A Nail Through the Heart

Poke Rafferty Mystery #1

by Timothy Hallinan

Poke Rafferty was writing offbeat travel guides for the young and terminally bored when Bangkok stole his heart. Now the American expat is assembling a new family with Rose, the former go-go dancer he wants to marry, and Miaow, the tiny, streetwise urchin he wants to adopt. But trouble in the guise of good intentions comes calling just when everything is beginning to work out. Poke agrees to take in Superman, Miaow's troubled and terrifying friend from the gutter. Then he agrees to help locate a distraught Aussie woman's missing uncle and accepts a generous payment to find a blackmailing thief. No longer gliding carelessly across the surface of a culture he doesn't really understand, suddenly Poke is plodding through dark and unfamiliar terrain—and everything and everyone he loves is in terrible danger.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Asia, Suspense

336 pages, Hardcover

First published June 26, 2007

About the author

I'm a thriller and mystery novelist with 22 published books in three series, all with major imprints. I divides my time between Los Angeles and Southeast Asia, primarily Thailand, where I've lived off and on for more than twenty years. As of now, My primary home is in Santa Monica, California.

I currently write two series, The Poke Rafferty Bangkok Thrillers, most recently FOOLS' RIVER, and the Junior Bender Mysteries, set in Los Angeles, Coming up this November is NIGHTTOWN. The main character of those books is a burglar who works as a private eye for crooks.

The first series I ever wrote featured an overeducated private eye named Simeon Grist. in 2017 I wrote PULPED, the first book in the series to be self-published, which was actually a lot of fun. I might do more of it.

I've been nominated for the Edgar, the Macavity, the Shamus, and the Left, and won the Lefty in 2015 (?) for the Junior Bender book HERBIE'S GAME. My work has frequently been included in Best Books of the Year roundups by major publications.

Reviews

[Adina ( back from Vacay…slowly recovering) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not know why but I seem to enjoy most noirs I try, except for the classics, Chandler and the other guy. One reason that made me enjoy this particular novel could have been that I read this book set in Bangkok while I was staying only two streets away from where the main character was living. It does matter if you can recognize the sights you read about.

Poke Rafferty was a writer of offbeat travel guides when he decided to move to Bangkok. He had a Thai girlfriend, an ex dancer, and was planning to adopt a street urchin called Miau (!). The book is written in the aftermath of the big tsunami who killed and displaced many people, especially women and children, from Phuket region. That made for an anxious trip to Phuket in the following days, especially since my hotel was in a tsunami hazard zone. When Miau asks Poke to shelter another street urchin, called Superman, things start to get a bit complicated for our hero. Due to Poke’s talent with finding people, an Australian woman asks him to help locate her uncle. When another mysterious woman employs Poke to retrieve an important stolen envelope, the situation scales towards dangerous.

I liked the way the writer managed to recreate Bangkok on the page, the characters and their interactions. I read at the end of the novel that he consulted his Thai wife in order to make the perspective of the local characters feel genuine and I think he nailed it. The novel touches some very disturbing subjects such as child pornography and prostitution together other despicable crimes. It is not a book for the squeamish but it does not picture violence in gratuitous amounts, only enough to make one care.

[Will Byrnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timothy Hallinan - image from Soho Press

The tsunami has destroyed much in Thailand. Chon (not his real name) seeks a stolen treasure, Saudi jewels, and shows he is quite willing to kill to continue the quest. Poke Rafferty is a Yank who, having written a few books about how tourists can get what they need in some exotic places, has settled in Bangkok. He lives with Rose, a retired bar-girl who is trying to get her house-cleaning business going, and Miaow, a pre-adolescent urchin whom Rose and Rafferty have taken in. Life grows more complicated when Boo, a street kid who had lived on the streets with Miaow comes to stay with them.

In 2006, I opened the first book in the series, A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART, with a scene in which an American travel writer holds his adopted daughter’s hand as they follow his wife down a Bangkok sidewalk, shopping for groceries. I knew that it wasn’t the most electrifying opening in thriller history, but I wanted to say on the very first page that this was not a novel about Bangkok in which beautiful young Asian women threw themselves incessantly at uninteresting white men. My line of thought was something like wife+daughter+groceries=family.

The word family did the trick. I barely knew who these people were, but the moment I realized they were a family, I thought that it might be interesting to drop a normal—if intercultural and self-assembled—family into the world capital of instant gratification. It felt to me like the family might serve as a friendly campfire in a world of cold neon. And, for me, at least, it’s worked out. - from his site

Rafferty is asked by his friend Arthrit to help out an Aussie lady who is looking for her uncle. Complications and adventure ensue.

Payload here is a taste of Bangkok, the sexpatriots who come there to sate their needs, the locals who believe that the flooded shores are swarming with the ghosts of those who were lost, the street life of orphans that summons notions of Dickens.

This was a real page-turner, fast-paced, engaging with likeable and not-so-likeable characters, snappy dialogue. In the right hands this can be a wonderful film. A great summer read!


