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James Newman’s Bangkok Express is a wild and uneven ride through Thailand’s seedy underbelly, a well-stocked quarry of misery, often mined for crime fiction outings which fall short of the real thing, if only because the culture of impunity in Thailand’s underworld is simply so far out that writers have to go to spectacular lengths to match the real tales of depravity that percolate from the kingdom’s criminals. Just open the local papers and you’ll find a breath-taking litany of often hair-raising and sometimes amusing misdeeds committed by locals and foreign visitors alike.

Mr. Newman’s story of British insurance broker Joe Dylan (incidentally the name of the writer’s offspring, a nice touch) who’s on the trail of Thai gangsters and femmes fatales to figure out whether his clients back home in Blighty have been conned into paying out several life insurance claims resulting from suspicious scuba diving accidents, leads, as one would hope, nowhere good.

Bangkok Express stretches from the capital down to the islands in the Gulf of Thailand, in this case Ko Samui, a vulgar, corrupt and sometimes deadly tourist haven, and the fiefdom of Shogun, the most powerful and ruthless man on the island.

On the way, Mr. Newman abuses eternal truths, clichés and painful realities in equal measure and serves up a good beach read. He joins more established writers such as Christopher G. Moore and John Burdett in an exploration of Thailand’s garish netherworld of private eyes, prostitutes, pimps, gangsters, cops and dirty tricks.

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Under the pseudonym Bangkok Byron, a member of the influential literary site ThailandStories.com wrote in 2011 an essay putting forth the idea that writers in Thailand have by now established their own artistic movement. Comparing these expatriate writers to the Paris-based Decadent Movement of the late 19th century, he suggested that writers in Thailand belong to a family whose fiction is “a protest against a spiritually bankrupt civilization” but where “sex, alcohol and drugs [are] important catalysts.”

This idea was not something new as another website previously suggested the same thing. An anonymous writer for ThaiOasis.com sustains that “the still-emerging genre of Bangkok Fiction contains common elements that define its ‘look and feel,’ including the heroism of anti-heroes, the increasingly thin line between innocence and vice, and the often-necessary relationship between honesty and corruption.” Some of the established writers identified as belonging to this new local genre are Christopher G. Moore, Dean Barrett, Stephen Leather, Jake Needham, Collin Piprell, Jason Schoonover, and David Young.

But, apart from these well-known names, there’s also a score of emerging writers who constantly try to find their own voice and role in this new literary movement. Discovering these writers has become easier these days, as new electronic platforms have given them a simple and inexpensive way of making their work available via e-books.

One of these emerging writers is Bangkok-based English author James A. Newman, who has been calling Thailand home since 2001. Born in London in 1977, Newman moved to Bangkok to write fiction full time and, ever since, has published short-stories, novels and non-fiction in publications from Mumbai, Arizona, London and, of course, Bangkok.

Newman describes his writing as “new-noir crime with pulp heart,” a mixture which no doubt comes from his vivid imagination and a vast life experience as a litigation insurance broker, copy-writer, English teacher, movie extra in Bollywood, rare book dealer, rainforest tour guide, and importer of cheese and wine.

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5.0 out of 5 stars High Steppin Adventure for Likable Protagonist, Joe Dylan, January 21, 2013

Flow. That's the word that kept popping up in my head as I read BANGKOK EXPRESS by James A. Newman. The book flows, nicely. It's a page turner. Good writing in it abounds. Does it cover familiar territory at times? Yes. So what? So does the roller coaster ride in my home town in California but it's still fun to buy a ticket from time to time. Better than saying, "Oh, I rode that, once." The novel, QUEEN OF PATPONG was nominated for The Edgar Award and deservedly so. That book has Bangkok, bars and bar girls too. But good writing is good writing. I don't care if it takes place at The Oriental Hotel dinner table or the toilet of a German Beer Bar.

Quick witted and tough London insurance investigator Joe Dylan has been sent to Thailand to look into the rapid fire deaths of two scuba divers covered for big bucks by a 5 star hotel's insurance policy. Corruption is suspected and Joe's job is to find it.

