The final installment in a series focusing on the assembled family of Poke Rafferty, an American travel writer, and his Thai wife, Rose, who adopted a Bangkok street child named Miaow. An at times wrenching story of the downfall of a poor girl from a small village in the evil big city. For those who have enjoyed the series this should be a satisfying end to a series with engaging and interesting characters. This is the first in the series for me and I think I would have rated it higher if I had read the whole series in order.

This finale is the 9th book in the Poke Rafferty series . Poke is an American journalist who lives with his Thai wife, Rose and his adopted daughter in Bangkok. Poke has been know for getting himself in some scrapes and doing a little detective work on the side. His life is in total disarray because his wife just gave birth to their son. He has to face issues of being a father and protecting his family. When his good friend vanishes he is trying to help locate him and runs into his adopted daughter's birth mother. She is murdered and Poke is at first a suspect; then he tries to solve her murder.This is a slow paced noir style book . It can be read as a standalone but would be much richer and more interesting if you had read the previous books to better understand the background. The book is raw and atmospheric.

I’m a huge fan of Timothy Hallinan and the Rafferty series, but this final one is a complete snore, and so utterly devoid of any sense of entertainment value. Really so disappointed with the book.