=============================EXTRA STUFF

Hallinan has written plenty more since the Poke Rafferty series. He can be found at his site, and on FB and Twitter

My reviews of other books in the series
-----#2 - 2008 - The Fourth Watcher
-----#3 - 2009 - Breathing Water
-----#4 - 2011 - The Queen of Patpong

There are nine books in the Poke Rafferty series. Hallinan moved on to other projects after that.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit--I was worried about reading this book. Worried Thai names and places would be confusing. Worried that the subject matter would be too hard to read. I couldn't have been more wrong, and can't recommend this book more highly.

Mr. Hallinan has crafted a tightly woven story that rings so true. Poke is written so well, I don't think it would be possible to feel his love and worry for Rose or Miaow more. His situation is a tightrope walk, and he does it with grace. Being a westerner in an eastern culture comes across, but he is a westerner with an open mind, which allows the reader to understand the culture as well.

The pornography and other violence depicted is horrifying, beyond what you can imagine (at least I hope it is.) But Hallinan doesn't dwell on it, and only describes what he needs to so the reader can understand the driving force of some of the characters' actions. I would say it is shocking and terrible, but I wouldn't describe it as too graphic.

I find that a good story is important to me, but great characters are more important. For the development of his characters, I give this book one of my rare five star reviews, and it's five with no reservations or half star bump ups. I'm definitely reading the other three in the series.

[JoAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually write reviews here - just list my books and get suggestions. But this book really touched me - right time, place, whatever . . . The main character in Timothy Hallinan's A Nail Through the Heart tells this story to an abused streed kid:

I hate to give advice, so I'll tell you a story instead. It's a Tibetan Buddhist story. A young monk goes to the wisest man he knows, the abbot of his temple, and asks the same question you've just asked: Why is the world so hard and sharp? Why does it have to hurt my feet? And instead of answering, the abbot asks the kid whether it would be better if the world were covered with leather . Okay, so the young monk says sure it would. It'd be a lot better. And the abbot asks the kid whether he knows how to cover the world with leather, and the kid says no, of course he doesn't, because he's a smart kid, a realistic kid. There's no way he can cover the world with leather. "Fine," says the abbot. "can you cover your feet with leather?"

Although the saying this is based on and was written before I was born, it made no impression on me till today. In the context of this novel, it seems so absolutely significant and clear that I wanted to post it for everyone to see. In the novel, the main character goes on to explain ". . . we're going to get you into a school . . . you're going to hate it sometimes . . . but you're going to stay there because you belong there. Nobody's giving you anything. You'll earn it . . . And if you screw up, you know what? There's not going to be a net. You're just going to fall. We can help you, but only if you want it. If you don't want it badly enough to pay for it, there's nothing anybody can do."

[Lance Charnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's interesting that there aren't more mysteries starring travel writers. They have far more qualifications than most literary amateur detectives: they're experienced travelers, know how to get around in foreign places, perhaps know the language and customs, dip in and out of cultures, and can get the locals to talk to them.

Poke Rafferty, the somewhat-tarnished protagonist of A Nail Through the Heart, is all this. He's also an expat busily putting down roots in Bangkok. Since in novels Bangkok is seediness made concrete, it's little wonder Poke gets sucked into all manner of bad behavior.

Two women grease the skids for Poke's slide into the demimonde: an Australian searching for her beloved, disappeared uncle; and a disturbing old woman looking for an envelope that's been stolen from her. Each promises some amount of money to the perpetually-broke Poke with the inevitable caveat that he survives long enough to spend it. Our Hero then plunges into two cases that - would you believe it? - are dirtier and more complicated than they seemed.

Poke has all the makings of a sad-sack detective, but isn't. He was reasonably competent in his previous vocation (his Looking for Trouble in... series sold well and prepared him for his new line of work); has a loving makeshift family in Rose, a former bar dancer, and Miaow, a street urchin he's trying to adopt; and is able to maintain normal human relationships both personal and professional without becoming an addict or otherwise wallowing in dysfunction. All this makes him better-than-average company as he leads us through many of the less tourist-friendly parts of Bangkok on his clients' business. While he can fire off a quip or two when needed, he's not prone to the relentless wiseassery that's made other stories like this a chore to get through.

While a couple of the main secondary characters are types, most are provided with actual personalities, motives, and behaviors that effectively portray the characters' inner humanity. Rose, Miaow, and Superman (a street kid Miaow guilts Poke into trying to save) are especially effective; the author is good at portraying the outward presentation of internal trauma.

I came to this book (the first in a series) via the author's Junior Bender series, which is lighter in tone but otherwise bears a family resemblance. They share the same solid character-building, the deft descriptions that sketch rather than paint, and a steady hand with keeping the multiple A and B plots going without dropping too many balls. Junior narrates his own stories, while Nail is told in third-person POV, providing more room to let the narrative roam. The cases generally make sense and come to sensible, organic ends. There's violence, some rather icky (but mostly offstage) child pornography, and the historical pornography of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, subjects far weightier than those Junior has to grapple with.

