Sonchai JitpleecheepJohn Burdetts inimitable Royal Thai Police detective with the hard-bitten demeanor and the Buddhist soulis summoned to the most shocking and intriguing crime scene of his career. Solving the murder could mean a promotion, but Sonchai, reeling from a personal tragedy, is more interested in Tietsin, an exiled Tibetan lama based in Kathmandu who has become his guru. There are, however, obstacles in Sonchais path to nirvana. Police Colonel Vikorn has just named Sonchai his consigliere (hes been studying The Godfather on DVD): to troubleshoot, babysit, defuse, procure, reconnoiterdo whatever needs to be done in Vikorns ongoing battle with Army General Zinna for control of Bangkoks network of illegal enterprises. And though Tietsin is enlightened and (eerily) charismatic, he also has forty million dollars worth of heroin for sale. If Sonchai truly wants to be an initiate into Tietsins apocalyptic Buddhism, he has to pull off a deal that will bring Vikorn and Zinna to the same side of the table. Further complicating the challenge is Tara: a Tantric practitioner who captivates Sonchai with her remarkable otherworldly techniques.Here is Sonchai put to the extreme testas a cop, as a Buddhist, as an impossibly earthbound manin John Burdetts most wildly inventive, darkly comic, and wickedly entertaining novel yet.From the Hardcover edition.