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Reprinted from the 1986 novel first titled TWO FOR TANNER, THE SCORELESS THAI is a story that holds up well some 20 years later. The reason the Evan Tanner series works so well is due to author Lawrence Block’s quick wit and tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. In this novel, Block takes readers on a thrilling adventure through the jungles of Thailand only to end up in the middle of a war. Readers first encounter Tanner in a bamboo cage, the captive of a band of Thai guerillas. He has come to Thailand to track down his African-born girlfriend Tuppance Ngawa, a jazz singer with accompanying quartet. However, Tanner has misled his American handlers to believe that his real mission is to make connections in Thailand that will help set up opium production in Africa to throw off the Chinese trade. He’s a spy with a sense of humor and a convoluted way of accomplishing his real goal: finding Tuppance, who he suspects has turned into a jewel thief, when he receives a mysterious postcard from her and reads in the newspaper that the Thai royal jewels have gone missing. The title of the book, THE SCORELESS THAI, refers to Tanner’s partner in this adventure, Dhang. This oversexed guerilla decides to free Tanner and help him track down Tuppance; in return, Tanner will help Dhang find a woman. There are lots of other interesting minor characters in the book, and the action rolls along with plenty of thrills and spills along the way. With his wonderful use of innuendos and bar room humor, Block lures his readers in and keeps them enthralled until the end. Success is more a bit of good luck than careful planning, which of course, runs counter to the normal spy thriller. That’s part of the fun of Block’s storytelling. Things conspire to work in Tanner’s favor, but never when they’re expected. Along the way, Tanner gets sick, captured by guerillas, swears his allegiance to the French empire, and drives an enemy tank into hostile territory. And those are just a few of the highlights of this adventure. For readers looking for a surprisingly light-hearted story about bored guerillas and easily-fooled intelligence officers, they can’t do better than Lawrence Block’s Evan Tanner series, and THE SCORELESS THAI in particular. Block has given us a spy who’s engaging even while he’s delirious with fever. Evan Tanner is one charming hero, and his friends even more so. It’s a novel for those who don’t take themselves or the world of thrillers too seriously. The only serious thing in THE SCORELESS THAI is the author’s sense of humor, much to his readers’ delight.
Reviewed by Christine Zibas, September 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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