“The gritty and taut KILLING PLATO is 100% unadulterated attitude.” — The Singapore Straits Times
“Jake Needham is a classic master of crime, intrigue, and edgy thrillers.”– James Grady, New York Times best-selling author of SIX DAYS OF THE CONDOR
Jack Shepherd was a politically connected American lawyer until he traded the fierce intrigues of Washington for the quiet life of a college … traded the fierce intrigues of Washington for the quiet life of a college professor in Thailand. Everything had been going pretty well for him there, too, at least it had until the day he walked into a bar on the jet-set island of Phuket and found the world’s most famous fugitive waiting for him.
Plato Karsarkis was an international celebrity straight out of Vanity Fair until a New York grand jury indicted him for smuggling Iraqi oil and charged him with racketeering and money laundering. There’s also the matter of a woman he may or may not have murdered to cover it all up. When Karsarkis fled the United States and disappeared, the world’s media whipped itself into a frenzy searching for him.
Karsarkis is waiting for Shepherd in that Phuket bar because he wants to hire him. He figures a presidential pardon would be his ticket back to America, and he thinks Shepherd’s connections to the White House just might get it for him. But the U.S. Marshals are in Phuket, too, and they need Shepherd’s help as well. The marshals want Shepherd to set a trap for Karsarkis so they can grab him and drag him back to New York. All Shepherd wants is for everybody to go away and leave him alone.
At least he does until he learns a chilling secret that plunges him a violent spiral of friendship and betrayal and pulls him straight back into the life he thought he had left behind in Washington.
The marshals aren’t really in Phuket to arrest Plato Karsarkis. They’re there to kill him.
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I’ve become a big fan of Jake Needham and his Mean Streets series.
KILLING PLATO features Jack Shepherd, a former DC lawyer who checked out and was enjoying a more serene life as a college professor in Thailand. That was until the world’s most famous fugitive found him in a bar.
What happens from there is a winding, unpredictable — yet all …
Entertaining mystery
The entire series by Jake Needham is very good.
Original story lines and great scenery
Great summer read!
Probably dead on with the political and corruption angles of governments, but the story ended quite abruptly and unfinished as far as I am concerned.
Too long on audiobook—maybe abridged? Doesn’t give reader credit for following threads and making correct conclusions. Takes too long explaining.
I really liked the characters. I did find myself turning pages faster than anticipated. I wasn’t really satisfied with the ending, but reading the excerpt for the next book, it made sense.
Enjoy!
A superb story with a cast of memorable characters most of whom have a hidden agenda and communicate with inuendo, bluster or outright deception. Jack, whose constant introspection delayed the story to a significant degree, is one of the exceptions. While he often kept things to himself, Jack was forthright and candid when he did communicate.
A …
Enjoyable mystery read set in Thailand among mostly expats.
I really enjoyed this book
It was an enjoyable read.it was the first book in the series that I have read,and will probably look for other books by this author. The plot was good and the central character was quite believable I enjoyed the many twists and turns in the story and was surprised at the ending, which was not expected.
Seemed like this situation could really happen. I liked reading about the culture of Thailand as well.
Loved the descriptions of Thailand; felt like was there firsthand.
Nice easy read on a lazy summers day!!
Very intriguing suspenseful book!
Jack Shepherd, lawyer, international monetary expert, college professor, , and semi-retired,, sucked in smack in the middle of
Quite enjoyed this one and have read the rest in the series
Very entertaining—very suspenseful. Similar to John leCarre’
Excellent character development and story line.
Suspenseful! Loved the characters! Believable plot. The setting is interesting. I knew so little about Thailand before reading the book.