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5 comments about Noble Lies (Large Type Edition).

1. Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (6/07)
   
   Hard drinking, decorated Marine, Desert Storm veteran, Mark Rohr was working as a bouncer in a bar in Thailand when Robin Antonucci came into his life. She wanted to hire him to help her find her brother, Shawn Keller. She shows him a videotape of a news report of the Tsunami that devastated Thailand. The video showed that he was alive.
   
   Their search leads them to a bar where they meet a woman, Pim, that claims to be Shawn's wife and she insists she can take them to him. Pim was adamant about bringing her nephew and grandfather. Mark knows something is not quite right. Two men are following them. Shawn was into excitement stuff. Robin knew Shawn had used drugs, but she was sure he was clean now. She knew he liked to go where drugs could be bought cheap. Robin had no idea what Shawn was really into. He had become involved with Jarin, a treacherous criminal who was determined to get to Shawn. What she does not know could get them all killed. Could Robin have an ulterior motive?
   
   "Noble Lies" by Charles Benoit is a fast-paced, action-packed, edge-of-your-seat novel. The plot is well-developed and set on the backdrop of Thailand. Benoit brings the devastation of the Tsunami to life, recounting the disaster through the eyes of survivors. The characters are well-developed. The unlikely hero, Mark Rohr, is a cynic; the Desert Storm veteran is multidimensional. I did not expect the pirates; they brought an interesting twist to the plot. This is not your usual mystery. Benoit is an extremely talented writer. I highly recommend "Noble Lies" to fans of mystery and suspense.



2. After various adventures in a number of other parts of the world, including having served as a Marine during Desert Storm, Mark Rohr finds himself working as a bouncer in a Thai bar when he is fired for overzealously performing his duties. But the bar's owner and bartender, a long-time friend, steers him onto a job assisting a woman who is looking for her brother a year after the tsunami.
   
   The client offers him $500 a week and a $5,000 bonus if he finds the brother, who Mark believes was either lost to the giant wave or doesn't want to be found. The quest is complicated by a top gangster who also has a vested interest in finding the brother. And the race is on along the pirate-infested waters of Thailand and Malaysia. It is an exciting chase, filled with graphic descriptions of the devastation brought on by the tsunami, as well as the poverty and corruption in the country.
   
   This novel is the third featuring globe-trotting Rohr, ranging from Singapore and the Raffles Hotel to Casablanca and Cairo, then to India and elsewhere. In each, he introduces a number of surprises, and Noble Lies is no exception. This reader could not even begin to anticipate how he would bring the novel to such a conclusion.



3. Desert Storm vet Mark Rohr is now is post-tsunami Thailand. American Robin Antonucci want to hire him to find her brother, Shawn, who has been missing since the tsunami but Robin is certain she saw on a recent news video. What seems to be easy money quickly turns complicated with a Thai prostitute Pim claiming to be Shawn's wife, her elderly man and small boy, the surviving members of Pim's family, to protect from Jarin, a notorious gangster. Something about Robin's story just doesn't sit right either.
   
   Benoit's major skill is sense of place. He gives us an uncompromising picture of post-tsunami Thailand and life among the homeless, dispossessed and criminal, and then takes us on a fast-paced trip half-way around the world. He also creates well developed, interesting characters, in whom I became invested. Finally, he gives us a high-action, unpredictable story with plenty of twists, turns and suspense to keep me turning the pages. I'll admit Benoit's first book, "Relative Danger" is still my favorite of his, but there's no question that the man can write.



4. The author has a good feel for Thailand that really makes this book. He sets the book in the South Thai beach resort area and knows enough about the area to make the details ring true. He also gets the delicate relationship between the local crime bosses and the police right. As with all the author's previous works it is the details of exotic locations that make the tale above average. One difference is that in this book the main character has been bouncing around the world since Desert Storm. In the others the hero was always a naif thrust by circumstances into fending for himelf in foreign locales. I like the naifs better but you'll still enjoy this one.



5. I loved 'Noble Lies', the title is very appropriate for the Thai Culture. Benoit's mini-lessons in Thai culture were accurate. And best of all, it was a fun trip through some of the places I want to visit on my next trip to Thailand. While I hated it to end it worked well and I did not see it coming. Read it first, then go play.

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1 comments about Open Road's Thailand Guide.

1. I'm going to Southeast Asia next month. I wasn't quite sure how to pack, so I consulted various travel guides: Lonely Planet, Moon, Insight Guides, etc. Open Road's Thailand Guide was the only one to give me detailed, practical informatin on what to bring.

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