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kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
4.0
Start out reading GHOST MONEY and you're quickly immersed in a tight, tough, noir story set mostly in Cambodia. But don't be surprised if at some point, you also find yourself right smack bang in the middle of a history lesson and a subtle exploration of racial politics.
Knowing a little of Nette's interest in pulp fiction, I confess that the taut, noir stylings of GHOST MONEY didn't come as any surprise whatsoever, so for this reader, what was most rewarding about the book was the unexpected complexity of the central character, Max Quinlan. As well as one hell of a plot that just does ... not ... let ... go.
In a testament to the power of the storytelling there's something very matter-of-fact about the son of a Vietnamese woman and an Australian Vietnam vet as an ex-cop, a specialist in finding people who would rather stay lost. It also seems to go without saying that Quinlan, despite his lack of extensive PI experience, and his own misgivings, would find himself in SE Asia looking for the once successful Melbourne lawyer Charles Avery. Who is now a missing, dodgy gems trader whose sister wants to know what happened to her brother. It doesn't come as any surprise at all that Quinlan would follow the clues to post Khmer Rouge Cambodia and right smack bang into the madness of a country still recovering from the extremes of that regime.
What's also frighteningly matter-of-fact and at the same time very revealing, is the nature of the world in which Quinlan moves. The tension between Cambodian and Vietnamese, the vulnerability of people in a society that's been so brutalised, the casual way in which life is regarded as dispensable, and the greed and self-interest. Quinlan survives because of his own background, because he can read people, because he can see things and people for exactly what they are. And because he's careful about who he allows to get close.
It's one thing to know the theoretical history of a place, it's another completely to see the outcomes from within, to experience the result from the point of view of a direct observer or participant. That is part of what's so clever about GHOST MONEY. In the character of Quinlan, Nette has created a very realistic dichotomy. A man with an Asian look, yet his knowledge of his Vietnamese mother is non-existent. Australian raised, by a man who was profoundly damaged. Thai speaking, but looking enough Vietnamese to be regarded as suspicious by the Cambodians, there's so much about this man that demonstrates perfectly the complexities of the Vietnamese / Cambodian / Australian experience. Pairing him with Sarin, a Cambodian who has had direct and devastating experience of the Khmer Rouge, who remains in his damaged and difficult country, desperately trying to find a way to continue to survive, he's realistic and considered. He's all too aware of the difference between the reality and western perception of Cambodia, he's not an observer, he is the experience.
Great characters are one thing, but stick them into a plot that is not just realistic, but tight and fast moving, and frankly, nerve-racking, and something else starts to happen. Again, there was something so matter-of-fact about the lows that people will sink too when it comes to greed and self-interest, the way that loyalties shift and personal gain remains paramount that was chilling, especially when you match that up with the extreme violence of whatever it takes to win attitudes. Fingers crossed GHOST MONEY is the start of a new series.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/ghost-money-andrew-nette
Knowing a little of Nette's interest in pulp fiction, I confess that the taut, noir stylings of GHOST MONEY didn't come as any surprise whatsoever, so for this reader, what was most rewarding about the book was the unexpected complexity of the central character, Max Quinlan. As well as one hell of a plot that just does ... not ... let ... go.
In a testament to the power of the storytelling there's something very matter-of-fact about the son of a Vietnamese woman and an Australian Vietnam vet as an ex-cop, a specialist in finding people who would rather stay lost. It also seems to go without saying that Quinlan, despite his lack of extensive PI experience, and his own misgivings, would find himself in SE Asia looking for the once successful Melbourne lawyer Charles Avery. Who is now a missing, dodgy gems trader whose sister wants to know what happened to her brother. It doesn't come as any surprise at all that Quinlan would follow the clues to post Khmer Rouge Cambodia and right smack bang into the madness of a country still recovering from the extremes of that regime.
What's also frighteningly matter-of-fact and at the same time very revealing, is the nature of the world in which Quinlan moves. The tension between Cambodian and Vietnamese, the vulnerability of people in a society that's been so brutalised, the casual way in which life is regarded as dispensable, and the greed and self-interest. Quinlan survives because of his own background, because he can read people, because he can see things and people for exactly what they are. And because he's careful about who he allows to get close.
It's one thing to know the theoretical history of a place, it's another completely to see the outcomes from within, to experience the result from the point of view of a direct observer or participant. That is part of what's so clever about GHOST MONEY. In the character of Quinlan, Nette has created a very realistic dichotomy. A man with an Asian look, yet his knowledge of his Vietnamese mother is non-existent. Australian raised, by a man who was profoundly damaged. Thai speaking, but looking enough Vietnamese to be regarded as suspicious by the Cambodians, there's so much about this man that demonstrates perfectly the complexities of the Vietnamese / Cambodian / Australian experience. Pairing him with Sarin, a Cambodian who has had direct and devastating experience of the Khmer Rouge, who remains in his damaged and difficult country, desperately trying to find a way to continue to survive, he's realistic and considered. He's all too aware of the difference between the reality and western perception of Cambodia, he's not an observer, he is the experience.