Any book series portraying crime in Thailand has to deal with a large Asian elephant in the room: John Burdett's Sonchai Jitpleecheep series featuring a Thai police detective adrift in a riotously corrupt Bangkok. Nail is nothing like Burdett's novels in either tone or outlook. You can decide for yourself whether that's good or bad.

With all this goodness, where's the fifth star? Poke is much more capable with the rough stuff than we have any explanation to support. He also seems to get around and fit in more easily than I'd expect for someone in his position; there's little of the feeling of otherness that plays such a major role in Jitpleecheep's mindset and colors his relations with the farang. The motives of the two major villains are largely unexplored, something that stands out because most everyone else's motives are clearly portrayed. None of this is fatal except to that dead fifth star.

A Nail Through the Heart is a fast, satisfying series debut that introduces an interesting and well-rounded lead character in an equally interesting milieu. If you like this, there are seven more waiting for you at the other end. The cost of entry is especially low if you're already a Hallinan fan. If you're not, this is as good a way to discover him as any.

[Cybercrone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Very well written and involving. Characters well drawn.

HOWEVER - if you are disturbed by descriptions of child slavery and sexual abuse, maybe best to give it a pass. I had some pretty horrible nightmares last night and I don't expect tonight will be much different.

[Ms.pegasus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phuket, located on coastal Thailand, is a popular tourist mecca. It was the height of the season when the 2004 tsunami struck, devastating the coasts of some dozen countries and killing thousands in Thailand alone. Almost a year later, the New York Times reported: “Tsunami Victims' ID Could Take Three Years,” (Aug. 23, 2005). The event is recapped in the introductory chapter of this book.

A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART is set in Bangkok a few months after the tsunami. When the protagonist begins his missing person inquiry, there is a casual mention of checking the “Boards”. These are the collections of photographs, updated daily, of new corpses washed ashore along the coast.

Hallinan presents a vivid portrayal of geography and recent history in this meditative thriller. This is not the Thailand of ancient temples and palaces. It is the country overrun by restless waves of refugees displaced by years of terrorism in bordering Cambodia and Laos. Legions of street orphans have multiplied, another legacy of the tsunami. Brothels and bars line Patpong Road. Throngs of daytime street vendors selling anything from fake watches to T-shirts are replaced at night by crowds of expatriots filling bars and brothels. Hallinan immerses the reader in the messy colorful feel of a foreign locale. He does so with unapologetic candor.

The book opens with a night scene of two men digging for a safe on the estate of a secluded mansion. Water keeps seeping into the hole. Hallinan explains: “Bangkok is a river town, built around a network of canals radiating off the Chao Phraya, the silt-saturated River of Kings. The city's office towers, roads, and palaces float queasily on a tropical flood-plain. Even in the dry season, the water is always there pooled just beneath the dirt, just beneath the pavement. Waiting for some fool with a shovel.” (Location 147)

The estate, the two men, and the contents of the safe they exume are tied into the secondary missing person plot. The protagonist Poke Rafferty is a specialist in seamy nightlife. Until recently, he authored a lucrative series of travel guides called “Looking for Trouble.” He is quite familiar with the hedonistic longings of his target audience. At this point in his life, however, he is seeking a more substantial anchor, one involving meaningful connections. He is in a serious relationship with Rose, an ex-prostitute, and is hoping to legally adopt a street child named Miaow. A friend in the police force refers a young woman to Rafferty. She is concerned that her uncle, an Australian expatriot named Claus Ulrich, has stopped corresponding with her and seems to have vanished. Supposedly, Ulrich worked with some local charities, but as Rafferty begins to dig, a far different picture begins to emerge.

Rafferty constantly confronts Thailand's very different world view. He is the typical outsider, impatient, pragmatic, and secular. “The Thais share the world with a whole pantheon of ghosts, a taxonomy of the dead and not only in the less-cosmopolitan villages,” he observes. (Location 539) Rose is constantly cautioning him to restrain his emotional outbursts. Extract good from a bad situation. It is a way to earn merit which will help him in the next life, she suggests. This outlook is a stark contrast to an aggressive self-improvement agenda motivating many Westerners exploring Eastern religions.

On the other hand, Rafferty's inclination toward hyperbolic wit makes for an entertaining narration. Rafferty gains entry to Ulrich's apartment. “[H]e finds a trove of painkillers that, taken cumulatively, could prepare an elephant for surgery.” (Location 948) As for the décor, not exactly the manly style he might expect from an Australian. “...you should see the apartment; it looks like he roomed with Ludwig of Bavaria,” he reports to his friend Arthit. (Location 1271)

Hallinan populates his book with a range of interesting characters. At Miaow's insistence, he takes in a damaged and possibly dangerous street child whom everyone calls “Superman.” The boy reflects the often irreversible trauma inflicted on so many children like him due to poverty and rampant corruption. Even Rafferty wonders if “Superman” is a hopeless case. That question will promote the momentum of the story.

