20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

“I might be living in the buttock end of the world, but I could still sniff out a story.” This funny, madcap cozy follows the adventures of Jim Juree, crime reporter for the Chiang Mai Mail. While her family manages a cul de sac resort located in a marsh-filled, mosquito-ridden village in southern Thailand, Jimm reminisces about her glorious past, days spent chronicling “marvelous crimes” involving “castrated cuckolds,” motorcycle hit squads, druggies, gangsters and fake fortune tellers. After nine months of covering highway traffic and coconut yield statistics, Jimm is desperate for a meatier assignment. When local villagers discover two unidentified bodies in Volkswagen van and news spreads about an abbot’s mysterious death, a beyond thrilled Jimm joins the Thai police in hot pursuit of details.