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Ethical Chiang Mai Detective Agency #1
Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness
Meet Ladarat Patalung -- the first and only nurse detective in Thailand. Two nights ago, a young woman brought her husband into the emergency room of the Sriphat Hospital in Thailand, where he passed away. A guard thinks she remembers her coming in before, but with a different husband -- one who also died. Ladarat Patalung, for one, would have been happier without a serial murderer-if there is one -- loose in her hospital. Then again,she never expected to be a detective in the first place.And now, Ladarat has no choice but to investigate. . .The first novel in a captivating new series by David Casarett, M.D.
347 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2016
205 people are currently reading
1897 people want to read
About the author
David Casarett
7 books102 followersDavid Casarett, M.D., is a physician, researcher, and tenured professor at the Duke University School of Medicine, where he is chief of palliative care and director of the Duke Center for Palliative Care. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 268 reviews
April 23, 2020
Thailand - where Asia wears a smile - but smiles have many meanings when a murderer visits the hospital. Ladarat Patalung is an Ethicist Nurse, this means paper-work not patients. She is swept into the mystery of many dead husbands each with the same name!
Every detective looks for motive when there is a murder. And the simplest reason is usually the best.
“Serial murder, yes,” Wiriya said. “If there are two cases we know about, there may be others.”
They both thought for a moment about what that might mean. A woman out there, somewhere, who was murdering her husbands. But why? Why would she do such a thing?
Then she saw. “Insurance money? She’s pretending to be married and then killing them for their insurance money?”
Wiriya nodded. “At least that’s a possibility. It’s all I can think of,” he admitted.
“But then why bring them to the emergency room?”
Neither of them could answer that question, but one piece of the corporal’s story struck her. “The death certificates,” she said. “It’s the death certificates. She’s taking them to the emergency room so she can get a death certificate.”
He nodded. “She’d need one to collect the life insurance, of course.” He was smiling, now. “You’re quite good at this.
Nurse Ladarat was selected to help the police in this investigation because of her hospital skills.
“But… why do you come to me? What can I do to help?”
The detective didn’t answer immediately. When he did, she thought for a moment that he hadn’t heard her question.
“In your work here, you must have to review… cases?”
Ladarat agreed that she did. There would be questions about a patient’s care and she would investigate. Although she wouldn’t use that word exactly. She would look and listen and ask questions. She would try to determine whether her colleagues behaved in the proper way. And if they didn’t, she would look for opportunities to help the doctors and nurses involved see what they could have done differently. So yes, she was used to looking and searching.
Wiriya thought about her answer for a moment.
“You see,” he said finally, “I don’t know if there have been other cases at this hospital. And I can’t find out without a search warrant. And… well… there isn’t nearly enough evidence for one. The chief would just laugh at me.” He paused, thinking.
“And so you see, I thought that because of your position, you would have a justification to look through medical records… quietly.”
Poison is a woman's method of murder
“But what would I be looking for so… quietly?”
“Well, if this woman were a murderer, then we’d need to think about poison. That would be the logical method.”
Ladarat nodded, then stopped to think about that. “It would?”
The detective nodded. “Poison is often a woman’s method. It is a known fact.”
Ladarat wasn’t so sure about that. That was a rather sexist thing to say, wasn’t it? But presumably Khun Wiriya knew what he was talking about. Still, shouldn’t she question everything? That’s what a real detective would do. So she wrote very carefully: “Woman = Poison?” And underlined the question mark.
“So,” Wiriya continued, “we need to look for evidence of poison. Blood tests, and… so forth.”
Ladarat was intensely curious about what the “and so forth” consisted of. Yet she began to see what the detective had in mind. “So you want me to see if there were any lab tests that were ordered.”
Wiriya nodded, relieved.
Then Ladarat had another thought. “But if this was only last night, it might still be possible to run new tests on a blood sample.” She’d heard of the coroner’s office doing such things for suspicious deaths.
“Well, it’s not so simple, unfortunately. The body has been taken for cremation already.”
A slow moving, piece-by-piece detective/nurse operation, which carefully captures the murderer.
Plus the beginnings of a love story and full descriptions of delicious Thai food make for a mouth-watering read without adding a single calorie.
Most satisfying on all levels.
Enjoy!
Every detective looks for motive when there is a murder. And the simplest reason is usually the best.
“Serial murder, yes,” Wiriya said. “If there are two cases we know about, there may be others.”
They both thought for a moment about what that might mean. A woman out there, somewhere, who was murdering her husbands. But why? Why would she do such a thing?
Then she saw. “Insurance money? She’s pretending to be married and then killing them for their insurance money?”
Wiriya nodded. “At least that’s a possibility. It’s all I can think of,” he admitted.
“But then why bring them to the emergency room?”
Neither of them could answer that question, but one piece of the corporal’s story struck her. “The death certificates,” she said. “It’s the death certificates. She’s taking them to the emergency room so she can get a death certificate.”