Another engaging character is Arthit, a Thai police officer and close friend to Rafferty. Although he is Thai, he was educated in England and speaks with the detached ironic understatement of the English. When Rafferty discovers Ulrich's maid gave her employment agency a false address, the address of a local bank, Arthit quips: “Maybe she sleeps with her money.” (Location 1254)

This was a fast-paced book that tied together several plot threads in a surprising way. It explored the underside of a foreign city that is both disturbing and yet, hopeful. The book is the first in what promises to be an entertaining series.

[Remittance Girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having lived in Southeast Asia for over 12 years, I have to admit to having some trepidation about reading a book about a white guy named 'Poke'.

I shouldn't have worried. Hallinan offers up a marvelous blend of noir thriller, ethnographic study and a complex romance. I can honestly say I was engaged every minute of the 10 hours.

His portrait of Bangkok's seamy underbelly is spot on. And yet he takes the reader through it with enough of a detached eye to focus us on the central mystery. His main character is an brilliantly flawed, engaging and open man who draws the reader in and doesn't let go.

The story takes a serious journey into the world of child prostitution, abuse and pornography and the devastation it leaves behind in the lives it's touched. It also takes a haunting trip into the horrors of the Cambodia of the Khmer Rouge. Hallinan wraps it up in a web of police corruption, Buddhist mysticism and the jaded expat's view of Bangkok.

This book is not for the faint of heart. Some of it is extremely gritty. But it is not sensational in its approach and well worth the listening time and the credit.

[Lani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to start by saying that it is a rare occurrence that I give any book 5 stars. I am pretty critical when it comes to characters, details and errors in proofreading. This book truly deserves the rating.

While some readers should be warned of the explicit and sensitive content, the author did a very good job with the storyline but I'm not easily offended. In my opinion, the shock value was needed to put the reader in a mindset the author wants you to be in, in order to love/hate the potential criminals/heroes. The story was never too farfetched as a lot of books I've read lately have been. The characters were wonderfully and vividly created.

Being that this is the first book in a series, the only disappointment I had was the last page when all of my questions weren't answered and one of the characters was missing. I ordered the rest of the series onto my Kindle and I realized that this had become an addictive story and I wanted to make sure I got my fix!

[Jade Lauron · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of four in the Poke Rafferty series. This is my third re-read. I thought about moving it down to four stars from five, because five is usually reserved for books that have changed how I look at the world, and I could no longer remember how this moved or enlightened me. Then I realized that every time I read this book, I'm compelled to a) go to Bangkok, b) take in a stray kid or foster kid, and c) save the world. Even worse, I want to do these things heroically, all at once, all at the same time, possibly while also jumping from an airplane, solving a crime, and having an epic jungle/desert/urban adventure. Any book which has this great an impact on one's psyche deserves five stars.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poke Rafferty's first adventure has so much crammed into it that when I saw the page count on Goodreads (I listened to the audio book) I couldn't believe it was only 300-odd pages. The blurb at the top is a pretty good description so I won't waste time by repeating it here, or add to it in case I spoil anyone's fun. It took me a while to get into the story and I found it dragged at times but was interesting enough to keep me listening. Then it picked up and became tense and exciting and I was revising my expected rating upwards to 4 stars. Unfortunately, towards the end, Hallinan has Rafferty forget to do something that leads to a problem with a child, and I just couldn't believe that he would have been that stupid. It's a shame because the quality of the writing was excellent. It's still a fascinating story that most people would enjoy, and maybe I'll try another one in the series at some point.

[PDXReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished A Nail Through the Heart and absolutely loved it. It has everything that I find important (and sooo hard to find) in a mystery/thriller: It's a page-turner, the writing is great, the characters are believable and written with great depth, the plot makes sense and is for the most part unpredictable. I've already bought the next three books in the series for my iTouch, and bought two dead-tree copies of the first one for friends. I can't wait to start the next one!

However... Anyone thinking about reading this book needs to know that it's pretty brutal. A large part of the plot concerns the absolute worst kind of child abuse, plus there are scenes of (adult) torture. None of the scenes are gratuitous and these horrors are essential to the plot, but some people may find these sections of the book highly disturbing.

[Robin Mandell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written, entertaining, compassionate with some pretty heavy stuff. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, and frankly some of my reservations about it have to do with my expectations. See, I was expecting a traditional mystery in an exotic setting.

What I got is a moving (if conventional) story of a stranger in a strange land. Except for some gory details about the sexual exploitation of children and the torture techniques of the Khmer Rouge, this is a slight but heartwarming crime story that would probably make a really good TV movie. (Actually, that's a little harsh - it could also make a good movie-movie, but you'd need someone like Peter Weir to scrape the schmaltz off the top.)

