BORDER RUN by Simon Lewis

Finished Su 9/9/12

My entry at Good Reads-

This is a rather slim novel that I read in one afternoon, and is a fast-paced Action piece without a lot of character development or background. The plot is simple. Two young men are on vacation near the Chinese/Myanmar border, and meet a local drifter who suggests that they come with him to a scenic area that is known only to the locals. Events rapidly spin out of control. First, there is trouble with local border authorities, and a policeman is accidentally (?) killed. Now, the three men must make an immediate plan of action, and the novel demonstrates how ethics get discarded after the first felony, and cover-ups only quicken the downward ethical spiral.

BORDER RUN is a pleasant diversion, and offers some insight into how 'normal' men change in ways that they would never imagine as they deal with situations that are far beyond their experience. This novel would make an excellent film.

My notes:
Jake- Suggests the trip and kills the cop with the cross-bow. He seems the most 'ethically challenged' of the two friends.
Will- Seems to be on the trip to try and patch things up with his girlfriend, Jessica. He reluctantly agrees to the side-trip, yet not aware of any potential criminality, but doesn't seek anything beyond the ordinary 'tourist' attractions. He has a camera and seems to take on the role of a voyeur, and prefers this barrier to the action.
Howard- He is the local who suggests the trip to Jake, and, at first, it appears that he might be a very evil character, however, he is probably only a local White Guy (claims Canadian citizenship, but that could have been a lie), who is trying to get along any way that he can. He is a smuggler, and when it is first presented you imagine him dealing in pounds of heroin, but actually he is a petty operator and taking live animals across the border. He's quite a bit older than Will and Jake, and this might be why he seems 'badder'. However, a lot of his advice just seems more realistic, and he has been living with the locals for some time.
'Pangolins' are like armadillos and the scales are used in medicine, and Howard sells them to restaurants and people claim that the pangolins add a 'wild flavor'.