He nodded. “She’d need one to collect the life insurance, of course.” He was smiling, now. “You’re quite good at this.
Nurse Ladarat was selected to help the police in this investigation because of her hospital skills.
“But… why do you come to me? What can I do to help?”
The detective didn’t answer immediately. When he did, she thought for a moment that he hadn’t heard her question.
“In your work here, you must have to review… cases?”
Ladarat agreed that she did. There would be questions about a patient’s care and she would investigate. Although she wouldn’t use that word exactly. She would look and listen and ask questions. She would try to determine whether her colleagues behaved in the proper way. And if they didn’t, she would look for opportunities to help the doctors and nurses involved see what they could have done differently. So yes, she was used to looking and searching.
Wiriya thought about her answer for a moment.
“You see,” he said finally, “I don’t know if there have been other cases at this hospital. And I can’t find out without a search warrant. And… well… there isn’t nearly enough evidence for one. The chief would just laugh at me.” He paused, thinking.
“And so you see, I thought that because of your position, you would have a justification to look through medical records… quietly.”
Poison is a woman's method of murder
“But what would I be looking for so… quietly?”
“Well, if this woman were a murderer, then we’d need to think about poison. That would be the logical method.”
Ladarat nodded, then stopped to think about that. “It would?”
The detective nodded. “Poison is often a woman’s method. It is a known fact.”
Ladarat wasn’t so sure about that. That was a rather sexist thing to say, wasn’t it? But presumably Khun Wiriya knew what he was talking about. Still, shouldn’t she question everything? That’s what a real detective would do. So she wrote very carefully: “Woman = Poison?” And underlined the question mark.
“So,” Wiriya continued, “we need to look for evidence of poison. Blood tests, and… so forth.”
Ladarat was intensely curious about what the “and so forth” consisted of. Yet she began to see what the detective had in mind. “So you want me to see if there were any lab tests that were ordered.”
Wiriya nodded, relieved.
Then Ladarat had another thought. “But if this was only last night, it might still be possible to run new tests on a blood sample.” She’d heard of the coroner’s office doing such things for suspicious deaths.
“Well, it’s not so simple, unfortunately. The body has been taken for cremation already.”
A slow moving, piece-by-piece detective/nurse operation, which carefully captures the murderer.
Plus the beginnings of a love story and full descriptions of delicious Thai food make for a mouth-watering read without adding a single calorie.
Most satisfying on all levels.
Enjoy!
August 14, 2018
4 stars for the audiobook as narrated by Kristin Kalbli -- this was a nice, light cozy mystery.
We follow Ladarat Patalung, a nurse ethicist, as she juggles her work at a busy hospital with doing some amateur sleuthing. Not only are there some minor mysteries to be solved at the hopital, she's also helping out a local detective who is trying to track down a woman who is potentially a serial black widow. Using the communication and empathy skills she's learned as a nurse ethicist, Ladarat is able to get into the minds of her patients and potential suspects to get to the bottom of each case.
There was nothing super ground-breaking here, but it was interesting for me to learn a bit about Thai culture. That said, I can't speak for how authentic any of the language or cultural aspects actually are. The author is an American doctor, so I'd assume the medical aspects of the story are correct, but I can't speak for his expertise on the Thai aspects of the story.
While I won't be rushing out to get the next in series, I can see wanting to jump back into this world with Ladarat for a bit at some point in the future.
Badass Female Character score: 5/5 stars -- many of the characters in this book are women and they're all doing very capable things.
We follow Ladarat Patalung, a nurse ethicist, as she juggles her work at a busy hospital with doing some amateur sleuthing. Not only are there some minor mysteries to be solved at the hopital, she's also helping out a local detective who is trying to track down a woman who is potentially a serial black widow. Using the communication and empathy skills she's learned as a nurse ethicist, Ladarat is able to get into the minds of her patients and potential suspects to get to the bottom of each case.
There was nothing super ground-breaking here, but it was interesting for me to learn a bit about Thai culture. That said, I can't speak for how authentic any of the language or cultural aspects actually are. The author is an American doctor, so I'd assume the medical aspects of the story are correct, but I can't speak for his expertise on the Thai aspects of the story.
While I won't be rushing out to get the next in series, I can see wanting to jump back into this world with Ladarat for a bit at some point in the future.
Badass Female Character score: 5/5 stars -- many of the characters in this book are women and they're all doing very capable things.
August 29, 2019
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars!
I really enjoyed this cozy mystery set in Thailand.
Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness starts off with Detective Wiriya Mookjai enlisting help from nurse ethicist, Ladarat Patalung.
Ladarat is a nurse ethicist at the Sriphat Hospital in Chiang Mai. She is a nurse foremost, but she also is in control of all the ethical decisions in the hospital. I really enjoyed the character of Ladarat. She was very practical and looked on the bright side of all situations.