Dylan reminded me of a young Jim Rockford from The Rockford Files T.V. show of the 1970s only with a bit more angst. In the course of his investigation he has to deal with the temptations of Bangkok, successfully for the most part and then get to Koh Samui. Newman has come up with a couple of good bad guys in Thai brothers, Shogun who has brains, property and money and resentful cop brother, Rang. Other characters include a Muay Thai boxer who doubles as bi-sexual Shogun's love interest, James Hale who has gotten himself into debt with the wrong crowd and Gantira the prerequisite Thai beauty, which I never tire of reading about. I like a book that balances narrative and dialogue and BANGKOK EXPRESS does that. Examples of Dylan's dialogue when he's asked how he likes Bangkok?: "I like the way it surprises me. I like the way that the women are only after my money. I like the heat and I love the pollution. I like the darkness. I like the whiteness. I like the contrasts and the contradictions. I like the way a guy fires a gun at me and another smacks me in the face. The bodybuilders. The whores. I like lizard-skin shoes. What's not to like?" Equally good is the narrative voice as Newman writes in the Dylan voice as he ponders about Nana Plaza - a subject that has been done a lot, but this still reads well: It was the last cigarette saloon. The wild east. The last frontier. A debauched utopia. Tourists flocked from all over the world to worship this. Arabs periodically lost their faith for brown thighs and whisky. Japanese lost count of their yen. It was either the best or the worst place on earth - Joe couldn't decide.

This book has good writing all the way through, with some nice surprises at the end. Do I wish it was better edited? Yes, but I feel that way about a lot of the books that come out of Asia. I assume the next one will be. Joe Dylan is working his 12 step program throughout the book and I was OK with that - that's real life. I worked for a non-drinking AA attending attorney for many years. Once a year he took us for Christmas dinner. Every year he asked to look at the wine list. The third year he did this I asked him, why? "I like to know how much money I'm saving", he replied. So now I know, once a year I will have to look at the book list at Asia Books for James A. Newman books. Because I will want to know how much that next book is going to cost me.

And if you are very, very, lucky, James A. Newman all you have to do for the next couple of dozen times over the next twenty-five years is write something even better, next time, each and every time. Enjoy every step of the way. Chok dii.

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A first time novel for Bangkok based James A. Newman. Bangkok Express.

It is a very “Thai” book with the action centered around Koh Samui and Bangkok, but the title does not make itself obvious until the last chapter. It follows a well-trod path of introducing the main characters individually and then showing the interaction between them all. There are not many surprises as each has his or her own agendas which are firmly fixed in the plot, though there are a couple of twists towards the end that are not so predictable.

Author Newman has an eye for detail and the ability to put that detail down in print. The opening page has a young back-packer with an imitation diamond nose stud which he describes as, “All the travellers had them. Collective individuality.” Further on he writes of bar girls, “… they landed in the bar and became confidence tricksters using their wits and their lips as the bait. They became a game of cards and a gold bracelet.”

I particularly liked the description of the matriarch of the family as being capable of future predictions though “some said this was just fruit born from a front row seat at the theatre of humanity for almost 100 years.”
This book is a novel, and as such an article of fiction; however, that fiction should not stray too far from what is credible (unless it is sci-fi, of course). That a British chap could fabricate a medical degree from a pseudo-college in the US is hard to swallow, but for him to then use that spurious degree to get medical registration in Thailand is hardly feasible, and for this “doctor” to work in a Thai government hospital doing surgical procedures is frankly unbelievable.

The pace begins right from the start, though does slow in the middle of the book while the characters jostle for your opinion, and at times, help. In particular the detective who is fighting drugs and alcoholism, where each day is another step forward, but does not happen without extremes of self discipline, especially since he was now without a support group in Thailand.

Principal members of the cast include Thai brothers, one who has garnered all the trappings of wealth and position, whilst the other had only risen to the very mediocre heights of petty thieving and small scams. Jealousy then splits the family unit, but circumstances keep bringing it back together. Author Newman uses this to great effect.

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Indie pulp writer James A. Newman gives us a guided tour into the criminal underground of Bangkok, Thailand in Bangkok Express. It’s a tropical pulp fiction with an international cast of characters caught in a spider web of corruption, with coldblooded murder for cash at the center. Newman’s depiction of Bangkok makes the city come alive in all its beautiful savagery. It is strange place that is both burning with poverty and drowning with dirty money. There’s no such thing as corruption in Bangkok. You either swim with the sharks or get eaten by piranhas. If you got no money, you’ll get no mercy. Bangkok, baby, hope you’re ready.

The book opens up with one of the most uniquely depicted murder scenes I’ve ever read. Newman portrays the act of murder in way that I can only refer to as a work of art. It’s a style in which panic, adrenaline, fear, and confusion exist in a vacuum. From the first chapter I knew I was hooked on this savage tale. This book is definitely a fast paced thriller, and the only time you ever get to relax is in some sleazy sex mall with Thai ladyboys offering a cheap walk on the wild side. Or perhaps you would care for a comfy couch a little heroine? Fear in Loathing in Bangkok, why not? This book definitely has that Hunter Thompson “gonzo” quality.

