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The Life and Crimes of Charles Sobhraj

I have recently been on a Bangkok binge, having read Bangkok Burning (by Robin Newbold!), Lawrence Osborne's The Glass Kingdom and now the trilogy with the The Serpent. Having stayed at the Malaysia Hotel, where the protagonist - Charles Sobhraj - picked up some of his victims, and knowing the city extremely well made this true crime book a particularly poignant, if salutary tale.   I also backpacked around Asia and probably had the same carefree attitude that a lot of the backpackers serial killer Sobhraj met. This is where authors Richard Neville and Julie Clarke, former hippies - their description - succeed, since they too put themselves in the well worn boots of the victims. The tale is at once an expose of a psychotic killer that only saw relationships for what he could get out of them and a paean to his innocent victims.   It is meticulously researched and tells a coherent story from Sobhraj's dysfunctional upbringing to his life of crime and eventual downfall. This version contains an epilogue as it was republished to coincide with the excellent BBC/Netflix drama based on the book that aired this month. It gives Clarke a chance to reflect on the work 40 years later and what it means to her now, given that co-writer and husband Richard Neville recently died. It is a fitting tribute to him and the victims.

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