Detective Wiriya needs Ladarat’s help in finding a serial killer. Another Chinese man by the name of Zhang Wei has been brought to the hospital dead and the “wife” has collected the death certificate. This scenario has happened in another hospital and Wiriya thinks he’s got a black widow on his hands.
Ladarat starts doing her own investigation into the death of Zhang Wei from the records department to all the nurses and doctors who where on shift that night.
While this plot mystery is going on, an American couple is brought into the hospital with devasting injuries from an elephant attack.
Throughout the book, you get to see the different cultures (Thailand and America) try to understand each other and the circumstances of the injured American couple.
I liked this book for the fact that it’s set in Thailand and enjoyed the easy writing by David Casarett. Come to find out Casarett is a physician and professor in the School of Medicine for Duke so the book was a nice balance of medical terms and mystery.
Leave it to my book club on introducing me to another book that I would not have read or known about!
Friends, it’s a wonderful thing to get out of your preferred genre at times.
I would not have learned more about the Thailand culture if I had not read Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness.
I will definitely read the next book in the series.
I really enjoyed this cozy mystery set in Thailand.
Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness starts off with Detective Wiriya Mookjai enlisting help from nurse ethicist, Ladarat Patalung.
Ladarat is a nurse ethicist at the Sriphat Hospital in Chiang Mai. She is a nurse foremost, but she also is in control of all the ethical decisions in the hospital. I really enjoyed the character of Ladarat. She was very practical and looked on the bright side of all situations.
Detective Wiriya needs Ladarat’s help in finding a serial killer. Another Chinese man by the name of Zhang Wei has been brought to the hospital dead and the “wife” has collected the death certificate. This scenario has happened in another hospital and Wiriya thinks he’s got a black widow on his hands.
Ladarat starts doing her own investigation into the death of Zhang Wei from the records department to all the nurses and doctors who where on shift that night.
While this plot mystery is going on, an American couple is brought into the hospital with devasting injuries from an elephant attack.
Throughout the book, you get to see the different cultures (Thailand and America) try to understand each other and the circumstances of the injured American couple.
I liked this book for the fact that it’s set in Thailand and enjoyed the easy writing by David Casarett. Come to find out Casarett is a physician and professor in the School of Medicine for Duke so the book was a nice balance of medical terms and mystery.
Leave it to my book club on introducing me to another book that I would not have read or known about!
Friends, it’s a wonderful thing to get out of your preferred genre at times.
I would not have learned more about the Thailand culture if I had not read Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness.
I will definitely read the next book in the series.
February 17, 2018
I have no idea what to think of this book. on the other hand I like cozy mysteries with smart and kick-ass lady detectives. But when a white western man writes a book about a thai woman and thai culture there is bound to be some... Hiccups. To say the least. I'm sure I didn't spot all the problems, thai people would definitely have more to say on this.
Still, by far the biggest issue was that it is completely fine to want to write a lighthearted cozy mystery. You know, one of those books where murders happen but things are still okay and people are fine as long as there's tea and biscuits. I quite like the genre. However, if you want to write a crime novel with a light tone, maybe don't make international sex trade a big part of the plot. 'Cause like "this brothel is actually a good place for the women to work and it's fine that these foreign men come to thailand as sex tourists!" -sorta message makes you sound like a privileged western man who might have seriously warped ideas about the realities of sex tourism.
Still, by far the biggest issue was that it is completely fine to want to write a lighthearted cozy mystery. You know, one of those books where murders happen but things are still okay and people are fine as long as there's tea and biscuits. I quite like the genre. However, if you want to write a crime novel with a light tone, maybe don't make international sex trade a big part of the plot. 'Cause like "this brothel is actually a good place for the women to work and it's fine that these foreign men come to thailand as sex tourists!" -sorta message makes you sound like a privileged western man who might have seriously warped ideas about the realities of sex tourism.
March 7, 2022
On my left, the Ethical Chiang Mai Detective Agency (2016) by David Casarett.
On my right, the hugely popular 1998 book & series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.
I'm not saying–definitely not saying–Casarett has slavishly copied AMS's hit. But the resemblances are...striking:
AMS: heroine, in her 40s; not conventionally attractive; widowed in her 20s; no living parents; lives alone. She refers frequently to the wisdom of a professional manual: "The Principles of Private Investigation." Only friend is an assertive older woman. Romantic interest (implied) is mild-mannered older man. Sidekick, a younger woman, is socially awkward; wears thick glasses; scored top marks in professional exam.
DC: heroine, in her 40s; not conventionally attractive; widowed in her 20s; no living parents; lives alone. She refers frequently to the wisdom of a professional manual: "The Fundamentals of Ethics." Only friend is an assertive older woman. Romantic interest (implied) is mild-mannered older man. Sidekick, a younger woman, is socially awkward; wears thick glasses; scored top marks in professional exam.
