From our catbird seat here at WoWasis, it’s pretty clear that novelist Randall Peffer, in his Bangkok Dragons, Cape Cod Tears (2009, ISBN 978-1-60648-038-0), knows a few disparate worlds. The transgender world features prominently here, both in Bangkok and Cape Cod, as does the Portuguese fishing community of the Cape. Melding these worlds with police and the criminal underground into a cogent novel, though, is tricky, and by the time the book ended, we were scratching our heads as much as we were after the first chapter.

This is a follow-on book to Peffer’s two earlier books in the ‘Cape Cod Islands Mystery’ series, and many references are made through flashbacks, a chore for the reader unfamiliar with the others. The story revolves around a Portuguese-American’s love for a mixed-race Viet-American transgender girl who is heavily involved in the Bangkok scene. A previous romance of hers involves a stolen gem, which brings police on two continents as well as the underworld into the fray. Peffer is at his best in moving the action forward, but his dialogue, especially concerning Tuki, the transgender protagonist, isn’t always believable. One example is Tuki’s quote “That wench had Sunny kill Prem?” We’ll give you five pounds of satay if you can find an English-speaking Thai that uses the word “wench.” The names of some of the characters are bizarre as well. Prem’s father is Thaksin Kittikachorn. Melding the names of two recent Thai strongmen (Thaksin Shinawatra and Thanom Kittikachorn) just seems a little too precious to us. Yes, Thai names can be a bit challenging for western novelists, but we would have liked a bit more creativity here. These issues may seem like nitpicks, but we found them grating.

In terms of what we found compelling about the book, first and foremost was the use of a transgender individual as a main character. Thailand is full of transgender folks, for the most part well-integrated into Thai life and culture. Many westerners have had relationships with them (not always knowing that the lover in question was transgender, of course), and protagonist Michael DeCastro’s often uncomfortable realization and understanding of this element is realistic. He’s not the first, and won’t be the last. And the author certainly knows his Cape Cod culture, from the fishing boats to Provincetown’s gay bars.

Gay and /or transgender protagonists are not common elements in Bangkok Fiction, and we’re happy that Peffer has taken the plunge. He has, as of now, written six novels in this series. In terms of reading the others, we’d hope that Peffer relies less on flashbacks, gets a little more polished on dialogue, and spins a tighter tale with fewer loose ends. When writing books in serial form, each novel must stand on its own. We’d have liked this one to have a more concrete ending, instead of serving as a way-station between novels two and four. Buy this book here at the WoWasis eStore.