There's nothing wrong with that, and I'll admit that I teared up a couple times, myself.

My deeper issue is that Hallinan gives his characters pretty scarifying histories and then sets them firmly on the road to Ozzie and Harriet Land. I dunno. It seemed a little... old fashioned? conservative? lame?

There are two street kids in the book's family. They're adorable. Crusty and smart and fierce. I'm not sure they act much like real kids, though? Where is the acting out? The testing of affection and boundaries? Any not-adorable behavior?

Maybe it's just me. I won't argue that it's not moving.

As to the mystery: there are two crimes - which refreshingly don't overlap (other than thematically) - but no real surprises. Again, that doesn't mean the stories aren't satisfying.

I'm not sure if I will read another. We'll see whether Poke and his adopted family linger in my mind.

[HJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

***This book contains very graphic child torture and investigation of child pornography in Thailand that will go over explicit details*** Make sure you are comfortable reading this.

I wish I had not read this book. I wish there were a way for books to display something like "Graphic subject matter" or see this easily in reviews. For those of you thinking about this book - here is the warning - you must be prepared to be comfortable reading about child torture and pedophilia. A lot of it.

The images described still haunt me - I really wish I could forget them. I don't want this level of darkness in my life. I wish I could 'unread it'. This is no real reflection of the writing itself - tough to judge it because I was too horrified at the subject matter.

Also turned me off from ever going to Thailand. Ever.

[Christine Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Nail Through the Heart opens with Poke Rafferty, a travel writer turned reluctant investigator, searching for a missing Australian woman in Bangkok. What begins as a simple case spirals into a confrontation with a sadistic war criminal and a child exploitation ring, forcing Rafferty to navigate the city’s underbelly and his own moral limits. Hallinan’s prose is brisk and vivid, balancing noir grit with emotional depth. The novel explores trauma, redemption, and the fragile bonds of chosen family, all set against a backdrop of moral ambiguity and cultural complexity.

[Stacie Haden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, and I'll continue with the series. I read another book "Bangkok 8" that I didn't like, because it was all abuse and misery with no hope. This one has the same abuse, but it's layered with humanity and peppered with optimism.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling story and memorable characters, but some parts are very difficult to read due to the subject matter of sexual abuse and trafficking.

[Ted Lehmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across Herbie's Game, the fourth in Timothy Hallinan's Junior Bender series and reviewed it in August. I was attracted to the character, an unusual take on the detective novel in which the protagonist is a “professional” thief who solves problems for others who function outside the law. This was such an interesting take on crime and criminals I decided to keep an eye out for more Hallinan books. Sure enough For the Dead, the most recent in his, so far, more widely known Poke Rafferty series, set in Bangkok, was available, and I ordered it, read it, loved, and reviewed it. Next I checked out the local public library, which had The Fear Artist available for a two week download, which I quickly consumed, too. Which brings us to A Nail Through the Heart, the first novel in the Poke Rafferty series.

During my reading life, there have been a few writers whose work with a single character so consumed me I decided to read them all, more or less in order. John D. MacDonald's character Travis McGee was the subject of more than twenty novels set in Florida. Not a “private eye,” McGee characterized himself as “salvage consultant” and, surrounded by an interesting continuing cast of characters, developed the idea of the long running, serial character in crime fiction. Robert B. Parker's Boston detective Spenser (no first name) was a literary tough guy, both gentle and dangerous. Parker's prose was spare and the books a very fast read. The Aubrey/Matarin series of naval adventure novels by Patrick O'Brien set in the 18th and early 19th century starred sea captain (and later Admiral) James Aubrey and his ship's surgeon Stephen Matarin and twenty-one novels that combined exploration and adventure with fine writing. The Richard Sharpe series by Benard Cornwell follow the adventures of a soldier from a lowly grunt in the ranks to top commands during the Napoleonic wars. Not as intellectually satisfying as O'Brien, they nevertheless drew the reader in and then kept him (I guess mostly hims, but I wouldn't count on it.) reading through twenty-four volumes. James Lee Burke's Louisiana-based alcholic detective filled with anger and violence Dave Roubicheaux also attracted me through most of his twenty novels. While I've read multiple books by others, these writers represent highlights in my light fiction reading. I welcome Timothy Hallinan to this distinguished list. Interestingly enough, most of these fine writers kept my attention only through a central character. Hallinan has so far created three major characters, two of whom are currently running concurrently and both attracting readers with very different perspectives.

