Thai Died: A Stud Draqual Mystery (Stud Draqual Mysteries) [Paperback]

William Maltese (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stud Draqual Mysteries | Publication Date: January 24, 2003

This second title in a new gay mystery series is a fast-paced tale that melds mystery and erotica. When a lingerie manufacturer goes to Thailand on business, he gets far more than he bargained for. While innocently shopping for silk and taking in the sights of Bangkok, Stud Draqual finds himself being stalked by a mercenary — one who’s been implicated in the murder of a male prostitute.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Maltese's delay in getting this one to the stands included some first-hand in-depth on-site research." -- erotica-readers.com, 2003

"...Maltese's writing obviously been-there done-that got-the-T-shirt..." -- qualitygayfiction.com/Galen Frazier/2003

"...written with more than enough aplomb to prove the author has been there, done that, got the T-shirt." -- yazzic.co.uk/books, February 2003

"A highly enjoyable novel from the talented Maltese who has created a very appealing sleuth in the character ... Stud Draqual." -- reFRESH magazine, May 2003

"Maltese's long history in book writing...leading the reader, step by step, through this complex melange of murder and mayhem." -- dragoncastle.com, 2003

"Murder, mayhem, and throat-slitting during bondage -- still end up an amazingly fun-to-read romp." -- RUTH SIMS (author of THE PHOENIX), February 2, 2005

"Stud Draqual is surely safe for another installment of amateur sleuthing in the future." -- rainbownetwork.com, March 2003

"THAI DIED...arrives all the better for the time and effort the author has obviously taken to 'get it right'." -- tgforum.com, 2003

THAI DIED is a campy, sexy, macho, pulse-pounding thriller...with fabulous fashion sense. -- Insightout Book Club, August 2003

From the Inside Flap

THE WHOLE WORLD BURNED AROUND ME. What little breathing I managed became even more of a chore as billowing smoke grew thicker. I leaned exhausted against hot stone, part of a large seated Buddha that was mostly lost to the murk and the gloom. I turned head-on into a smoky breeze that reached me over a limestone Hari-Hara whose two left arms, one hand holding a seashell, laid broken at the figure's feet. I stumbled forward, past a terra-cotta deer whose folded legs gave it the collapsed appearance of a poor animal already succumbed to asphyxia.

Escape for me, if it existed, remained hidden within a river of smoke that grew thicker by the second. I surrendered to whatever my remaining survival instincts, held my breath, and plunged foward. Desperately, I tried to see through the smoke, through the soot, through the ash, and through the heat-distorted air. I hadn't a clue how long I could hold my breath, or how long I could keep going. My legs had about carried me to the limits of their and my endurance.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Green Candy Press (January 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931160139
• ISBN-13: 978-1931160131
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,422,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been in the business of writing books for a very long time, and I derive particular enjoyment from visiting different places and then trying to relay the "essence" of those places to my readers. Likewise, I'm very adventuresome as regards trying new things, whether it be exotic and strange foods and/or other more personal "things".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Danger, Intrigue, Sex, and Irony in Thailand -- for grownups only, November 15, 2009

By 

Ruth Sims "Ruth" (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Thai Died: A Stud Draqual Mystery (Stud Draqual Mysteries) (Paperback)

Is he or isn't he? Gay, that is. Or bi. Does anyone know for certain? Does Stud Draqual, himself, know? Does he even care?

All we know for certain is that Stud is his real name, he is a world-traveling silk merchant, a self-described "famous designer of silken underwear for wealthy women," a gorgeous man who attracts danger and excitement the way a dog attracts fleas. Within hours of his arrival in Thailand--a place he knows well--he has been shot at and, by virtue of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, been nearly blown to smithereens. Not even recovered from that, he finds himself in a sanctuary with a bugged phone, and before you can blink, he's face down in the back of a taxi with a smelly blanket covering him, on the way to ... he doesn't know where. And that's just in the first sixty pages!

Nor are danger and intrigue all that follows the aptly named Stud; men and women, all equally beautiful and dangerous, throw themselves in his path and Stud seldom sees a reason to step aside or avert his eyes. When he does manage to step aside or avert his eyes another portion of his anatomy tends to pay attention.

Thai Died is sexy and violent, exotic, fascinating, and funny. Stud's - I mean William Maltese's - brisk dialogue, ironic asides, and pithy observations never flag.

Maltese is a master of his craft, whether he's describing Thailand's gorgeous buildings and beautiful people, its squalor and filth, or the shocking murder of an exotic dancer in a private BDSM club, during a performance, in full view of the audience.

As with many of Maltese's books, there is a lot of explicit sex. Chances are your granny, your third grade teacher, and your preacher would be horrified (or maybe not as much as you might think). Although Maltese has recently written Young Adult fiction, this ain't it. I'm not particularly a fan of explicit sex in fiction, but when it's done with style and panache, and the scenes are an integral part of the story rather than something thrown in to get the reader's rocks off, I'm okay with it.

The number of books bearing the name of William Maltese just keeps growing... and growing ... and growing, as does his popularity.

I read this years ago and enjoyed it. I just re-read it and still enjoyed it. It's also available in E-book formats now, including the Kindle.

Reviewer: Ruth Sims -- author of Counterpoint: Dylan's Story

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A DESTINED-TO-BE CLASSIC OF ITS GENRE!, February 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Thai Died: A Stud Draqual Mystery (Stud Draqual Mysteries) (Paperback)

If you've not had the pleasure of reading William Maltese's infamous Doppelmorder, his German-language short-story (not yet offered in English-language translation), that had at least one German critic label the author A Grand Master of the mystery genre ... If you have read several of Maltese's English-language books (and there are several), and you agree he's good but still aren't sure he's all that great ... Don't pass up buying THAI DIED. It may not possess the short-term visceral punch of his tour-de-force Dooppelmorder, but it certainly places the author right up there with the very best of mystery writers, gay or otherwise.

This book's mysteries (and there are more than one to be solved), its story-lines (and there are several), its character development (even the villains are multi-faceted and fascinating), weave a tapestry as complex and luxurious as any of the silk fabric the book's protagonist is in Bangkok to buy. The locale not the only thing that differentiates this book from its New York City-based predecessor, A SLIP TO DIE FOR (both books part of the author's Stud Draqual Mystery Series). This book is longer. This book has more involved and interesting plot-lines. This book offers even more chance for its hero to succumb to temptation, as he's pressured not only by a gay mercenary but also by a jaded Thai hustler. This book has a new publisher, Green Candy Press, that has done a bang-up job by way of packaging, from the Thai script and numerical chapter headings, to the flashy tie-dyed Thai silk of the cover backdrop, to the bloody fingerprints (and errant false eyelash) surprisingly found printed on the inside of the front (and back) cover.

Finally, this book has large dollops of Maltese's trademark literary sensuality.

In short, this book has everything, including intense enjoyability, to make it a classic in its genre.