Jo Nesbo: Cockroaches (used)

Cockroaches (Norwegian: Kakerlakkene, 1998) is a crime novel by Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø, the second in the Harry Hole series. Norway's ambassador to Thailand is found stabbed to death in a brothel on the outskirts of Bangkok. Oslo detective Harry Hole is sent to help the Thai police solve the crime before the scandal hits the newspapers. Starting at the embassy in Bangkok, Hole uncovers tensions between career diplomats and political appointees, as well as shameful secrets of the ambassador's family and various embassy staff. Hole learns that the ambassador had lost heavily in betting on Thai horse racing and had become indebted to notorious loan sharks. Following this lead, Hole along with his new Thai colleagues penetrate the city's shadier neighborhoods, leading to some spectacular violent confrontations but no real headway in the case. Hole discovers that the Thai knife used in the killing had been treated with reindeer grease as used by the Sami people of Norway's far north, implicating members of Bangkok's Norwegian expatriate community. He subsequently comes across Norwegian pedophiles taking advantage of Thailand's sex industry; ruthless entrepreneurs exploiting the city's gridlocked transport system; and scandals ensnaring Norway's ruling Christian Democratic Party and the recently installed Prime Minister. Hole's superiors in Bangkok and Oslo resolve to terminate the investigation and send him home. When he obstinately refuses, they employ cruder means such as threats, blackmail, and attempted assassination.