Great characters are one thing, but stick them into a plot that is not just realistic, but tight and fast moving, and frankly, nerve-racking, and something else starts to happen. Again, there was something so matter-of-fact about the lows that people will sink too when it comes to greed and self-interest, the way that loyalties shift and personal gain remains paramount that was chilling, especially when you match that up with the extreme violence of whatever it takes to win attitudes. Fingers crossed GHOST MONEY is the start of a new series.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/ghost-money-andrew-nette
shelleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
Early last year I read and very much enjoyed [b:Hard Labour|16071181|Hard Labour|Andrew Nette|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349585940s/16071181.jpg|21864984], an anthology of crime writing by Australian authors. After that review, the editor, Andrew Nette, asked if I would be willing to read Ghost Money, which I believe is his first full length published novel.
Introducing ex-cop turned private investigator Max Quinlan on the trail of missing Australian businessman, Charles Avery, Ghost Money is a gritty detective novel set in the late '90's. Quinlan, employed by the missing man's wealthy sister, begins his search in Thailand, the scene of his past professional disgrace, but soon discovers Avery has fled to Cambodia. Following the man's trail, Quinlan enlists the assistance of an ambitious Australian journalist and his interpreter, Sarin, only to find himself the target of ruthless killers and treasure hunters.
Quinlan, born of a wartime liaison between his Vietnamese mother and soldier father, was raised in Australia after his mother's death. Orphaned after his father's suicide, Quinlan eventually joined the police force where his Eurasian appearance was both a help and a hindrance to his job. It was his role in a failed joint operation in Thailand that essentially put an end to his career and after Quinlan resigned from the force, he began to take on missing persons cases.
There is a nice depth to Quinlan, though at times his motivations are questionable. I don't quite understand why Quinlan doesn't simply walk away when his search for Avery puts his own life at risk nor why he insists on walking blindly into a number of easily discernible traps. That being said, I like that Quinlan is a man with limits, he makes mistakes but keeps moving forward, doing his best for his client.
Of the supporting cast it is Sarin I found most interesting, the Khmer translator chooses to become embroiled in Quinlan's mission and proves to be a helpful guide. The romantic element involving Sarin's sister and an American archivist wasn't particularly strong and largely irrelevant to the story.
Nette spent several years in Cambodia and his knowledge of the country's politics informs his character's experiences. Though I did think Nette was in danger of overwhelming the narrative with facts at times, his insights into the Cambodian conflict are fascinating, particularly regarding the legacy the Khmer Rouge. A particular strength of the novel is the author's portrayal of the landscape of South East Asia, from it's seedy urban centers, to the areas of grinding rural poverty.
Ghost Money takes the reader into a world of violence, betrayal and corruption with twists and turns leading through the gritty underworld of south east Asia. If you enjoy noir detective novels and are interested in something different, then you should take a chance on this interesting thriller.
raven88's review against another edition
4.0
Drawing on his experience as a journalist in the 1990′s in South East Asia, Nette succeeds in constructing a highly readable thriller against the backdrop of a country, in this instance Cambodia, in its recovery from one of the most heinous periods of world history. Into this melting pot, comes Max Quinlan, a half Vietnamese, half Australian besmirched ex-cop, on the trail of a missing Australian businessman, Charles Avery, whose sister has comissioned Max to track down her errant brother. On his arrival in Bangkok, a city that bore witness to the end of Max’s police career- Quinlan discovers Avery’s business partner murdered and no sign of the shady gem-dealing shyster that is Charles Avery. Through his less than reputable contacts Quinlan gets wind of Avery hightailing it to Cambodia, and enlisting the help of an ambitious Australian reporter, and his Cambodian translator, Sarin, Quinlan enters a world defined by the socio-political upheaval of its past and into the path of some extrememly mercenary and pretty unpleasant characters as he seeks to discover the whereabouts of the elusive Avery…
I think most of us are familiar with the bloody events that have defined Cambodia’s history through films such as ‘The Killing Fields’ , but throughout the course of this book I learnt a great deal more about the former pervasive grip of the Khmer Rouge, and a country struggling for reunification and peace, after the well documented genocide and the lingering existence of hardline Khmer Rouge foot soldiers. The book is filled with information regarding Cambodia’s years of turmoil which, when being narrated through the experiences of the Cambodian protagonists, is very powerful indeed. Through the character of Sarin and his sister in particular, we gain a huge insight into the tearing apart of Cambodian society and the familial loss that so many citizens encountered, as the era of persecution set in. Nette also effectively references the efforts made to gather all the documentation and