A Nail Through the Heart: A Novel of Bangkok

By Timothy Hallinan

Travel writer Poke Rafferty was good at looking for trouble—so good that he made a little money writing a few offbeat travel guides for the young and terminally bored. But that was before Bangkok stole his heart. Now the expat American is happily playing family with Rose, the former go-go dancer he wants to marry, and with Miaow, the wary street child he wants to adopt. Yet just when everything is beginning to work out, trouble comes looking for Poke in the guise of good intentions. First he takes in Miaow's friend, a troubled and terrifying street urchin named Superman. Then he agrees to find a distraught Aussie woman's missing uncle—and accept an old woman's generous payment to find a blackmailing theif. Soon, these three seemingly disparate events begin to overlap, pulling Poke deeper into dark, unfamiliar terrain. Gradually he realizes that he's been gliding across the surface of a culture he really doesn't understand—and that what he doesn't know is about to hurt him and everyone he loves.

Beautifully crafted, relentlessly paced, A Nail Through the Heart is an exciting and enticing read that will leave readers hungry for more from the gifted Timothy Hallinan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061844676

Timothy Hallinan

Timothy Hallinan is the author of nine widely praised books: eight novels—including the Bangkok thrillers featuring Poke Rafferty—and a work of nonfiction. Along with his wife, Munyin Choy, he divides his time equally between Los Angeles, California, and Southeast Asia.

Reviews for A Nail Through the Heart

[rwt42 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First book in the Poke Rafferty series. The story is an odd assemblage but the qualities in Hallinan's writing makes it an enjoyable read.

[jimgysin_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written, this book has one subplot that deals unflinchingly with the seediest of the seedy Bangkok underbelly and the sad fate of some Thai children. For that reason, it is not going to be for everyone. But the characters are terrific and this book is well worth the read if you can handle the darker stuff. Just don't mistake it for a cozy, or anything.

[cygnet81 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting start to a series.