AMS: Cozy mystery; overlapping storylines; arriving at a solution depends heavily on Mma Ramotswe's intuition, and the reader's willingness not to explore plot holes. Frequent use of 2nd person in descriptive passages - If you went there, out into the Kalahari, you might hear lions by night.
Lots of folksy wisdom - And she thought: I am just a tiny person in Africa, but there is a place for me, and for everybody, to sit down on this earth and touch it and call it their own. She waited for another thought to come, but none did.
DC: Cozy mystery; overlapping storylines; arriving at a solution depends heavily on Ladarat's intuition, and the reader's willingness not to explore plot holes. Frequent use of 2nd person in descriptive passages - You must never approach an elephant in the forest... You must always allow it to approach you.
Lots of folksy wisdom - “Interminable,” was Ladarat’s favorite English word. Odd that there was nothing that meant quite the same thing in Thai, yet the pace of Thai life often called for such a word. Maybe that made sense. Only a people who hoped that everything would have been done yesterday could create such a wonderful word to sum up the futility of that hope.
But perhaps I am refining too much on these superficial points. After all, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is set in Botswana, and Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness in Thailand. And AMS is an elderly white Scottish professor of Medical Law, whereas DC is a much younger white American professor of medicine.
Apart from all that, is this worth reading? Um, if you can overlook the appalling condescension with which all matters Thai are treated (laborious descriptions of the Thai national psyche, all Thai words carefully translated for an Anglo-centric audience), and if you can suspend your disbelief in the shonky plot...
You know what? Just read The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency instead.
On my right, the hugely popular 1998 book & series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.
I'm not saying–definitely not saying–Casarett has slavishly copied AMS's hit. But the resemblances are...striking:
AMS: heroine, in her 40s; not conventionally attractive; widowed in her 20s; no living parents; lives alone. She refers frequently to the wisdom of a professional manual: "The Principles of Private Investigation." Only friend is an assertive older woman. Romantic interest (implied) is mild-mannered older man. Sidekick, a younger woman, is socially awkward; wears thick glasses; scored top marks in professional exam.
DC: heroine, in her 40s; not conventionally attractive; widowed in her 20s; no living parents; lives alone. She refers frequently to the wisdom of a professional manual: "The Fundamentals of Ethics." Only friend is an assertive older woman. Romantic interest (implied) is mild-mannered older man. Sidekick, a younger woman, is socially awkward; wears thick glasses; scored top marks in professional exam.
AMS: Cozy mystery; overlapping storylines; arriving at a solution depends heavily on Mma Ramotswe's intuition, and the reader's willingness not to explore plot holes. Frequent use of 2nd person in descriptive passages - If you went there, out into the Kalahari, you might hear lions by night.
Lots of folksy wisdom - And she thought: I am just a tiny person in Africa, but there is a place for me, and for everybody, to sit down on this earth and touch it and call it their own. She waited for another thought to come, but none did.
DC: Cozy mystery; overlapping storylines; arriving at a solution depends heavily on Ladarat's intuition, and the reader's willingness not to explore plot holes. Frequent use of 2nd person in descriptive passages - You must never approach an elephant in the forest... You must always allow it to approach you.
Lots of folksy wisdom - “Interminable,” was Ladarat’s favorite English word. Odd that there was nothing that meant quite the same thing in Thai, yet the pace of Thai life often called for such a word. Maybe that made sense. Only a people who hoped that everything would have been done yesterday could create such a wonderful word to sum up the futility of that hope.
But perhaps I am refining too much on these superficial points. After all, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is set in Botswana, and Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness in Thailand. And AMS is an elderly white Scottish professor of Medical Law, whereas DC is a much younger white American professor of medicine.
Apart from all that, is this worth reading? Um, if you can overlook the appalling condescension with which all matters Thai are treated (laborious descriptions of the Thai national psyche, all Thai words carefully translated for an Anglo-centric audience), and if you can suspend your disbelief in the shonky plot...
You know what? Just read The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency instead.
not-going-to-finish
April 22, 2021Nope, 30% in and I just can't do it anymore. Not even the thought of actively picking this novel apart chapter by chapter in a lovely, 1 star review keeps me going.
I wanted to like this book. I lived in Thailand. I love cozy mysteries. And I was intrigued by the basic premise: a possible serial killer posing as a widow to collect insurance benefits investigated by a nurse ethicist? Cool!
And then when I started reading and the awkward, clearly non-Thai American (male) writing from the perspective of a female Thai nurse made me cringe, I thought...well, I can get a good one-star review out of this.
But it just isn't worth it. Because besides being poorly written, vaguely offensive, and cringe-y in its attempt to connect to Thai culture, it is boring. A hundred pages in and nothing of interest has happened. I don't like any of these characters. And I'm getting real sick of Chiang Mai being referenced like some backwards village and not the tourist destination it is.
