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This is the free ebook - Private Dancer from Stephen Leather, it is a great read and for anyone who has been in Thailand.
Anyone who has lived in Bangkok you will realise this book is spot on and will be able to relate to the characters, I just hope it isn't you who is Pete with his Private Dancer.
For those of you who have never been in Thailand for a long time this book shows what it is really like for many ex-pats. Life here changes you... definitely
*LINK now fixed
PETE
She's dead. Joy's dead. Joy's dead and I killed her. I can't believe it. I killed her and now I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know what I'm going to do without her and I don't know what's going to happen to me when they find out she's dead. They'll know it's my fault. I trashed the room, my fingerprints are going to be everywhere. The manager of the building saw me
storm out. The guy in the room, he'll remember me, too. Her friends knew that we were always
arguing, and they know where I live.
The taxi driver keeps looking at me in his mirror. He can see how upset I am. I have to keepcalm, but it's difficult. I want to scream at him, to tell him to put his foot down and drive faster
but we're sitting at a red light so we aren't going anywhere for a while. Ahead of us is anelephant, swinging its trunk at a guy carrying a basket of bananas. A group of tourists give the
guy money and he hands them fruit so that they can feed the elephant.
"Charng," says the driver. Thai for elephant. I pretend not to understand and keep looking out of the window. A typical Bangkok street scene, the pavements lined with food hawkers and stalls piled high with cheap clothing, the air thick with fumes from motorcycles and buses. I see it but Idon't see it. All I can think about is Joy.
It's as if time around me has stopped. Stopped dead. I'm breathing and thinking but everything has frozen. She's dead and it's my fault. They'll see my name tattooed on her shoulder and they'll see my name carved into her wrist and they'll know that it's all my fault. I'm not worried aboutwhat the police will do. Or her family. There's nothing they can do that can make me feel any
worse than I do right now as I sit frozen in time at a red traffic light, watching overweight tourists feeding bananas to an elephant with a chain around its neck. I know with a horrible
certainty that I can't go on living without her. My life ends with her death because I can't livewith the guilt. Joy's dead and I killed her so that means that I have to die, too.
BRUCE
I always knew it was going to end badly. Joy was a sweet thing and whether or not she'd been lying to Pete, she didn't deserve to die, not like that. Sure, she was a bargirl, but she was forced into it, she'd never have chosen the life for herself, and I know she wanted Pete to take her away from the bars. I was in shock when I heard what happened. Now I don't know what's going to happen to Pete. It's like he's on autopilot, heading into oblivion. I've got a bad feeling about it, but it's out of my hands. He's going to have to come to terms with what he's done, her death'sgoing to be on his conscience for the rest of his life. To be honest, I don't know how he's going to
be able to live with himself.
BIG RON
Joy's dead, huh? Can't say I was surprised when Bruce told me. Do I care? Do I fuck. I'm not going to shed any tears about a dead slapper. It's not exactly a long-term career, is it, when all's said and done, what with the drugs and the risks they take. Slappers are dying all the time. Overdoses, suicides, motorcycle accidents. And the way Joy fucked Pete over, I'm surprised he didn't top her months ago. She was a lying hooker and she deserved whatever she got, that's what I say. As for Pete, I don't know what'll happen to him. If he's smart he'll get on the next plane out
of Bangkok.
PETE
I don't know if it was love at first sight, but it was pretty damn close. She had the longest hair I'd ever seen, jet black and almost down to her waist. She smiled all the time and had soft brown eyes that made my heart melt, long legs that just wouldn't quit and a figure to die for. She was stark naked except for a pair of black leather ankle boots with small chrome chains on the side. I
think it was the boots that did it for me....
You can download Private Dancer by Stephen Leather here:
Stephen Leather's Book - Private Dancer
A novel about love, betrayal and death in Thailand
A big thanks to Stephen Leather for making this free book available. I read it when I first arrived in Thailand before I got into any relations with the locals. I must say this book backed up with long time expats has kept me out of trouble, especially the Private Dancer kind of trouble.
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