He is right because he find a dead nineteen years old young "working" girl lying in her bed. The same day Andrew dies from an alleged heart attack; his law firm refuses to pay Vincent his expenses let alone his fee. As demonstrations rock the city, Vincent finds himself unpaid and short cash. Three of the Fab Four expatriate female friends hire him to conduct surveillance of their spouses. Debra, Janet and Ruth have just read The Risk of Infidelity Index, which names Bangkok as the number one city for spousal infidelity. The fourth member Ruth is a recent widow; her spouse Andrew having just died from cardiac arrest. All three of his recent activities soon tie together in a major complex fiasco in which he may return to New York for his funeral instead of for a job.

THE RISK OF INFIDELITY INDEX is a terrific Bangkok investigative tale starring an American expatriate who finds he is getting deeper into trouble when he just wants to collect his fee. The story line is at its best when Vincent causes havoc or explains life in Thailand wit its' spiders, frogs and shells. When the Fab Four appear, the plot turns humorous but loses a bit of its Asian Urban Noir feel. Still this American Farang's misadventures are fun to follow (see MINOR WIFE and SPIRIT HOUSE) as they rival the BANGKOK HAUNTS of John Burdett.

Harriet Klausner