I wanted to like this book. I lived in Thailand. I love cozy mysteries. And I was intrigued by the basic premise: a possible serial killer posing as a widow to collect insurance benefits investigated by a nurse ethicist? Cool!
And then when I started reading and the awkward, clearly non-Thai American (male) writing from the perspective of a female Thai nurse made me cringe, I thought...well, I can get a good one-star review out of this.
But it just isn't worth it. Because besides being poorly written, vaguely offensive, and cringe-y in its attempt to connect to Thai culture, it is boring. A hundred pages in and nothing of interest has happened. I don't like any of these characters. And I'm getting real sick of Chiang Mai being referenced like some backwards village and not the tourist destination it is.
August 11, 2016
This was a book I picked up at BEA16. I can't remember how I came across it, though I imagine it was a simple book drop that I came across and realizing it was a mystery, I grabbed a copy. I'm a huge fan of mysteries because I love following the case, whether I guess the culprit or piece it all together or not.
Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness is the first book in a new series which follows a nurse ethicist in Thailand named Ladarat Patalung. She's an intriguing character, having lost her husband 12 years prior and still living alone with only her cat. She loves her job and is very committed though. I loved that the book was set in Thailand though, as I don't believe I've read another book set in this country. The author did a great job not only describing the hospital and its functions, but also the language, the people, and certainly the food. There is the use of Thai throughout the book, but it is always explained and therefore, I never felt confused or lost while reading the book.
As for the mystery in this one, Ladarat is approached by a detective at the hospital she works at concerning what he believes could be murder. A woman had brought her husband into the emergency room of Ladarat's hospital the night before, where he was declared dead and his death certificate signed. The woman left and that was it, except someone who worked at the hospital thought he had seen this same woman bringing her dead husband in a few months previous, at a different hospital. Is it the same woman, and is she marrying and killing off men? What could she gain? And how would they find her?
It's not known until near the end of the book while the detective enlists Ladarat's help, besides her being the nurse ethicist of the hospital (this means she's a nurse, yes, but she also deals with any ethical decisions the hospital may face), but I promise there is an answer. It's nothing huge, but it does make Ladarat even more determined to continue her detective work at the end of this novel. However, back to the initial story - there is a lot going on in this book besides the mystery, but it worked well. The author handled these various story lines with ease, weaving between them throughout the book so you were always curious what would come next, yet never confused. I thought about explaining some of this, but I think it would be best to enjoy the book without knowing too many details! Believe me, it's worth it!
I love books where the main character is not a detective but is called upon to become one. This isn't like cozy mysteries, where the main character makes themselves a detective. Ladarat is called upon for her help and she does waver if she should help as much as she can, or focus instead on her paying job, especially with a big inspection coming up.
One of the things that I really loved about this book is the writing style. It's not one I can really explain, but it seemed to suit the story and most especially the character of Ladarat. I appreciated how the author talked about Thai culture and explained how it is very different in many ways to American culture, as Ladarat is often commented to be a bit American. She spent a year studying there in college, but she also seems to understand the world in a slight American way and all of this is included expertly in the story.
I definitely loved this one - five stars for sure- and I am excited to read more about Ladarat and her mysteries!
Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness is the first book in a new series which follows a nurse ethicist in Thailand named Ladarat Patalung. She's an intriguing character, having lost her husband 12 years prior and still living alone with only her cat. She loves her job and is very committed though. I loved that the book was set in Thailand though, as I don't believe I've read another book set in this country. The author did a great job not only describing the hospital and its functions, but also the language, the people, and certainly the food. There is the use of Thai throughout the book, but it is always explained and therefore, I never felt confused or lost while reading the book.
As for the mystery in this one, Ladarat is approached by a detective at the hospital she works at concerning what he believes could be murder. A woman had brought her husband into the emergency room of Ladarat's hospital the night before, where he was declared dead and his death certificate signed. The woman left and that was it, except someone who worked at the hospital thought he had seen this same woman bringing her dead husband in a few months previous, at a different hospital. Is it the same woman, and is she marrying and killing off men? What could she gain? And how would they find her?
It's not known until near the end of the book while the detective enlists Ladarat's help, besides her being the nurse ethicist of the hospital (this means she's a nurse, yes, but she also deals with any ethical decisions the hospital may face), but I promise there is an answer. It's nothing huge, but it does make Ladarat even more determined to continue her detective work at the end of this novel. However, back to the initial story - there is a lot going on in this book besides the mystery, but it worked well. The author handled these various story lines with ease, weaving between them throughout the book so you were always curious what would come next, yet never confused. I thought about explaining some of this, but I think it would be best to enjoy the book without knowing too many details! Believe me, it's worth it!
I love books where the main character is not a detective but is called upon to become one. This isn't like cozy mysteries, where the main character makes themselves a detective. Ladarat is called upon for her help and she does waver if she should help as much as she can, or focus instead on her paying job, especially with a big inspection coming up.
