Customer Reviews

Serpentine

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Charles Sobraj was clearly a gifted man. Fluent in several languages and able to navigate his way throughout Europe and Asia, he remained an enigmatic figure and certainly one of the most interesting. He has been regarded as the worst serial killer in Asian history.

Sobraj was an out of wedlock child born to a young Vietnamese mother and Indian father. Rejected by his natural father and only minimally accepted by his natural mother, Charles showed problems at a very early age. A sleep wetter until his early teens, Charles showed a calculated, vicious side almost from an infant. He would cut his mother's dresses to shreds so she could not go out at night; he learned early to fend for himself with a group of street children; he had no respect for authority figures and used foul language. When Sobraj's mother remarries, she takes Charles' younger sister (they were full siblings) and leaves Charles with his reluctant father. Sobraj, Sr., now remarried and well stocked with mistresses has provided Charles with a passel of Indian and Indio-Asian half siblings. His stepmother has no use for him, so once again Charles is turned out and left to fend for himself on the mean streets of the city.

Charles' mother and stepfather return to claim Charles and it takes them all but an act of congress to get the boy to leave for France with them. Feeling displaced, Charles is left to try to sort out his sibling relationships. As the oldest of his French half-siblings, he exudes an aura of mystery and the younger children adore him. He would, years later, repay their adoration by stealing from them and in one memorable instance, framing a younger brother for a crime that he, Charles had committed.

In adult life, Charles distinguishes himself as being able to move and blend into the culture of whichever country he is in. His Indio-Asian appearance lend him a somewhat "international" look; that is, he could easily be overlooked in many nations as a native. Charles uses this to his advantage. Gifted in language and business/marketing, he runs any number of illegal enterprises. He is very seductive and has convinced several naive women to become romantically involved with him.

Marie-Andree Leclerc, a French Canadian, falls under Charles' seductive charm. He uses the Canadian to her ultimate destruction as the pair tour Asia and India throughout the 1970s killing and drugging travelers for money.

This book will leave an indelible stamp upon your memory.

I'm not a big fan of the "true crime" genre. I did love Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter, but don't care for Ann Rule's books or their ilk. Serpentine is an exception. Like other reviewers here, I came across this book about 20 years ago and I still have vivid recollections of it. Sobhraj is a kind of Ted Bundy with a bit more style and class. Thompson does a fine job in conveying Sobhraj's seductive qualities. He also is adept in his description of settings. Sobhraj may be thought of as the only jet-setter mass-murderer. I didn't realize until reading over these reviews that he had been released from prison already. That really is diconcerting, for he is about as amoral as Hannibal Lecter. I can't believe he was allowed back into society. I would recommend this book to those who like true crime stories and to those who just like an engaging, easy read. The book moves along at great pace. If you bring it along on a vacation to Sri Lanka or Thailand or Paris, etc., you may want to keep an eye out for Sobhraj. I wouldn't get too chummy if I were you.

"Even as the Air France jet travels towards the Istanbul terminal, Andrea Darreau saw his half brother through the window. There was no mistaking Charles, dressed as he was in the sleekest navy blazer, a celebrity's dark glass; he looked like a Greek tycoon."

This book captured me. It actually got under my skin allowing me to do or think nothing else but Serpentine. The character Charles Sobhraj is a man who comes up in a world that does not welcome him. As a child he remains unloved and unwanted, due to his illigetimacy, and his mother Song's marriage to another man. Charles' paternal father on the other hand wants nothing to do with him and marries again starting a new family. Poor Charles refuses to accept his father's dismissal, and keeps forever after him, baggering him, pleading his attention and love, all to no avail. His mother Song on the other hand is more concerned with her new life, and could not care less.
Without any support coming from either of his parents Charles embarks on a life on his own, educating himself, and familiarizing himself with crime and how it works. He starts out with small crimes and then everything swells out in enormous proportions to the point where he is hiring staff to work with him. He gets incarcerated more times than he can count, as his criminal activity reaches across two continents; parts of Turkey, Iran, Paris, Delhi, Pakistan, and all the way to Hong Kong. Words cannot sufficiently describe the dangerous man Charles has become, but with his good looks, fine clothes, quick charisma and easy manner bit by bit, strangers who do not know him trust him and are lured into his web of dark murky waters.
This is a true story and one can learn a lot from it, in protection oneself when traveling alone and otherwise.
I highly recommended this work of non-fiction.
Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar ( SUGAR-CANE 08/05/07)

