Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness
Summary:
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…[summary from: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david-casarett/murder-at-the-house-of-rooster-happiness/9780316270632/
Group Reviews/Comments:
Our group is no longer using a standard rating system. Each member gives comments and using whatever rating system they want! I’m sorting them here by Liked/Didn’t Like.
Liked It:
I enjoyed the book. Did question the author for authenticity. Liked the explanation of all the smiles in Thai culture. Never would have picked it up…so glad we read it. didn’t like how it ended…too simplistic.
Thumbs up. Enjoyed it. Liked the concept of the nurse ethicist. Liked the American culture/Thai culture comparisons. Good sense of place. Liked that the main character is slightly out of the norm…has that experience in Chicago.
Thumbs up. Wasn’t the deepest read but liked comparison of Thai and American culture. I little too much going on. Sense of place pretty good.
I liked it. I liked how she was constantly eating. And we always got to know what she was eating. The criminal’s method of killing was very clever.
Thumbs up. Liked that this was a person of color in places we don’t usually see. Felt like a tour of Thailand and its food and language; mixed success doing this. Enjoyed reading it. Liked main character’s perspective.
I liked it, thumbs up. I wanted to eat everything she was eating. Interesting perspective of nurse ethicist. Liked that there were several stories going on. Easy to figure out. Fun quick read.
I really liked it. Two thumbs up. Liked being put in a place I’d never be. An unusual protagonist.
Didn’t Like It:
I didn’t finish it. Didn’t capture me at all. Cultural barrier made it difficult to read at all.
I didn’t like it. Not enough “meat” should have been a short story. Very repetitive. Lots of going round and round. Thumbs down.
Cultural appropriation. Very stereotypical.
No. Couldn’t finish.
No. Couldn’t finish
Thumbs down. Did not like main character. She seemed kind of clueless. Not interesting person. Not surprised by any of the mysteries—all seemed really obvious.
And the inevitable middle of the road:
Thumbs in the middle. Super repetitive. Uncomfortable with white doctor writing about Thai culture.