[samsattler · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have had an interesting (well, interesting to me, at least) experience reading Timothy Hallinan’s Poke Rafferty series. The series, which began with 2007’s A Nail Through the Heart, is soon to be seven books long, but I only started reading it at book number five, The Fear Artist. Since then, I have read book six, book four, and now finally book one. As I always try to read a series in the order the books are published, this jumping around has, I think, given me a different perspective on the evolution of main characters than the one I usually get.I do not mean to imply that Tim Hallinan’s plots are not first class crime thriller plots when I say that the main reason I keep reading the Poke Rafferty books is that I have fallen in love with several of the main characters. Poke Rafferty, travel writer, has come to Thailand to continue his rather cynical series of travel books but he finds things in Bangkok that he very much needed: a good woman and a purpose for his life. Rose, a Thai bar girl, would seem to be an unlikely choice for a wife, but Poke senses that there is more to Rose than meets the eye (and she certainly attracts the eye). And then there’s Miaow, the little girl that Poke cannot bear to leave on Bangkok’s dangerous streets. Miaow is a streetwise, precocious little kid who is wise beyond her years. She has a mouth on her and a deadly sense of humor, and it easy to understand why Poke cares for her so deeply.And there’s Arthit, one of the very few honest policeman in Bangkok - and Poke’s best friend. These two have the kind of friendship that every man needs but seldom finds. Theirs is a relationship built on trust, honesty, respect, and a genuine fondness for each other. And then, of course, there is Poke himself, a man whose very nature makes it impossible for him to ignore the evilness he sees on the streets of Bangkok. As Rose said to Poke when they were discussing marriage, “You see a problem and your response is to fix it, like a broken air conditioner…” That’s Poke: Mr. Fix It.The thing that surprised me about A Nail Through the Heart is that each of the main characters is already so fully fleshed out as introduced in this series opener. More times than not, in my experience, an author will continue to add layers to the continuing characters for several books rather than to have them this refined in an opener. They more often focus on plot as a way to ensure that readers will want to read the next book in the series. Hallinan, instead, manages first time out to combine a top-notch thriller plot with unique, memorable characters.A Nail Through the Heart takes a long, hard look at what is still one of the main industries of Asian cities like Bangkok: prostitution. If the Bangkok bar girl lifestyle were not already bad enough, the sexual exploitation of the city’s street children puts Bangkok in a league all its own. Poke Rafferty refuses to watch the exploitation of those too weak to defend themselves – and if he has to play dirty to rescue a child or a young woman, he is ready to do whatever it takes.Bottom Line: The Poke Rafferty books may not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended, but readers willing to open their eyes to the real world are guaranteed to learn something in every book – even if it is only about themselves.I have had an interesting (well, interesting to me, at least) experience reading Timothy Hallinan’s Poke Rafferty series. The series, which began with 2007’s A Nail Through the Heart, is soon to be seven books long, but I only started reading it at book number five, The Fear Artist. Since then, I have read book six, book four, and now finally book one. As I always try to read a series in the order the books are published, this jumping around has, I think, given me a different perspective on the evolution of main characters than the one I usually get.I do not mean to imply that Tim Hallinan’s plots are not first class crime thriller plots when I say that the main reason I keep reading the Poke Rafferty books is that I have fallen in love with several of the main characters. Poke Rafferty, travel writer, has come to Thailand to continue his rather cynical series of travel books but he finds things in Bangkok that he very much needed: a good woman and a purpose for his life. Rose, a Thai bar girl, would seem to be an unlikely choice for a wife, but Poke senses that there is more to Rose than meets the eye (and she certainly attracts the eye). And then there’s Miaow, the little girl that Poke cannot bear to leave on Bangkok’s dangerous streets. Miaow is a streetwise, precocious little kid who is wise beyond her years. She has a mouth on her and a deadly sense of humor, and it easy to understand why Poke cares for her so deeply.And there’s Arthit, one of the very few honest policeman in Bangkok - and Poke’s best friend. These two have the kind of friendship that every man needs but seldom finds. Theirs is a relationship built on trust, honesty, respect, and a genuine fondness for each other. And then, of course, there is Poke himself, a man whose very nature makes it impossible for him to ignore the evilness he sees on the streets of Bangkok. As Rose said to Poke when they were discussing marriage, “You see a problem and your response is to fix it, like a broken air conditioner…” That’s Poke: Mr. Fix It.The thing that surprised me about A Nail Through the Heart is that each of the main characters is already so fully fleshed out as introduced in this series opener. More times than not, in my experience, an author will continue to add layers to the continuing characters for several books rather than to have them this refined in an opener. They more often focus on plot as a way to ensure that readers will want to read the next book in the series. Hallinan, instead, manages first time out to combine a top-notch thriller plot with unique, memorable characters.A Nail Through the Heart takes a long, hard look at what is still one of the main industries of Asian cities like Bangkok: prostitution. If the Bangkok bar girl lifestyle were not already bad enough, the sexual exploitation of the city’s street children puts Bangkok in a league all its own. Poke Rafferty refuses to watch the exploitation of those too weak to defend themselves – and if he has to play dirty to rescue a child or a young woman, he is ready to do whatever it takes.Bottom Line: The Poke Rafferty books may not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended, but readers willing to open their eyes to the real world are guaranteed to learn something in every book – even if it is only about themselves.

[bettyb30 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was good considering it isn't my usual setting. It was set overseas but the story line was great. With the exception of not so good things happing towards the end of the book.

[hemlokgang · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a dark and hopeful story of people stuck in and finding ways out of terrible situations, about sex trafficking in Bangkok, and about the power of love. Poke Raffert is an intriguing protagonist, and I will likely read the next in the series.

[khuben_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a great read - a well written and plotted novel with protagonists I would love to actually meet. Some may find the subject matter (child pornography and torture of political prisoners) too disturbing but it is well handled and not overly graphic. It left me thinking about what is "justice" for victims of violence and wondering if vengence may sometimes be, if not appropriate, at least understandable.

