Brant Randall

A complex murder mystery that introduces readers to the Philippines much in the same manner John Burdett takes us to Thailand. While I can't speak for the veracity of Burdett's portrayal of Bangkok, I can speak some of Cook's imagery of the Philippines, as I read this book while visiting that country.

ATF detective Sam Haine is sent to Manila to investigate the murder of a Oklahoma man suspected of weapons brokering. He arrives with slim ties to the country (his grandfather died during the Bataan Death March), and it his cultural education throughout the book I found most interesting. He works with local detectives, and the chain of evidence introduces him to the city's thriving sex scene (no, I'm not sure he didn't just lift the plot from Burdett).

The characters are an interesting bunch. The Japanese mastermind who still bears a grudge from WW2. The owner of the "American Club," a sex club whose glory days went by the wayside when the US closed their naval base at Subic Bay. The sister of the murder victim -- an ex-Marine whose "obnoxious American" routine was at least partially a put-on. A hooker and her pimp "brother" who are always seem to be more than they appear to be.

I liked the pace of the story and the character development -- until the end. The end seemed rushed. Many of the characters wound up dead, and some of the sub-plots left loose ends.

I'd be interested in additional stories set here -- mostly because of my familiarity with the setting. Unlike Burdett's Bangkok detective, however, the main character in Philippine Fever is not native but American. and there's no reason to expect detective Haine won't pop up elsewhere in his next story. I'm not so sure I'd follow him elsewhere.… (meer)