Private Dancer by Stephen Leather

dannbkk says:

The whole book is written very well but I am very intrigued to know at the beginning he says he killed her, and at the end she killed him, or close to that, i mean, it sounded a bit confusing with the closing and just didnt match up to the starting of the story, does anyone have any comments on this to help me understand the overall outcome.

seedless says:

The opening passage of the book is after he has been told that she commited suicide but before he finds out that she failed and is still alive.

Private Dancer is one of the most gripping books I have ever read. I actually read it from cover to cover without a break over about 7 hours.

philH says:

If any long term expat in LOS can read this book and then claim he can't see at least a little of himself and a fair bit of his mates in the characters he is either:-

a) a lying bastard.

b) in denial.

or

c) living a very closetted existance.

I had a live in TGF for ten years. Was there any love? Who knows, there were feelings that approximated to love. But then the unstable element in the LOS steady state equation (job + money = honey) decayed and it translated into "no job = no money + goodbye". No regrets, I had a good time and still see her occasionally when I am back.

If I had read the book prior to going to Thailand would it have made a difference?

Probably not.

Andy says:

Agreed, philH. Should be compulsory reading for any expat newbie or tourist.
It gave me the shivers first time I read it. Totally spot on.