[cathyskye · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First Line: Moon and river.Poke Rafferty had been making his leisurely way around the world, writing a series of travel books for young and terminally bored males. First came Looking for Trouble in the Philippines, then Looking for Trouble in Indonesia, but when it was time to write Looking for Trouble in Thailand, he found the country had an unbreakable hold on him in the form of two women: beautiful former go-go dancer Rose, whom he wants to marry, and Miaow, a tiny young girl Poke rescued from the streets, whom he wants to adopt.Unfortunately he was once very lucky in finding someone, and that luck has come to haunt him. Poke reluctantly agrees to try to locate an Australian woman's missing uncle, and even more reluctantly takes on the assignment of locating a blackmailer. He needs the money to speed the adoption of Miaow. To top it all off, that tiny urchin insists that he take another street child under his wing-- a very scary young boy known as Superman. Things are about to become very, very complicated. Not only is Poke not a real investigator, he really doesn't understand the country in which he's living, and that is a volatile and dangerous combination.I could go on and on about characters that immediately latched on to my heart, a setting that I could taste and smell and feel, and a plot that flowed smoothly to its conclusion, but I won't.What struck me most forcibly in reading A Nail Through the Heart was a true feeling for the culture of the people of Thailand. I have long been a fan of the novels of John Burdett which are also set in Bangkok. Featuring Royal Thai detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, they also are fascinating portraits of the Thai culture. In them, however, I will never be anything other than a farang-- an outsider, a foreigner, a crass American who will never truly understand the Thai people. Although keeping me at that remove is a good thing for maintaining necessary humility, I found Poke's sometimes bumbling attempts to understand a very different culture made me an ally who was more willing to open her mind and her heart. As Poke learned, so did I.Heart. Not only is heart in the title of this book, it is also on every page. As each chapter flowed into the next, I felt that Hallinan wrote this with a great deal of heart, of emotion... of love. As a result Thailand became alive to me in a way that it never had before.Timothy Hallinan, you are jai dee.

[macabr_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART, the first of Timothy Hallinan’s Bangkok thrillers, balances family, love, loyalty, and hope against evil that destroys the spirit and sacrifices innocence to perversion.I read A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART a few years ago. Tim’s post, “Behind the Smiles”, on the Murder is Everywhere blog, sent me back to the book and I am glad it did. I found things I missed in the first reading and I understand some things better because of what I have learned about Thailand through Tim’s posts.In the blog, Tim writes that Bangkok is the “meat market where the children of the poor, both male and female, go to sell their beauty.” The men who use them believe “there has to be something real, something genuine, behind smiles like those. And there are: poverty and powerlessness.”A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART is about family, love, loyalty, hope, and the future but it is also about the debasement of the most innocent of humanity and the evil which kills beauty because there is no need for beauty when power is all that matters. Poke’s search for a missing man and his maid leads him to Madame Wing who offers Poke the money he needs to speed along adoption process that will make Miaow, and 8 year-old street child, legally his. The money will help his love, Rose, establish her business. Madame Wing wants Poke to find an envelope but he must not look at the contents. One man did and had to die for doing so. The threads come together in the end to a satisfying, almost, conclusion.This is a book that the reader won’t want to put down. Since I first read it, I have thought, on occasion, of “Growing-Younger Man”, the man whose face is so tight Poke wonders how he chews. Why do people try so hard to pretend that they haven’t experienced life? Why is youth so envied when it is the young who haven’t yet had the time to develop the life-skills that allow us to keep living?But that is a minor issue compared to what the author is really serving up. Child pornography is financed by the people who buy it. Anyone who does is as guilty as the men who perform the abuse. They do it for the world wide audience who know without question that what they are seeing on the screen isn’t pretend. And then there is the ultimate question: When is the taking of a life not a wrong? Are all murderers equally guilty? How should society respond when, as Poke says, “The victims were guilty….and the murderers were innocent?”Finally, the book reminded me that I haven’t told my children enough about the killing fields of Cambodia. As the victims of the holocaust should never be forgotten, neither should the victims of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. We have an obligation to them as well.

[catarina1_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good easy read. Having read all of the Bangkok books by John Burdett, this one does not quite measure up. Burdett delves more into the Thai psyche and his characters are a bit more complex. But this one was still interesting, well plotted and I am looking forward to reading other of Hallinan's books.

[hagelstein_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story contains the good side and the very bad side of Bangkok, and of human nature. Writer Poke Rafferty tries to help a couple of Bangkok's many street children while juggling attempts to locate two very different people - one pro-bono and one for pay. A fast moving story with some exotic, engaging, and well-drawn characters. One is described as having "the eyes of a man who could watch colon surgery for laughs," and he's not even one of the most evil in the book.