One of the things that I really loved about this book is the writing style. It's not one I can really explain, but it seemed to suit the story and most especially the character of Ladarat. I appreciated how the author talked about Thai culture and explained how it is very different in many ways to American culture, as Ladarat is often commented to be a bit American. She spent a year studying there in college, but she also seems to understand the world in a slight American way and all of this is included expertly in the story.
I definitely loved this one - five stars for sure- and I am excited to read more about Ladarat and her mysteries!
February 7, 2017
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.
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.
August 11, 2016
I found this book rather dull. It was technically a mystery, but it wasn't a whodunit because there weren't any suspects or anything. The characters weren't that interesting and the mystery itself wasn't that great.
The author was CONSTANTLY comparing Thailand and the US which was interesting the first half dozen times but then got really tedious.
The author was CONSTANTLY comparing Thailand and the US which was interesting the first half dozen times but then got really tedious.
January 20, 2018
There is much to enjoy in this light mystery—Chiang Mai, Thailand especially —but the book is severely marred by certain stylistic tics. The effort to portray our detective’s reticence and care in proceeding becomes heavy-handed, repetitious and slow-going.
August 6, 2016
Loved this book and looking forward to the next in the series!
July 24, 2019
I made it to page 85. I bought a mystery, I ended up with a primer about Thailand's customs and language. The author also takes every chance he has to disparage Americans, even though he is one, as he paints them as rude, controlling, and people who "...rearrange the world to suit themselves."
The story had possibility. A woman brings her dead husband into the ER. Someone reveals they've seen her just 3 months ago bring another dead husband into another ER. 85 pages, that's as much of the mystery as I got.
In my rude American opinion; Dr. Casarett needs to stick to medicine and non-fiction.
The story had possibility. A woman brings her dead husband into the ER. Someone reveals they've seen her just 3 months ago bring another dead husband into another ER. 85 pages, that's as much of the mystery as I got.
In my rude American opinion; Dr. Casarett needs to stick to medicine and non-fiction.
March 7, 2020
I veered out of my usual cultural areas, and turned into Chaing Mai, Thailand in this quirky Thai mystery, in audio format. It features an nurse ethicist, and I had to go look that up, as I don't think we have these in our US hospitals - a person who helps with ethical decisions on the client level? Maybe that's a pastor or other religious helper to assist with the painful transitions that happen at health care facilities.
Ladarat Patalung is a nice enough girl, but it was the narration that kept me going. So many Thai words I don't know, and so reading this would have been a difficult task and I'm not sure I would have stuck with it. BUT this was a fun listen, and the story, like the rhythm and constant use of Thai language was compelling to me. Also were tidbits of culture and ways Thais think differently than I do (as an Oregonian), and speech patterns and comparisons between colloquial speech in Thai and America (she shocked a companion when she mentioned "let sleeping dogs lie" - her companion was nonplussed and needed her further explanation. This she could do because she had attended a year or two of schooling in "She-Ka-Go." Full of lots of Thai food mentions, by the end of the book, I had to go to a Thai restaurant to bring back the balance in life. Did you know that mangoes are NOT a patient fruit? They are not.
This reminds me quite a bit of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith - Mma Ramotswe, set in Botswana and her veneration of Clovis Anderson, a fictional author who "wrote the book" on detective work. In David Casarett's book, Ladarat, who is mostly a nurse ethicist, but is working on maybe probably becoming closer on the spectrum of being a detective than not, is constantly referencing Professor Dalrymple, also an expert in this and other relevant fields. A pattern, among many these books seem to share - but that is not off-putting to me.
There's another one of these books out there in the world, so I'll chase it down, too.
Ladarat Patalung is a nice enough girl, but it was the narration that kept me going. So many Thai words I don't know, and so reading this would have been a difficult task and I'm not sure I would have stuck with it. BUT this was a fun listen, and the story, like the rhythm and constant use of Thai language was compelling to me. Also were tidbits of culture and ways Thais think differently than I do (as an Oregonian), and speech patterns and comparisons between colloquial speech in Thai and America (she shocked a companion when she mentioned "let sleeping dogs lie" - her companion was nonplussed and needed her further explanation. This she could do because she had attended a year or two of schooling in "She-Ka-Go." Full of lots of Thai food mentions, by the end of the book, I had to go to a Thai restaurant to bring back the balance in life. Did you know that mangoes are NOT a patient fruit? They are not.
This reminds me quite a bit of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith - Mma Ramotswe, set in Botswana and her veneration of Clovis Anderson, a fictional author who "wrote the book" on detective work. In David Casarett's book, Ladarat, who is mostly a nurse ethicist, but is working on maybe probably becoming closer on the spectrum of being a detective than not, is constantly referencing Professor Dalrymple, also an expert in this and other relevant fields. A pattern, among many these books seem to share - but that is not off-putting to me.
