Spirit House [Paperback]

Christopher G. Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 1999

Heaven Lake Press, Paperback edition (1999) ISBN:9748669483 Binding is quality paperback. New condition. 5" - 7 3/4" tall. Publisher's inventory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A thinking man's Philip Marlowe, Calvino is a cynic on the surface but a romantic at heart...." -- The Daily Yomiuri

About the Author

Christopher G. Moore is a Canadian author of 22 novels, a non-fiction, one collection of interlocked short stories, and one book on Thai language. Oxford-educated, Moore was a law professor at the University of British Columbia for 10 years. His first book His Lordship's Arsenal was published in New York to a critical acclaim in 1985, when he decided to become a full-time writer.

Moore moved to Thailand in 1988 and from Bangkok continued to write literary and commercial fiction. He has attained somewhat of a cult status among his readers in Asia and Europe and has an increasingly strong following in North America. Moore is probably best known by his cult classics, Land of Smiles Trilogy, his behind-the-smiles study of his adopted country, Thailand, and his highly popular Vincent Calvino Private Eye series. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Heaven Lake Press (September 20, 1999)
• ISBN-10: 9748669483
• ISBN-13: 978-9748669489
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,620,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mystery detective with cynicism and heart!, July 7, 2005

By 

Valerie Matteson "Bookaholic" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spirit House (Paperback)

The locale is Bangkok, Thailand and the story begins with the dream or nightmare of Vincent Calvino. Calvino is an ex-lawyer, ex-cop who does private investigation work - when he can get it. He is a drunk and also uses whores, smokes, etc. His dream is about a friend who was recently killed and in the dream someone is coming after him as well. He wakes from this dream/nightmare at his apartment next to a Thai whore whose name he has forgotten - again. That is because he was so inebriated he couldn't remember. His housekeeper, Mrs. Jamthong - who is a hoot all by herself!, wakes him yelling at him that he is late for work and to come eat breakfast. The prostitute leaves and Calvino (known to the Thais as "Khun Winee" since they can't pronounce the "v" for "Vinee") gets to the table to read the paper. He sees a photo of a man slumped over a desk - dead. His assistant, Ratana, calls and tells him to call her as soon as he is through with his meal. He recognizes he knows the dead "farang" - white man or foreigner to the Thais. He is a Brit named Ben Hoadley. He gets to his office and finds that Ben Hoadley's father in England wants Calvino to investigate his son's murder. The Thai newspaper reported that a "thinner addict" had done the deed. Into his office comes Kiko, friend and romantic interest, who knows the thinner addict, Lek, and swears that he could not have done it.

Thus begins an amazing string of events as Calvino works with Kiko, Pratt (a friend in the Bangkok police) and uncovers the motives and events of why first Jeff Logan and then Ben Hoadley and during the course of the story several others were murdered. How Calvino gets to the resolution amid the extreme dangers he and others around him face is a fantastic tale of suspense, mystery, intrigue and the underworld.

As a woman, I would say that Vincent Calvino is a true man's man and the kind of detective that men more than women would enjoy reading about. The Spirit House is the first of the many novels that Mr. Moore has written about Calvino. The details and descriptions are very image and thought provoking. I highly recommend it!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-Read International Criminal Thriller, August 7, 2008

By 

Stephen Matzie "smatzie" (smatzie) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spirit House: A Vincent Calvino Crime Novel (Vincent Calvino Novels) (Kindle Edition)

Through the underbelly Bangkok, Vincent Calvino confronts crime bosses, corrupt cops, prostitutes, slum dwellers, and addicts to unravel this murder mystery. Where the truth often takes the back seat to other other cultural values, Thailand is a perfect setting for the novel. The reader is positioned right on the edge between the expat life and local community- getting real insight into both worlds. It feels like you could get sucked into the Bangkok mess at any moment.

To this end, Christopher Moore is a very clever author, with a style closer to Film Noir rather than the everyday P.I./mystery writers. His protagonist, Vincent Calvino, is an unassuming hero who regularly drinks, visits the red lights of Patpong, and barely scrapes by. Yet, he preserves relentlessly where few others do (or are willing to go). He is certainly not against rolling up his sleeves and getting dirty, or bloody, whatever the case may be.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this!, August 5, 2008

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirit House: A Vincent Calvino Crime Novel (Vincent Calvino Novels) (Kindle Edition)

Brilliant! Plot, pacing, characters, and - above all - a totally immersive sense of place; this one has it all. I was disappointed not to find anything else by Mr. Moore avaliable for the Kindle. Hopefully that will be rectified soon.