I decided to purchase the entire body of Poke Rafferty and Junior Bender novels as used books using Thrift Books, an online used book store as my source. (Thrift Books is, indeed, thrifty, with an easy to navigate interface and extremely low prices. I bought seven volumes in trade paper or hardback for about $4.00 a piece with free shipping. They arrived quickly and, while not new, are in good enough shape for both Irene and me to read them and then drop them without regret at campground libraries. It's a good deal.) A Nail Through the Heart is the first novel in the Poke Rafferty series. A benefit of reading series books in order is to see how the character and the author develop through the arc of the series. Thus I was surprised as I picked up Nail to discover Poke, who arrived in Bangkok as an itinerant travel book writer specializing in books exploring the more seemy aspects of Asian countries, already fully established with his girlfriend Rose, a former dancer and prostitute from the Patcong entertainment area of Bangkok. They live with a former street kid named Miaow. Since I had encountered them in different relationships in For the Dead, I was surprised to see them there at all.
Read the rest of this review on my blog and please consider buying it from the Amazon portal there.

[Max Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A mystery thriller (Looking for Trouble in Thailand)”

Timothy Hallinan is a mystery series writer with three protagonists featured in his novels: Junior Bender, a career burglar, Philip (Poke) Rafferty, a travel writer, and Simeon Grist a detective. While the novels all entail some mystery and detective work the settings are distinctly different and the story lines intriguing and original.
“A Nail Thorough the Heart”, a Poke Rafferty novel, is the second of Hallinan’s works that I have reviewed: the first being “Crashed” of the Junior Bender series. The inspiration for reading this second novel of Hallinan’s derives from the excellent writing that framed the previous novel “Crashed”; and I am not disappointed as Hallinan’s writing skills are clearly evident in this novel as well.

Philip (Poke) Rafferty is a book writer living in Bangkok, Thailand in a modest dwelling apartment within the city. Poke is decidedly lucky, he thinks, to have Rose, whom he rescued from a seedy night life existence and who he has tried variously to capture in marriage; so far resisted, and Miaow, an eight year old girl formerly abandoned on the streets of Bangkok. Together, the trio is Poke’s vision of a family, and one he wants to bind more securely including the adoption of Miaow.

As the story opens, two men are digging a hole in the back yard of the home of its wealthy inhabitant in search of a buried safe. The safe, it seems, contains something of extreme value to the owner. In the course of the theft, one of the men is killed and this becomes the seed for the growth of a deeply disturbing mystery. On a second seam, Poke is approached by his cop friend Arthit to help a young Australian woman, Clarissa Ulrich find her missing uncle Claus. This action it seems was derived from the fact that Poke had written an article about finding foreign men in Thailand who didn’t want to be found; a copy from Arthit that Clarissa found most interesting. And so the two seemingly distinct occurrences begin the journey of causal connection as Poke becomes more and more involved in the attendant mysteries surrounding each of them.

Hallinan writes easily about the sights and scenes of Bangkok. His language has a familiar feeling that makes visual impressions of the people and places involved. The mystery is steeped in some loathsome activity involving unfortunate children and a chilling recollection of the atrocities perpetuated by the Khmer Rouge; both aspects of Asian culture finding their way into Hallinan’s story.

This was a very engaging novel and one I would highly recommend be added to your reading list.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Line: Moon and river.

Poke Rafferty had been making his leisurely way around the world, writing a series of travel books for young and terminally bored males. First came Looking for Trouble in the Philippines, then Looking for Trouble in Indonesia, but when it was time to write Looking for Trouble in Thailand, he found the country had an unbreakable hold on him in the form of two women: beautiful former go-go dancer Rose, whom he wants to marry, and Miaow, a tiny young girl Poke rescued from the streets, whom he wants to adopt.

Unfortunately he was once very lucky in finding someone, and that luck has come to haunt him. Poke reluctantly agrees to try to locate an Australian woman's missing uncle, and even more reluctantly takes on the assignment of locating a blackmailer. He needs the money to speed the adoption of Miaow. To top it all off, that tiny urchin insists that he take another street child under his wing-- a very scary young boy known as Superman. Things are about to become very, very complicated. Not only is Poke not a real investigator, he really doesn't understand the country in which he's living, and that is a volatile and dangerous combination.

I could go on and on about characters that immediately latched on to my heart, a setting that I could taste and smell and feel, and a plot that flowed smoothly to its conclusion, but I won't.

What struck me most forcibly in reading A Nail Through the Heart was a true feeling for the culture of the people of Thailand. I have long been a fan of the novels of John Burdett which are also set in Bangkok. Featuring Royal Thai detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, they also are fascinating portraits of the Thai culture. In them, however, I will never be anything other than a farang-- an outsider, a foreigner, a crass American who will never truly understand the Thai people. Although keeping me at that remove is a good thing for maintaining necessary humility, I found Poke's sometimes bumbling attempts to understand a very different culture made me an ally who was more willing to open her mind and her heart. As Poke learned, so did I.

Heart. Not only is heart in the title of this book, it is also on every page. As each chapter flowed into the next, I felt that Hallinan wrote this with a great deal of heart, of emotion... of love. As a result Thailand became alive to me in a way that it never had before.

Timothy Hallinan, you are jai dee.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book suffered because I read it after John Burdett's tres excellent Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, #1) which made me obsessed with Thai culture and their unique worldview (unique to a farang, that is.) This book was good but just couldn't compare.