There's another one of these books out there in the world, so I'll chase it down, too.
July 11, 2016
A bit of a slow start, but a charming cozy mystery. Nurse Ethicist Ladarat Patalung is already frantically busy getting ready for a hospital inspection when three thorny problems are dropped in her lap--a murder, a dying tourist whose family is in desperate need of compassion and advice, and a reclusive mountain man lurking shoeless in the waiting room. Set in Northern Thailand, this book is filled with cultural detail, appealing characters, and insight into a lifestyle not familiar to many North American readers. There will be parallels with Precious Ramotswe of Botswana, and Ladarat is similar in that she is another woman who watches and considers carefully before jumping to conclusions. There is a little VW Beetle, and an annoying assistant. But this book is not a clone! Situations, style, and plotting are unique. The author, an MD, brings his own medical knowledge and hospital experience to the descriptions of a Thai hospital, doing its best to treat patients with both professional and respectful medical care. I look forward to more books in this series!
October 11, 2016
This book starts well but with a LOT of similarities to The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. There is the foreign locale, the meddling assistant, even the old car that is held on to for sentimental reasons. This being said I enjoy that series a lot and I enjoyed this as well. As the story goes on it becomes more centered in Thai culture than standard mystery plot devices and I enjoyed it.
Near the reveal and climax at the end I did manage to lose track of who was whom, with all the Thai names being thrown around and the mystery could have been a touch stronger, but overall I'm happy and will be reading the next book in this series.
Near the reveal and climax at the end I did manage to lose track of who was whom, with all the Thai names being thrown around and the mystery could have been a touch stronger, but overall I'm happy and will be reading the next book in this series.
June 2, 2018
I would have rated this book higher but the incessant way the author kept bringing up Americans or American culture irritated me so much so that I almost didn't finish it. I understand that some comparison is necessary in order to explain how Thai culture is different, but this was way too much. You don't need to criticize one culture in order to explain another culture (and that goes for any culture). When he was just straight up talking about Thai culture, it was great and interesting and exactly what I was hoping for.
The mystery itself was a bit ho hum because we knew almost immediately that the bad guy wasn't a character we knew. No thrill. But it was interesting to see her figure it out.
I am not certain that I'll continue the series. If I knew he was going the lay off on the comparisons to Americans, I probably would.
The mystery itself was a bit ho hum because we knew almost immediately that the bad guy wasn't a character we knew. No thrill. But it was interesting to see her figure it out.
I am not certain that I'll continue the series. If I knew he was going the lay off on the comparisons to Americans, I probably would.
December 8, 2016
Anybody who is a fan of Alexander McCall Smith (Mma Ramotswe) books--and to a certain extent Colin Cotterill (Dr. Siri Paiboun) books--will immediately identify and like this book. An exotic setting (Chiang Mai, Thailand), a detective story that highlights human values that are rooted to the local culture but at the same time are universal and a strong sense of ethics accompanied by human kindness are what they share in common.
A bit cozier than the Cotterill and McCall Smith series, but it left a pleasant and warm feeling at the end.
A bit cozier than the Cotterill and McCall Smith series, but it left a pleasant and warm feeling at the end.
December 31, 2016
This was slow to start because the author spends a lot of time explaining Thai culture, food, etc. However, I got hooked in the story and the last half sped along. I ended up enjoying the main character, Ladarat.
February 5, 2018
It does have its charms. I like the main protagonist Ladarat Patalung. I'd like to see her get together with her policeman friend Wiriya. But it's a slow-moving book, & I'm not the most patient person in the world. Lots of thinking, not enough action.
September 29, 2016
It was an interesting look into Thai culture. And I never knew there could be so many types of smiles, Khun.
Like the Vish Puri series I read about India, this gives the readers wherever they are from some social commentary to think about - that is, tourism and Western mannerisms for this book. I look forward to Ladarat's next adventure.
Like the Vish Puri series I read about India, this gives the readers wherever they are from some social commentary to think about - that is, tourism and Western mannerisms for this book. I look forward to Ladarat's next adventure.
July 11, 2020
Meh. Pretty standard cozy mystery fare. Did not care for the way the author made his main character, Ladarat, so self-deprecating it was distracting. As a woman with a small chest, I don't dwell on this daily or think it makes me nothing special, and I don't appreciate when male authors write female characters this way.
January 5, 2018
I loved this book. It was a fun experience and the setting in Thailand was a fun escape.
February 1, 2022
Probably more of a 2.5-2.75. Enjoyable, cozy mystery. I probably won’t read the rest in the series. It never really sucked me in, but I enjoyed it as an audiobook on my errands.
