Spirit House: A Vincent Calvino Crime Novel (Kindle Edition)

by Christopher G. Moore (Author)

Editorial Reviews

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

Product Description
In the nearly twenty years he has lived in Bangkok, Christopher G. Moore has written nine novels starring Vincent Calvino, a disbarred American lawyer working as a PI in the dark and steamy Thai capital. Internationally acclaimed, the prizewinning novels have been translated into ten languages. Now Spirit House, the first novel in the series, will finally be published in North America.

A farang is dead and the Bangkok police have a confession the next morning from a young paint-thinner addict. He claims he killed Ben Hoadly, an expat Brit, but Calvino has his doubts when he sees heavy bruises on the kid's face. In no time Calvino is working both sides, out to find the killer for Hoadly's wealthy father, and eager to clear the addict's name for a beautiful friend who runs a charity in the slums. With the help of his best friend, Pratt, a Shakespearequoting Thai police colonel, and his loyal assistant, Ratana, Calvino plunges into the dangerous world of addicts, dealers, fortune tellers, inexpensive hit men, oversexed foreigners, and professional bar girls. Spirit House is a thrilling introduction to Vincent Calvino and Christopher G. Moore's Bangkok.


See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 304 KB
• Print Length: 304 pages
• Publisher: Grove/Atlantic (August 1, 2008)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0013TPWXM
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,226 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 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 (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)

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

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.