Martin Rubin - SF Chronicle (The Godfather of Kathmandu)
 Readers of what might be termed John Burdett’s Bangkok Trilogy - “Bangkok 8,” “Bangkok Tattoo” and “Bangkok Haunts” - know that he is adept at getting under the skin of the eponymous Thai capital, where he makes his home.Despite the title of this latest novel, “The Godfather of Kathmandu,” and the fact that some of its scenes do take place in the Himalayan haunts of the Nepalese capital, those who hunger for more tastes, sounds and smells of Bangkok as only Burdett can render them need have no fear. For that city is once again front and center in this Thai tale of corruption, mayhem and intrigue.
The use of the word “godfather” in the title is no accident here - Mario Puzo’s celebrated novel and the classic films made from it serve as a kind of reference point for “The Godfather of Kathmandu’s” characters and readers alike. Indeed, they are shadow players flickering around the novel’s action. And I don’t think it will come as a surprise to 21st century readers - or Burdett aficionados - that unlike Marlon Brando’s godfather, the Kathmandu version does not balk at dealing in narcotics. Indeed, his extreme Buddhist faith, as he interprets it, anyway, and he is a major guru, enables him to take what might charitably be described as the long view of drug trafficking. Quotidian scruples somehow get lost in the shuffle.
There is a lot about Buddhism in this novel and, as with the other subjects Burdett explores in its pages, you feel that he has a deep understanding of its tenets. This may or may not be true, but the important thing about him as a writer is that he makes you believe in his authority when he asserts it. He is a writer skilled at putting across his story, unfolding it deliberately and pacing it slowly as he defers revelation. He may overdo this a bit at times - the book could have been shorter and more tightly woven without giving up its power - but on the whole you sense that he is always in control of his narrative.