The action of "The Cockroaches" begins when a Norwegian policeman, Harry Hole, travels to Thailand, where the body of a Norwegian ambassador has been found in one of the motels. Harry gets on the plane hungover, with a supply of vitamin B12 injections, and soon begins to wander the alleys of Bangkok: among temples, opium smokers, child prostitutes and go-go bars. He discovers that there is more to this case than murder: something crawls behind the walls that hates the light of day .—G