March 3, 2018
David Casarett, MD, has written a unique and fascinating book set in Thailand featuring a nurse ethicist- turned detective in Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness. Ladarat Patalung works as the nurse ethicist at the public hospital in northern Thailand and is busy getting ready for public inspections and doesn’t have time for extra work when a police detective approaches her. The night before, his officer stationed at the hospital emergency room reported to him that a woman brought in her dead husband, who was certified by the on- duty doctor as having died of heart failure. To that, Ladarat scoffs, saying that of course any man who dies has his heart stop, but that is no more specific than saying a plane has crashed because it hit the ground. But she becomes more concerned when the detective tells her that his officer recognized the woman as the same woman who turned in her dead husband to the emergency room of a different hospital three months earlier. Could they have a serial killer on their hands? The detective enlists Ladarat to join him as a detective to investigate the case.
Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation
Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation
May 27, 2017
Who knew that there were so many different ways to describe a smile? In Thai
Yim thak thaii: means ( I don't what's going on but I'm smiling anyway because, well, it can't hurt.)
Yim thak than : means a smile of disagreement
Yim yae: means ( well its awful but what can you do?)
Yim chug cheuan: is " the winners smile"
All of these occur in this amazing debut novel filled with the delights and dangers of Thailand. How life is so different than it is in the USA.. except they still murder each other there, for the same reasons, or perhaps not?
Ladarat Patalung is a nurse ethicist, and is curious why 2 men show up dead in her hospital within a year of each other with the same name, same birth certificate, dying from the same symptoms, within a year of each other, and brought in by the same beautiful wife...." Let the games begin!"
Yim thak thaii: means ( I don't what's going on but I'm smiling anyway because, well, it can't hurt.)
Yim thak than : means a smile of disagreement
Yim yae: means ( well its awful but what can you do?)
Yim chug cheuan: is " the winners smile"
All of these occur in this amazing debut novel filled with the delights and dangers of Thailand. How life is so different than it is in the USA.. except they still murder each other there, for the same reasons, or perhaps not?
Ladarat Patalung is a nurse ethicist, and is curious why 2 men show up dead in her hospital within a year of each other with the same name, same birth certificate, dying from the same symptoms, within a year of each other, and brought in by the same beautiful wife...." Let the games begin!"
February 26, 2020
From the cover and the limited precis that I saw, I had rather anticipated that this would have been more like books by Colin Cotterill, Vaseem Khan or even Shamina Flint. In fact I even believe that it was recommended by Goodreads under the "if you like that - you'll like this" sort of banner.
I am afraid that for me this novel lacked any of the quiet humour possessed by the others and although there was a murder to help solve, the storyline was more one of the problems of Ethical nurse Ladarat, in her daily duties.
I acknowledge that the author is a doctor and I dont doubt his knowledge of hospital life and if you like watching hospital dramas on TV then you will probably enjoy this.
Unfortunately, I found the story lacking substance and it felt empty. Even the solving of the murder lacked real punch or urgency.
Sorry, not for me.
I am afraid that for me this novel lacked any of the quiet humour possessed by the others and although there was a murder to help solve, the storyline was more one of the problems of Ethical nurse Ladarat, in her daily duties.
I acknowledge that the author is a doctor and I dont doubt his knowledge of hospital life and if you like watching hospital dramas on TV then you will probably enjoy this.
Unfortunately, I found the story lacking substance and it felt empty. Even the solving of the murder lacked real punch or urgency.
Sorry, not for me.
January 26, 2023
I'll give it a 2.1. Although we learn something of the polite Thai culture, it's a boring way to do it. I read about half of the book and then skimmed or skipped to the end. There are much better books about mysteries in foreign countries.
The concept of a "nurse ethicist" becoming an investigator is pretty hard to swallow.
It's too long at about 350 pages. I didn't really care what the nurse ethicist was thinking, as she was just a junior female operative trying to not be noticed or get into conflict with more senior male people.
The concept of a "nurse ethicist" becoming an investigator is pretty hard to swallow.
It's too long at about 350 pages. I didn't really care what the nurse ethicist was thinking, as she was just a junior female operative trying to not be noticed or get into conflict with more senior male people.
February 13, 2018
A beautifully written book, truly splendid. The major story line that is the mystery is good, just ok though especially vis a vis the language that completely mystifies. I was completely enthralled by the language, the thought, the expression, the emotion and the ethics especially medical ethics. Even the chapter titles are so thoughtful, each title is a metaphor in itself.
I'd love to be able to write this splendidly.....some day.
I'd love to be able to write this splendidly.....some day.
June 5, 2019
Loved this mystery and the characters particularly as I visited Chiang Mai, Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand last summer. I particularly loved the laid back pace and delights of Chiang Mai w/elephants, temples, markets, art, good foods!! makes you want to eat some yummy Thai food like mango and sticky rice! Can’t wait to start next one!
November 20, 2016
Fun read, with moments of hilarity. Fascinating depiction of Thai culture by an American author. Can't wait for the next instalment of the redoubtable nurse ethicist cum ethical detective Madam Ladarat Patalung！
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