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THE THAI AMULET is another strong entry in Hamilton's wonderful series, which combines the pleasures of history, exotic settings and intricate plots with an engaging and realistic sleuth. Lara McClintock owns an antique store in Toronto in partnership with her ex-husband Clive. She's all set to leave for a buying trip to Asia when Clive asks her to investigate the disappearance of a former Toronto antique dealer, William Beauchamp. The dealer apparently ran off to Thailand, leaving his wife and disabled young daughter penniless. His wife is desperate to find out what's happened to him because she needs to collect either child support or his life insurance settlement if she and her daughter are to survive. The wife shows Lara an envelope filled with newspaper clippings and some amulet Buddhas, which she received from her husband a few months earlier, and begs Lara to try to find out what happened to him. Lara reluctantly agrees to do her best to locate him while she's in Thailand. Once in Bangkok, Lara meets Jennifer, her new beau's adult daughter. Jennifer is in Thailand to meet her boyfriend Chat's family and Lara's soon invited to stay at the family's opulent apartment. It quickly becomes clear that all is not as it should be in the powerful Chaiwong family. The novel has three major threads: Lara's search for William Beauchamp, the unfolding power play within the Chaiwong family, and a parallel historical tale from the 16th century that introduces each chapter. It is a tribute to Hamilton's skill that these stories are never muddled. There's a character list in the front to help you track the large cast if you get lost, but it isn't really necessary. The characters are so vividly sketched that you're not likely to mix them up. Lara is a mature sleuth. She doesn't run headlong into danger, but neither does she shrink from doing the right and necessary thing. Her strong sense of justice and moral responsibility propel her through this tale of greed, lust for power, jealousy, and betrayal. Lara McClintock, unlike many amateur sleuths, faces real-world consequences for each and every one of her actions. Hamilton never insults her readers' intelligence. Her plots are complex, but they are rational. Though they never slow the plot, her explanations of history and culture ask the reader to stretch just a little to take in the rich complexity of unfamiliar places. Arriving at the end of one of her stories is like arriving home after the best kind of travel: your horizons are a little broader and your life is a little richer as a result of the experience.
Reviewed by Carroll Johnson, September 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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