Bangkok Tattoo -- John Burnett

"Killing customers just isn’t good for business."

As sequels go, this one was pretty good.  The first book was better (by a smidge), but even if you only liked the first one (I loved it), you'll enjoy the second one.

I continue to adore Sonchai's mother:

"You mean they lied to you?" my mother asks, still maintaining the polite smile.

"Lying is what they do.  They're spies."

"How disgusting."  Nodding politely at Hudson.  "Do they speak Thai?"

"Not a word."

Returning Bright's respectful nod with a beam.  "Does the Colonel know about them?  Are we going to bump them off?"

"Mother, please, that would not be a good idea.  The CIA is quite powerful."

Due to a flashback/diary sequence about one of the girls that works in Sonchai's mother's brothel/bar (specifically, Chanya, the girl that is accused of murdering a CIA spy), the cultural differences are even more in evidence than they were in the first book.  Which was great.  Next to the characters themselves, those observations were my favorite part of both books.

I suspect that there is a third book in the works, which is totally fine by me.