Book Summary and Reviews of Vulture Peak by John Burdett

Vulture Peak by John Burdett

Vulture Peak

A Sonchai Jitpleecheep Novel

by John Burdett

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (2):
  • Published:
  • Jan 2012, 304 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

When Police Colonel Vikorn puts Sonchai in charge of the highest profile criminal case in Thailand - ending trafficking in human organs - Sonchai suspects his boss of ulterior motives. And, of course, he's right: Vikorn is running for governor of Bangkok, and his American handlers insist that he needs a dramatic crime-fighting success right now. But just as Vikorn predicts, Sonchai's "goody-two-shoes Buddhist conscience" takes over. The sting operation begins.

Sonchai travels to Phuket, Hong Kong, Dubai, Monte Carlo, and Shanghai, drawing in a host of players, including an aging rock star wearing out his second liver, and a pair of Chinese twins known as the Vultures - mysterious, diabolical, albeit gorgeous co-queenpins of the international body-parts trade. But closer to home, things are getting dicey for Sonchai: his ex-prostitute wife, Chanya, is craving a dose of "the street." Is Sonchai enlightened enough - forget Buddhism, think jealousy - to let her into his own compromised and compromising world?

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Burdett's work caught on at the beginning and remains strong; all thriller readers should enjoy." - Library Journal

"Burdett's strengths are tilted toward characterization rather than plotting, for Buddhist Sonchai remains a fascinating cross between Buddhist monk and hard-boiled detective." - Kirkus Reviews

"Burdett's writing remains fresh, humorous, and full of insights into Thailand, but readers who prefer focus and suspense should look elsewhere." - Publishers Weekly

This information about Vulture Peak was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Click here and be the first to review this book!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

John Burdett Author Biography

John Burdett is a nonpracticing lawyer who worked in Hong Kong for a British firm until he found his true vocation as a writer. Since then, he has lived in France and Spain, and Thailand and is now back in Hong Kong. His novels include Bangkok 8, A Personal History of Thirst, The Last Six Million Seconds, Bangkok Tattoo, Bangkok Haunts, The Godfather of Kathmandu, Vulture Peak, and The Bangkok Asset (2015).

Link to John Burdett's Website

Other books by John Burdett at BookBrowse
  • Bangkok Tattoo jacket
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Vulture Peak, try these:

  • Palaver jacket

    Palaver

    by Bryan Washington

    Published 2026

    About this book

    A life-affirming novel of family, mending, and how we learn to love, from the award-winning Bryan Washington.

  • Icarus jacket

    Icarus

    by K. Ancrum

    Published 2025

    About this book

    Perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, this suspenseful queer YA romance from critically acclaimed author K. Ancrum reimagines the tale of Icarus as a star-crossed love story between a young art thief and the son of the man he's been stealing from—think Portrait of a Thief for YA readers...

  • Razorblade Tears jacket

    Razorblade Tears

    by S. A. Cosby

    Published 2022

    About this book

    A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance.

We have 10 read-alikes for Vulture Peak, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
When No One Else Will
by Amanda Skenandore
1940s Chicago nurse risks everything at an illegal women’s clinic during a high-profile trial of courage and sisterhood.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    Look What You Made Me Do
    by John Lanchester
    A propulsive tale of intergenerational tension and revenge from the Booker Prize nominee.
  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
  • Book Jacket
    Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young
    by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
    Son of Weather Underground radicals recounts life on the run and decades of revolutionary struggle.
Who Said...

When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which ...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Q S, S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.