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    Cambodia Noir: A Novel
    Cambodia Noir: A Novel
    Cambodia Noir: A Novel
    Ebook351 pages7 hours

    Cambodia Noir: A Novel

    By Nick Seeley

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    A “sinuous, shattering thriller” (Booklist, starred review) with a heart-stopping conclusion about a mysterious American woman who disappears in to the Cambodian underworld, and the photojournalist who tracks her through the clues left in her diary, by an author whose “plotting and pacing are as sharp and original as his writing” (Nelson DeMille).

    Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Lawless, drug-soaked, forgotten—it’s where bad journalists go to die. For once-great war photographer Will Keller, that’s kind of a mission statement: he spends his days floating from one score to the next, taking any job that pays; his nights are a haze of sex, drugs, booze, and brawling. But Will’s downward spiral is interrupted by Kara Saito, a beautiful young woman who shows up and begs Will to help find her sister, June, who disappeared during a stint as an intern at the local paper. So begins Will’s “journey to the heart of drug-fueled noirness” (New York Journal of Books).

    There’s a world of bad things June could have got mixed up in: the Phnom Penh underworld is in an uproar after a huge drug bust; a local reporter has been murdered in what looks like a political hit; and the government and opposition are locked in a standoff that could throw the country into chaos at any moment. Will’s best clue is her diary: an unsettled collection of experiences, memories, and dreams, reflecting a young woman at once repelled and fascinated by the chaos of Cambodia. As Will digs deeper into June’s past, he uncovers one disturbing fact after another about the missing girl and her bloody family history. In the end, the most dangerous thing in Cambodia may be June herself.

    Propulsive, electric, and exotically enthralling, Cambodia Noir “has it all: sex, drugs, and mystery” (MetroUS). Debut author Nick Seeley “impresses on every count,” (BookPage, Top Mystery Pick) exploring what happens when we venture into dark places…when we get in over our heads…when we get lost. “If ever a case was made for place as character in a novel, Seeley makes it here with scene after nightmarish scene…This is distinctive work” (Kirkus Reviews).
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScribner
    Release dateMar 15, 2016
    ISBN9781501106101
    Cambodia Noir: A Novel
    Author

    Nick Seeley

    Nick Seeley is an international journalist who got his start in Phnom Penh. Since then, he has spent more than a decade reporting from the Middle East. His work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy magazine, Middle East Report, and Travelers’ Tales, among other publications. He is also the author of the nonfiction Kindle Single A Syrian Wedding, about life in a refugee camp in Jordan. Cambodia Noir is his first novel.

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    Reviews for Cambodia Noir

    3.5/5

    25 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      If Irvine Welsh somehow melded with Hunter S. Thompson and decided to write a book about a washed up, Junkie news photographer, in Cambodia in the early 2000's, Cambodia Noir might be the result. Cambodia Noir is not a book a reader is likely to forget. The story does start off slow, and an impatient reader may jump to the conclusion that it is about nothing but drinking, and drugging to excess, but the story is told where every other chapter is from a diary left behind that Will (who is the main character) is reading as as he searches for its author, a missing journalist from the newspaper in Cambodia that he works at.The diary chapters give the reader an insight to what a fantastic writer the author is and again if the reader is patient they will see a complex story unfold. Not just of why Will is such a damaged individual, but why Cambodia is how it is and why he and June share more than would be thought possible.Again this is not a light read, it starts off intense and becomes progressively darker as the story unfolds.This is a fantastic book by a very good writer.
    • 4/5
      I'm not a fan of "noir", and this was certainly a dark and stark look at parts of a country's underworld. However, this is author is a talented writer and that kept my interest through this murky, tangled story.
    • 4/5
      This was not my normal fare, but I was intrigued by its setting in Cambodia. Will Keller is a photojournalist who takes a job to hunt down a young woman who was an intern for a local paper. Her sister has not heard from her and fears the worst. Will gets involved with a violent drug cartel to the point where he has to warn his friends of the danger he put them in. I sure hope this is not a fair picture of Phnom Phen and this country. I know every major city has its problems but this book makes it look like no Westerner should visit.
    • 5/5
      The Noir series is wonderful for travel and mystery. You can find a "NOIR" for so many cities. Cambodia Noir or Indochine if you may, is riveting. It gives the reader and the travel to explore the nooks and crannies of Cambodia while being entertained. This book is worth a detour.
    • 3/5
      A run of the mill story of western characters based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.The main protagonists are an American woman who disappears in the dark underworld of the city and the previously acclaimed war photographer, turned junkie, Will Keller.Keller sets out to find out what happened.Not a story that kept me enthralled, but well written non the less.I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Scribner via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
    • 4/5
      The plot: Standard hard drinking, hard drugging, antihero type with a dark past seeks missing girl in violent Cambodia. The verdict: Really well done, with consistent pacing and plenty of action but characterization (especially of minor characters) needs work, as everyone seemed to blend together. Also, there was just too much substance abuse for my taste, although I appreciate its usefulness as a plot device, keeping our narrator too addled to figure shit out.

      I won this advance reading copy through Goodreads so thank you to Simon & Schuster (who are always so prompt about sending stuff).

    Book preview

    Cambodia Noir - Nick Seeley

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