The Glass Kingdom

A tense, stunningly well-observed heist novel following an American woman on the run in the blazing heat of Bangkok, from 'a modern Graham Greene' (Sunday Times) Sarah Talbot Jennings, a young American living in New York, has fled to Bangkok to disappear. Arriving with a suitcase containing $200,000, she rents an apartment at the Kingdom, a glittering high-end complex slowly sinking into its own twilight - and run by conveniently discreet staff. In Bangkok's shocking heat Sarah meets the beguiling Mali, a half-Thai tenant who's strangely determined to bring the quiet American out of her shell. An invitation to Mali's poker nights soon follows, where - fuelled by shots of yadong, gossip of shady dealings in the city and the hit of marijuana - Sarah is drawn into the orbit of the Kingdom's glamorous ex-pat women.But when an attempted military coup wracks the streets below and Sarah witnesses something unspeakable through one of the Kingdom's windows, only to be followed by a series of strange disappearances, Sarah's safe haven begins to feel like a trap.From a master of atmosphere and suspense, The Glass Kingdom is a brilliantly unsettling story of cruelty and psychological unrest, and an enthralling glimpse into the shadowy crossroads of karma and human greed. von Osborne, Lawrence