The Missing Guests of the Magic Grove Hotel by David Casarett

First Line: The frail woman sitting alone below in the courtyard was sad.

Nurse ethicist Ladarat Patalung and Detective Wiriya Mookjai are still basking in the afterglow of their successful investigation in Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness. Although Ladarat is in the middle of scouring records to ensure that all the patients who died in her hospital had the dignity of a "good death,"  the detective believes he's found another case and wants her help. Wealthy foreign travelers are disappearing all over Thailand, and he's worried that a killer is at large. When the two discover that the missing tourists have nothing in common except for short stays at a resort known as the Magic Grove Hotel, Ladarat agrees to investigate.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness, and looked forward to this one with a great deal of anticipation. Unfortunately, The Missing Guests of the Magic Grove Hotel was a bit of a disappointment. The characters and the setting are still strong, and the mysteries are intriguing, but this second book in the series really needed more editing and tightening up.

The mysteries took forever to get moving-- mainly due to the fact that too much emphasis was placed on food in the first half. Casarett has definitely tickled my taste buds with his descriptions of Thai food, but having Ladarat attempt to learn to cook was overkill. Once all the food descriptions stopped, the pace picked up and my flagging interest was re-engaged.

There were also too many mysteries to solve: drugged bus passengers, a smuggling ring, tourists disappearing from a strange hotel, a doctor who's acting strangely... and why are so few people dying in the palliative care unit of the hospital? When there are so many investigations screaming for attention, they oftentimes do not get all the attention they deserve, and that's what happened here.

Yes, The Missing Guests of the Magic Grove Hotel does have a problem or two, but I'm still looking forward to the next book. There is a wit and humor and gentleness in these two books that just plain makes me feel good. Learning about all the many variations of Thai smiles and feeling good are two excellent reasons to keep reading, don't you agree?
 

The Missing Guests of the Magic Grove Hotel by David Casarett

ISBN: 9780316270694

Redhook Books © 2017

Paperback, 384 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Ethical Chiang Mai Detective Agency mystery

Rating: C

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness by David Casarett

First Line: "I have come to see you, Khun Ladarat, about a matter of the utmost urgency."

Ladarat Patalung is the nurse ethicist for Sriphat Hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand, so when something strange happens in the emergency room, her expertise is called needed.

Two nights ago a young woman brought her husband into the emergency room where he passed away. The problem? A guard remembers the same woman coming in before-- but with a different husband who also died.

Now Ladarat has no alternative but to conduct an investigation. Is there a serial killer on the loose in her hospital? If there is, she is determined to do everything in her power to stop this person.

Through the talents of writers such as Timothy Hallinan, Colin Cotterill, and now David Casarett, I am learning a great deal about the wonderful people of Thailand. How many other cultures do you know of that have names for all of the many different types of human smiles? 

I quickly fell under Ladarat Patalung's spell. She is a truly solitary woman whose life revolves around the hospital. She takes her job as an ethicist very seriously, but outside of her job, the only interactions she has are with the person running the food cart in her neighborhood and her cat. (By the way, those stops at that food cart made me ravenous for Thai food!) Ladarat travels to and from the hospital in a forty-year-old Volkswagen Beetle, and the year she spent studying in Chicago means it's easier for her to bridge the cultural gap between East and West when patients and their families need her.

It doesn't take long for us to know what's happening with the woman and her serial husbands; the pleasure is in watching the way Ladarat tracks down this black widow. Ladarat does do something very ill-advised that in other books would make me accuse the main character of being too stupid to live, but in Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness, Ladarat's actions prove her to be as naive as only the truly good-hearted can be. I don't quite know how Casarett managed my volte-face, but kudos to him! 

There's more to this book than a nurse ethicist's investigation. Besides the mouth-watering food, there's an extremely important inspection that she needs to get ready for, and a severely injured newlywed couple and their parents who need her skills. I also learned a bit more about the role of Chinese immigrants in Thai history.

This is a book that's perfect for the armchair traveling amateur sleuth. Exotic location. Food. Culture. Intriguing mystery. And a main character who will have you eagerly awaiting the next book in the series-- just as I am.
 

Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness by David Casarett

ISBN: 9780316270632

Redhook Books © 2016

Paperback, 368 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Ethical Chiang Mai Detective Agency mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.