I read this book about 25 years ago and have never forgotten it. As others have described, I could hardly put the book down or believe how this man escaped capture and punishment for so long. I just finished watching a National Geographic special entitled "The Serpent" and discovered that it was about this same man. An Update to the story of Charles Sobrahj, after being jailed in India long enough to escape extradition on murder charges (In Nepal I think) due to the statute of limitations , (He escaped once and got an extention of 10 years on his original 7 year sentence to prevent extradition before the statute ran out in Nepal) he was released and eventually slipped back into the country where he was being sought for the murders of a Dutch couple (Thailand?). He was spotted, arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2004. His former partner in crime, Marie LeClerc died of cancer while he was in jail in India) As wily as this man has been his entire life, I doubt that this will be the end of his torturous career. It is a cautionary tale, one that prompts anyone who reads it to exercise caution when traveling, particularly abroad.

In 1990, I was a woman, traveling alone around the world, for one year. I met a couple unsavory characters along the way--one of whom I now know was a socioopath--but fortunately escaped without long-lasting harm. I came across this book, originally thinking it was fiction (it was mismarked in the library where I found it), but found it was a true story of a sociopath, and how he preyed upon tourist after unsuspecting tourist. It particularly fascinated me as many of the places in this book were places I visited myself. If I had read this book before traveling, I don't think the sociopath I met could have done anything to me. As it was, I was too naive and trusting. The first thing I did after reading this book from the library was to go out and BUY my own copy to keep. And I plan to recommend this book to each and every person I know who is going abroad on any more than a simple vacation to a standard destination. If you are a traveler, or have friends who are travelers, the information contained in this book is priceless.

I read this book in over thirty years ago, and I have never forgotten it. It has haunted me ever since. After living in Asia for over ten years, I realize how vividly and correctly a few words and phrases can so accurately capture the settings. Serpentine gives us insight into the progressive decline of a serial killer, beginning with alienation and minor crimes, and ending with chillingly effective mass murder.
When I was living in Hong Kong in the mid '80's, I came across a tiny mention in the South China Morining Post that Charles Sobrahj had escaped from an Indian prison. I doubted that that one inch column would mean much to most readers, but knowing his exploits all over Asia, I was astounded at the sight. He was later apprehended, and has since served his term and been released. To think that a man who has committed his crimes is not in prison for life attests to the sheer intelligence and audacity of this killer.
This is a book you will not forget.

No spoilers

You've heard that reality can often be stranger (and more interesting) that fiction. In the case of Serpentine, nothing could be more true. This true crime story, which reads like the best fiction crime adventure book you've ever read, tells the story of Charles Sobhraj and his journey from a troubling childhood (to say the least), through his extensive criminal exploits, to his eventual downfall. Thompson does a great job of telling the stories of all the victims/accomplices involved completely independent of one another, only to gradually bring them together, with lives and destinies clashing together by the end.

Charles Sohraj was a fascinating criminal who paired the tools of deception and charm to get what he needed to survive. Despite his extensive criminal resume, he must at least be given credit for his intelligence and creativity in avoiding the simultaneous pursuit of law enforcement agencies all across Asia.

To sum it up, this is a fascinating accouont of a fascinating criminal and I promise that you will forget that this isn't a novel, even though it reads just like one. Pick this up and you will not regret it.

I couldn't put this book down because it is so well written and very interesting. The life and crimes of this man were unbelievable and to cross so many countries! He was a genius in many ways, though, but used it for evil instead of good. Great true crime read!!

I was just browsing for a used copy of this book because I never like to be without one to lend. This is one of my favorite books of all time. It is basically "true crime" and written in the style of a novel. If you like this genre, you won't be able to put this book down.

An oldie but a goodie.If you are into adventure travel writing and have a strong stomach, this is a read for you. This tale of international intrigue and gruesome deviancy reads like a novel and you'll wish it were. The story of a true sociopath who preys upon college students out to see the world will make make your hair stand on end.My mother made this mandatory reading when my brothers and I were setting out on our world travels. A cautionary tale indeed.