Another Yellow Bar Review

Excuse me for tooting my own horn, but I got another review of The Yellow Bar from a nice lady named Cindy. Thank you, kind stranger!

The Yellow Bar/John Falch A+. Finding out about this book was a fluke. I was perusing Facebook and saw a post from Tim Hallinan urging readers to read about a new author he found and I was hooked. The book was a $2.99 find for the kindle and worth every penny and more. It's a saga-like story set at the brink of World War II in a small village of Culi-Culi near Manila in the Philippines. The story is told from three points of view, mostly that of little Pepot Reynoldo, the youngest boy in the family; an American 'lavender' (gay) hotel manager, Eric Lawson and little orphan girl name Imang who was rounded up by the Japanese military once the war had started to work in a sweat shop in Manila. Most of the story is about the far reaching Reynaldo family which includes Pinky Del Rosario, a torch singer and her husband Romeo. They live and work in Manila, where her sister's family is on the farm in Culi-Culi. The story is about the creativity, bravery, resourcefulness, family love and respect that get them through the hard times ahead until the island of Luzon is liberated by the Americans.
Most likely this will be one of my top ten reads of the year.

The Queen of Patpong

When I read a good book, I want to tell everyone about it. I bought this book on Apple iBooks and wrote the review for it. However, Apple is taking its time posting it. Did Apple eat my review? So until it appears on iTunes, here it is:

The Queen of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan

This book is a first class read from beginning to end. It’s about a travel writer named Poke Rafferty, who is living the good life in Thailand, along with his wife, Rose, and adopted daughter. But their lives gets flipped upside down when Rose’s dark past suddenly comes back to haunt her. (Seems Rose had been a popular bargirl in Bangkok’s notorious Patpong district.) This past comes in the form of a dangerous, psychotic ex-fiancee, Howard Horner, who is hell-bent on sadistic revenge, putting the whole family on the chopping block. He’s a villain that will curl your toes.

The Queen of Patpong is more than just a mere thriller; it’s a damn good story that is totally believable. Tim Hallinan really makes the characters come alive with some of the best dialogue and background stories ever written. (The story of Rose’s childhood is heartbreaking and all too true.) The hero, Poke, is a tough guy but no Rambo; he actually breaks, bleeds and grunts throughout the book. The cops, the mama-sans, the bargirls (heck, all the characters!) come across as complete human beings, warts and all. It would have been all too easy for this story to turn into a cliche “white man in mysterious Thailand” pulp novel, but in Tim’s hands, not only will you feel that you are part of the family, you will also come away with an understanding of what Thailand and its people really are.

That said, The Queen of Patpong is a thrilling (sometimes bloody) ride, loaded with a subtle sense of humor and a wonderful slap-dead finale. I found myself mumbling “yes... YES!” at the surprise ending. This book is one of a series of Poke Rafferty novels. It’s the first one I’ve ever read and I’m happy to see that there are several more. Read this book before it becomes a movie!