Bangkok - first stop on the backpacker trail. On Richard's first night in a hostel a mysterious traveller slits his own wrists, leaving Richard a map to 'the beach'.

The beach is a legend among young travellers in Thailand: a secret island paradise where a select community lives in blissful isolation. Richard sets out in search of adventure, but finds that the beach is not what it seems. Paradise comes at a price.

This was so much better than I thought it was going to be. I haven't seen the film so other than the blurb on the back of the book, I didn't know what to expect. I just had a vague idea that it wasn't going to be a book I'd love.
I was wrong. The pace of it was beautifully controlled. Despite starting off with a suicide, it seemed fairly pleasant and safe, but as the book progressed a sense of menace gradually worked its way in. By the end of the book I was all but sitting on the edge of my seat.
Absolutely marvellous!