I especially enjoyed the brand of characters that were caught up in the mix. Together they formed just the right formula for everything to go to hell in a hand basket. Put up a couple million British pounds up for grabs, and let the backstabbing begin. In some ways Bangkok Express is a bit of a demented comedy. There’s some character dialogue that really captures the essence of dark humor that pulp fiction is loved for. How Newman’s characters manage a good laugh with a gun shoved in their face is commendable. Although the plot can get a little tricky with so many players off completing their piece of the puzzle, the story stays tight and never becomes messy (that is until somebody’s brain gets a bullet massage).

I’d recommend this book to all you crime lovers out there. All the sick minds that can appreciate murder with a little bit of irony sprinkled over it and a splash of tropical paradise. The book does push the cheese factor on a few occasions, but I guess things just have their own way of unfolding in Bangkok. Newman lives in Thailand; he’s seen (and done) some stuff that we can only guess. It’s that firsthand experience that gives Bangkok Express that genuine gritty authenticity. Sniff hard enough and you can suck in the smells of diesel fumes and fresh mangos, and have the pink glare of neon lights softly stinging your eyes. According to his bio on bangkokbooks.com, he’s currently working on another book while awaiting the apocalypse. Now that’s the kind of attitude that produces books worth reading.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Accomplished and compelling thriller... November 5, 2012
By Pentargo
Format:Kindle EditionThis is an excellent noir-ish thriller that manages to balance its three main characters perfectly. Along with the chief protagonists, there is a wide range of supporting cast all of whom are thoroughly sketched and believable with their own voices richly presented. Along with the twists of the story, the array of locations that the story jets through keeps the reader flicking pages all the way to the epic finale.

Overall, this is a well constructed thriller set against a range of interesting backdrops and inhabited by characters you can genuinely identify with. Recommended.

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There is no doubt in my mind that James Newman is the next big thing in the genre of Bangkok-Thailand Literature. He is the real deal. Newman’s first novel, Bangkok Express, is compelling proof of this, despite its flaws. It is now available to the public as an e-book having been previously rejected by print publishers when Newman refused, on artistic grounds, to re-write or edit it. That may appear indulgent and naïve and it probably was given that Newman was just twenty-four and full of youthful naivety when he wrote it. But a good writer, which James Newman undoubtedly is, should not be eternally condemned by a first novel.

Given that some years later Newman has given the go ahead to have his un-edited manuscript published as an e-book, I get the impression that despite its structural and editorial deficiencies he is confident that it stands as proof that he is a very good writer; confident that the uncritical reader would either not recognize or easily overlook the defects, and that the critical reader would forgive the flaws in light of the evidence of literary excellence and promise. He must have done this knowing he has much more up his sleeve. Having read Bangkok Express I can easily forgive this naivety knowing he has gone on to write much better. Newman himself now admits that he would tear Bangkok Express apart if asked to edit it. It stands as it is or will be destroyed. When I finished reading it I was glad I had the opportunity, as behind this story lies an excellent writer and this is apparent at every turn of the page.

When another famous Bangkok writer was asked which of his books was his favorite he said it was impossible to say - that they were all like sickly children and he loved them all because they were his creations despite their weaknesses. Bangkok Express is a bit like a sickly child. Newman can see the illness within, but he loves it as it stands and even as it sometimes stumbles. It is a part of him and a part of his development as a writer.

Bangkok Express is the story of a young Private Detective sent from London to Thailand to examine a suspected insurance fraud masterminded by a Samui Police Chief in cahoots with the wealthiest landowner on the island. With the help of a bar owner, a fake doctor, a stunning mia noi, a hard-living expat insurance broker and an exotic bird, he takes on what a sane man would not. In the mean time he discovers all is not what it seems in the Land of Smiles, which seems to suit him just fine.

Bangkok Express is a great story full of fantastic writing but it is not a great novel. It is the work of a talented young man learning his trade. Novel writing is an ‘on the job education’ and I am sure James Newman would not dispute this. Polished? No. A good read? Yes. A sniff of future brilliance? Most certainly. And this is why it is well worth reading. The word on Sukhumvit Road is that he has just signed up with an established Western publishing house and his latest novel will be released with full fanfare in 2012. I, for one, can’t wait to read it.

Reviewed by John Daysh
Thailand Writing and Book Reviews
http://www.thailandwritingreviews.com