September 15, 2017
An investigative odd couple unravels the mystery surrounding a series of disappearances and more in Thailand.Public acclaim and notoriety have found Ladarat Patalung, nurse ethicist at Sriphat Hospital, after she and Detective Wiriya Mookjai have solved a series of murders unsettling the citizens of Chang Mai (Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness, 2016, etc.). So it's only natural that the Department of Tourism would ask Wiriya to check out a potential series of tourist disappearances, with a name, Sharon McPhiller, and a place, the Magic Grove Hotel, as starting points. When Wiriya brings the case to Ladarat for a second opinion, she's already coping with another matter that may or may not require Wiriya's assistance. A pair of hospital employees have come to her with the suspicion that something's wrong with Dr. Taksin, who's "behaving strangely, and making mistakes." If that's not enough intrigue to pique Ladarat's blossoming detective's instinct, her assistant, Sisithorn, calls unexpectedly with the news that she's discovered a smuggling ring. (Ladarat doesn't even know what a smuggling ring is.) Ladarat's lively therapy dog, Chi, provides amusing distractions from her myriad efforts. Not surprisingly, the ensuing investigation follows a course full of detours that eventually lands the duo at the eponymous hotel, where the owner behaves very suspiciously indeed. The disappearance of a guest there prompts them to accelerate their probe. Casarett's second Chang Mai Detective Agency novel has oodles of old-fashioned charm, with an easy pace, colorful characters, and a lively curiosity for the interesting details of everyday life. Piquantly titled chapters add a soupcon of comic zest.
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Starred review from October 9, 2017
Fans of Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series will feel at home with Casarett’s stellar sequel to 2016’s Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness. Ladarat Patalung serves as the nurse ethicist for Chiang Mai University’s Sriphat Hospital in northern Thailand. Her duties include reviewing the circumstances of deceased patients to assess whether they had “good deaths.” She has the ability to see what others do not, as well as a deep reserve of empathy to rival that of Smith’s Mma Ramotswe, qualities that come in handy when Wiriya Mookjai, her detective friend in the Chiang Mai Royal Police, asks her to help look into the disappearance of at least eight tourists, all connected to a hotel known as the Magic Grove. Ladarat visits the Magic Grove, where the reaction of the foreign proprietor to her inquiries about the most recent missing guest only fuels her suspicions that something untoward has been going on. A refreshingly admirable lead, Ladarat feels an ethical imperative to put aside her own needs to comfort those she sees in distress. Readers will hope to see a lot more of her. Agent: Chris Bucci, McDermid Agency.
Starred review from October 1, 2017
This is the second entry in a delightful new series by Casarett, a palliative-care physician. One half of his detective duo is the extremely competent Detective Wiriya Mookjai, and the other half is the highly enlightened and incessantly curious nurse ethnicist Ladarat Patalung. Her job at the Sriphat Hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is to guarantee that its terminally ill patients die well. This time the pair investigates after numerous foreign travelers are reported missing. The mystery element is somewhat thin here, but the interplay among the characters, along with extensive musing about life's intrinsic unknowability, makes for a delicious read. Crime fiction fans will enjoy the way Casarett cleverly references other series similar to his own. Ladarat, for example, is a fan of Timothy Hallinan's Bangkok detective Poke Rafferty, from whom she gleans detection methods. She is powered by blue-pea-flower tea, reminiscent of the infusions of red-bush tea that keep Mma Ramotswe going. That's no surprise, as much homage is paid throughout to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels, but this series stands on its own. Perfect for those who enjoy Colin Cotterill and, of course, Alexander McCall Smith.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)