Also set in Bangkok (shortly after the Indian Ocean Tsunami), this is the first in a series about American-born and half-Filipino adventure travel writer Poke Rafferty. He has settled in Bangkok and fallen in love with a former bar girl named Rose who is trying to set up a cleaning business that will provide safe work for her old colleagues. He is also hoping to adopt a once homeless street kid who now lives with him. Into his lap falls several mysteries simultaneously: a missing Australian mystery man, a possibly homicidal homeless boy named Superman from his would-be daughter's past, a dead safe cracker and a rich, scary old lady who hires him to recover some stolen property. Hallinan writes in the spirit of Henning Mankell, using the mystery to delve into Thailand's pressing social problems: the Khmer Rouge hiding in Thailand, child pornography, the fate of bar girls and Tsunami orphans.

The best parts of the story are the Thai atmosphere and Buddhist philosophy. I found the main characters likable but mostly wooden. And since the story picks up after Poke has met and fallen in love with Rose and his prospective daughter, it's hard to really get invested in their relationships. Arthit, Poke's friend on the police force, was the most memorable character. There's also a scene that strains credulity near the end involving a misunderstanding with Poke's laptop-no spoilers here.

I liked this book despite my complaints and Hallinan has the best intentions in raising these issues. I also really liked the ending. I might read more of this series to see where it goes and if it improves.

[Debbi Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having previously read BREATHING WATER and QUEEN OF PATPONG, I felt compelled to read A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART, not only because Timothy Hallinan did such a great job writing those books, but because I wanted to see how the series started. Boy, do I wish I'd read them in order. (I happened to pick BREATHING WATER first, only because it was being "talked about" so much online at the time.)

Now, I finally know that Poke Rafferty (the intrepid protagonist) is not only a writer, but a writer who made his mark creating travel guides for tourists looking to take a walk on the wild side of Southeast Asia (kind of the seamy, Southeast Asian version of Rick Steves, if you will). During his somewhat aimless, if interesting, travels, he walked into a strip club in the notorious Patpong Road red light district and was smitten by the sight of its most renown dancer/prostitute, the very tall and beautiful Rose. Poke took Rose off the stage and into his arms, so to speak. They ended up bringing a child into their home -- a girl named Miaow, who's been living on the streets.

As the story begins, Poke and Rose (who's struggling to start a legitimate house cleaning business to provide a healthier career path for her stripper friends) are trying to build something resembling a stable life (a change for both of them), adopt Miaow and become more of a family. I say "more" of a family, because Rose is resistant to Poke's suggestion that they get married. These are among the interesting little details and storylines that make the characters seem so real and the give the book more depth and substance than the average thriller.

Read the entire review at: http://thebookgrrl.blogspot.com/2010/...

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters and dialog are extremely inauthentic. We don't know much about the main character's background other than that he's written some travel guides for SE Asia. He's trying to start a life in Bangkok but he seems fluent in Thai and very knowledgeable about Thai society. He has philosophical discussions of why life is unfair with a 12 year old street kid. His neighbor happens to be a cop who went to boarding school in England so they are able to engage in verbal repartee in English. The Thais in the book use sarcasm, irony and one-liners like dialog from some Hollywood film noir of the 40's.

The situations are also cringe-inducing. We are supposed to sympathize with the main character because he wants to adopt an 8 year old former street kid. The interaction between Poke and Miaow are pretty sappy. Also in real life, Rose would dump Poke the minute she found out Poke has a former street kid living with him and Poke wants to adopt the kid.

The author uses 2 of the most sensationalist topics in SE Asia, Khmer Rouge genocide and child sex abuse, to show that the book has some moral weight and pretend that the book engages in some discussion about the nature of justice. But to me it just seems like sensationalism for the sake of sensationalism. By the way, the 2 plot strands intersect due to a coincidence that Madam Wing hired Doughnut, the maid. Other than that coincidence they don't have anything to do with each other.

I realize that in these mysteries there is creative license and stretching of the boundaries of believability but this is not creative license. This is just bad writing. I am really puzzled how so many other reviewers like/love this book.

[J.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the wake of the tragic 2004 tsunami, travel writer Poke is trying to build a new life in Thailand with Rose, a former bar girl, and Miaow, a street child he wants to adopt. As a favor to a Thai policeman friend, Poke agrees to investigate the disappearance of the uncle of an Australian woman. It isn’t long before he discovers the man is a cruel pedophile and not the saint the niece believes him to be.

Complications mount as he takes into his home a boy known as Superman from Miaow’s past, accepts money from a wealthy woman who wants him to find a man who stole something she won’t disclose, runs afoul of two corrupt police and assorted thugs who threaten him and his family.

It’s an adrenalin-rush of a story with well-defined characters, plenty of action and a complex, engrossing plot.

Like John Burdett, Hallinan has a deep insight into Thai character and an obvious love for the people. He doesn’t gloss over or romanticize the complexity of this society which has its beauty and its warts. Those warts include the exploitation of women and sexual abuse of children, distasteful subjects which can only be dealt with by Buddhist pragmatism.