first hand accounts of the atrocities as a lasting testament to the evil that men do in their grasp for power. One of the small criticisms, I have of the book, and perhaps this is influenced by Nette’s journalistic background, is that sometimes there is just too much ‘non-fictional’ input, that for me at times, did interupt the natural flow of the story. However, generally I think the strength of the writing resided in Nette’s ability to conjur up the sense of location and atmosphere that formed the backdrop for the thrust of the story. Nette neatly constructs powerful tableaus to the reader from the grubby world of the seedy ex-patriates, to a no holds barred boxing match, to the relentless grind and poverty of rural Cambodia. His grasp of description adds strength to the assured central plotting so as a reader you really get a sense of the atmosphere and landscape of the region, especially the jungle terrain and rural outposts controlled by the remaining factions of the Khmer Rouge. In the character of Quinlan and his mixed heritage, Nette also gets the chance to sidestep into the world of Vietnam, and how Quinlan’s upbringing in Australia and the natural suspicion of the Cambodians to his half Vietnamese background, has influenced and defined his life and people’s reactions to him. Throughout the book Quinlan is depicted as a tough and resilient man, but imbued with a sense of morality that lays him bare in his defence of others. I enjoyed the gradual trusting relationship that developed across cultural boundaries between him and Cambodian translator Sarin, and thought this realistically portrayed.
The overall plotting was good and the story, with the intermittent hiatus into Cambodian history, was very engaging for the reader, as Quinlan comes up against and takes on, some very sinister and violent individuals in his search for Avery. The plot does veer off a little at the end into an almost Indiana Jones quest, and I found the ending a tad abrupt, but neither of these minor criticisms was enough for me to leave the book with a feeling of disatisfaction when viewed in the light of the strength of what had gone before. I would definitely recommend this thriller to other readers and on this showing, Nette is an author that I would happily seek out again and another welcome addition to the Australian crime stable.
I think most of us are familiar with the bloody events that have defined Cambodia’s history through films such as ‘The Killing Fields’ , but throughout the course of this book I learnt a great deal more about the former pervasive grip of the Khmer Rouge, and a country struggling for reunification and peace, after the well documented genocide and the lingering existence of hardline Khmer Rouge foot soldiers. The book is filled with information regarding Cambodia’s years of turmoil which, when being narrated through the experiences of the Cambodian protagonists, is very powerful indeed. Through the character of Sarin and his sister in particular, we gain a huge insight into the tearing apart of Cambodian society and the familial loss that so many citizens encountered, as the era of persecution set in. Nette also effectively references the efforts made to gather all the documentation and first hand accounts of the atrocities as a lasting testament to the evil that men do in their grasp for power. One of the small criticisms, I have of the book, and perhaps this is influenced by Nette’s journalistic background, is that sometimes there is just too much ‘non-fictional’ input, that for me at times, did interupt the natural flow of the story. However, generally I think the strength of the writing resided in Nette’s ability to conjur up the sense of location and atmosphere that formed the backdrop for the thrust of the story. Nette neatly constructs powerful tableaus to the reader from the grubby world of the seedy ex-patriates, to a no holds barred boxing match, to the relentless grind and poverty of rural Cambodia. His grasp of description adds strength to the assured central plotting so as a reader you really get a sense of the atmosphere and landscape of the region, especially the jungle terrain and rural outposts controlled by the remaining factions of the Khmer Rouge. In the character of Quinlan and his mixed heritage, Nette also gets the chance to sidestep into the world of Vietnam, and how Quinlan’s upbringing in Australia and the natural suspicion of the Cambodians to his half Vietnamese background, has influenced and defined his life and people’s reactions to him. Throughout the book Quinlan is depicted as a tough and resilient man, but imbued with a sense of morality that lays him bare in his defence of others. I enjoyed the gradual trusting relationship that developed across cultural boundaries between him and Cambodian translator Sarin, and thought this realistically portrayed.
The overall plotting was good and the story, with the intermittent hiatus into Cambodian history, was very engaging for the reader, as Quinlan comes up against and takes on, some very sinister and violent individuals in his search for Avery. The plot does veer off a little at the end into an almost Indiana Jones quest, and I found the ending a tad abrupt, but neither of these minor criticisms was enough for me to leave the book with a feeling of disatisfaction when viewed in the light of the strength of what had gone before. I would definitely recommend this thriller to other readers and on this showing, Nette is an author that I would happily seek out again and another welcome addition to the Australian crime stable.
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