I came into Hallinan’s Poke Rafferty series backward. That is, I read the most recent novel before reading this first in the series. Knowing a bit more about the characters didn’t deplete my enjoyment of this one. I’m looking forward to the other books in the series.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many reviews have been written about A Nail Through the Heart. I found it to be a book that held my attention and was hard to put down. Poke Rafferty is an American travel writer who is living in Bangkok Thailand. He has fallen in love with a Rose who was a bar dancer in the Bangkok sex center. She now is working on setting up a house cleaning business. He also has taken under his wing a street child named Miaow who he wants to adopt. Miaow brought into their household a fierce street child boy named Superman who people on the streets fear. Poke wants to have a secure and happy family but there are obstacles to overcome. I liked the relatiohship between his policeman friend Arthit and Poke.

Poke has been hired to find two missing people. One is a missing uncle and the other is a thief who stole some information from a safe that belong to a scary ferocious elderly lady. In both instances what he discovers, is very dark and disturbing. The plot held surprises and didn't lag. Even though some of the plot was very dark, the love Poke had for his family unit brought light and hope to the book. The location of Bangkok was interesting and colorful. I will continue with the series as I liked the storytelling of the author. I also, want to continue with the characters and see what happens to them in future books

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery is, as the blurb indicates, set in Thailand. The characters engage in the type of snappy dialogue that you see in the early Robert B. Parker mysteries and in the Lawrence Block/ Matthew Scudder mysteries. The characters are also similar to James Lee Burke's characters in the Robicheaux series. The main character is an expat living in Thailand. His girlfriend is a former prostitute (sound familiar?) and he is trying to adopt a street child whom he has taken in (Alafair? TJ?). This series of novels gets good reviews among many readers for its Thai setting, and I thought (as someone who has never been to Thailand, much less lived there), that his portrayal of Thailand worked well in the context of the novel. In the subsequent books in this series, however, Thailand seems more and more like, say, Chicago or Boston. To be sure, some elements of the stories would not work in the US, but the people are increasingly generic and increasingly alike. It would be impossible, for example, to identify a character on the basis of a few lines of dialogue. All are witty and all are witty in the same way. So - this one is a good read. The others less so.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART is a slam-bang detective thriller set in Bangkok, Thailand. If you like edgy, offbeat mysteries, this one is for you. Hallinan--himself a former Thailand resident--writes with confidence and authority about the country's sprawling sex industry and expatriate subculture. Hallinan resists most detective-thriller conventions and provides readers with conflicted, entirely-believable characters, complicated moral quandaries, ingenious narrative twists, and edge-of-your-seat action. The main character--a travel writer turned detective--is forced to solve two mysteries while simultaneously trying to cobble together a family by marrying his former sex worker girlfriend and adopting a little girl who was herself the victim of prior sexual abuse. It's a story that doesn't pull any punches. If you're considering a vacation to Thailand anytime soon, this book may make you rethink your plans. A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART is undeniably dark, violent, disturbing stuff, but it isn't just dark for the sake of darkness. There's plenty of tenderness and humanity to be found here, as well.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strength of A Nail Through the Heart is the sense of place and contextualisation; Poke Rafferty is a travel writer in Bangkok and, likewise, Hallinan gives a good Western perspective and explanation of the city and culture. The story, however, suffers from a couple of shortcomings: I did not sufficiently believe in the main character, nor in the plot. Poke Rafferty came across as somewhat schizophrenic – hyper-sensitive and caring to the point of being sappy with his adopted family and certain others, yet hardnosed, threatening, and at times violent with others. He’s either tiptoeing over eggshells or creating them and the two halves felt disconnected. The main two plotlines are interesting and unfold at a good pace, but too many elements are over-contrived and clunky, and there were too many subplots. It was if Hallinan decided to try cram as much action and emotive darkness into one story as possible. Sometimes less is more. This was a shame as it’s clear he’s a good writer and the set-up and setting have a lot of promise. Overall, a reasonably entertaining read, and I’d try the next in the series, but this felt over-written.

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a complete page-turner! Filled with unpredictable suspense! To the sensitive and easily shocked reader...beware...it has it all...the good, the bad and the very very ugly. As with most books of this kind, I feel the shock value was necessary to the story. Of course it isn't always pleasant to read about these things and even believe they really happen, but it does make for interesting and intense reading and a reminder of how lucky we are....to be reading this and not living through it. As with The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo...this book has an intense storyline, but characters you can really get wrapped up in. I loved Poke, Rose, Miaow, Superman and Arthit...and their stories....Madame Wing reaches a whole new level of characters to hate. I will definitely read more of this author's writing. This book takes place in Thailand and I learned quite a bit about that country's culture...I also learned about a subject I actually had to google... Khmer Rouge and that horrible time in Cambodia.