David Casarett Books In Order

Publication Order of Ethical Chiang Mai Detective Agency Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

David Casarett is an American author of fiction and nonfiction books. In addition to writing, he also works in the medical field. He has an M.D. and is a researcher and physician as well as a professor with tenure at the School of Medicine at Duke University. He is a chief in the field of palliative care as well as the director of the Duke Center for Palliative Care. He has channeled his professional life and knowledge into his writing as well as writing fictional mystery novel series set in Asia.

David Casarett penned the fiction series in the genre of cozy mystery dealing with a detective who also works in the medical field.The debut novel in this series was released in 2016. The second book was released just one year later in 2017 and has been well-received. It stars the main character of Ladarat Patalung, a nurse and self-styled detective in Thailand.

He also wrote the 2009 book Last Acts, a nonfiction book that delves deeply into his area of expertise. Casarett makes good use of his time working as a researcher and physician in palliative care. This is an area of medical care that specializes in patients that are nearing the end of their lives. He draws upon his own research and years of experience to explore how many people spend their last days on Earth. Some are peaceful, others are vengeful, some leave a legacy, while others celebrate and enjoy time with loved ones while other struggle and cannot accept their fate.

Casarett notes that the diversity of last acts shows that there are a variety of choices but no set formula for passing on. It is a book that is intended to serve as a guide for thought when it comes to considering possibilities for dying patients as well as their families and friends. Ultimately, it is an examination of choices we face at the end and how to spend time in ways that may bring peace of mind. The book was first published in 2009 and then re-published in 2010 by publishing company Simon & Schuster.

Casarett also wrote the 2014 book Shocked, published by Current. The subtitle of the book is ‘Adventures in Bringing Back the Recently Dead’. The nonfiction book is all about coming back from death, something ever more possible thanks to medical advances. Could death just be another complication? Casarett is inspired by the story of a two-year-old girl that fell into a creek and drowned but was brought back after three hours of being officially dead by a team of nurses and doctors. In this intriguing book, Doctor David Casarett explores how far science has come, and what blurring the line between death and life might mean for society as a whole.

Casarett also penned the nonfiction novel Stoned. It was published in 2015 by Current. In this novel, the physician makes a case for the benefits of patients using cannabis to treat a variety of diseases. He dives straight into the possibilities of using medical marijuana to feel better and alleviate symptoms as well as directly address the medical issue. It’s an argument for the plant to be seen as more than just a vehicle for THC or recreational use. Full of discussion, interviews, analysis, and research, as well as anecdotes and a recipe to make a ‘pot’ brownie. Casarett currently resides in Durham, North Carolina.

The first book in the Detective Agency series is titled Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness. The main character in this novel is the first nurse detective to live and work in Thailand, Ladarat Patalung. It may be because she invented the job, but that’s okay. Ladarat has plenty of space in her life to work as a nurse treating patients and solving cases in her spare time. It’s what she enjoys doing, and she’s pretty good at it.

She may have a new case on her hands when a young woman comes rushing to the E.R. located at Thailand’s Sriphat Hospital. She was with her spouse two nights ago to get treatment and he passed away there, unfortunately. But a guard is saying that she thinks that she has a memory of the same young woman coming into the hospital in the past but with another husband. The guard says that to the best of her knowledge, that husband also passed away at the hospital. It seems suspicious, for sure.

The nurse meets detective would have been thrilled to avoid having to deal with a potential serial murderer on the loose. It seems that it’s at her hospital too, so the case would hit close to home if there really is a killer out there running around. Ladarat is left with no choice; she has to look into the matter– before another husband gets brought into the ER and winds up dead. Want to find out whether she can track the killer down? Check out this exciting new series by David Casarett, M.D., and see what happens in this entertaining murder mystery novel!

The second novel in this series is titled The Missing Guests of the Magic Grove Hotel. The nurse and detective Ladarat Patalung is back in this gripping sequel to Rooster Happiness! She is a nurse ethicist whose job involves working to save her patients’ lives and make sure that the ones who cannot be improved have the quality of life and the dignity of having a good death.

Ladarat hopes that her last case is behind her. It was enough to deal with. But then something strange begins happening; travelers from abroad start to disappear all across Thailand while on vacation. The local detective, Wiriya Mookjai, is worried that the missing people are a direct result of a local killer. Whether foreign or Thai, no one is sure. But with no leads, Mookjai turns to Patalung to help him out.

The detective doesn’t know where to start. It would help if those travelers had something to link them all. But nothing ties them together. Nothing other than the fact that they all stopped or stayed at a resort that she has never heard of. The name of the mysterious resort is the only thing in common and may be why they were all targeted. Can Ladarat solve the case, or will the tourists remain missing forever? Pick up this exciting novel to find out!

One Response to “David Casarett”

1. Susan Sterling: 2 years ago

   I do hope there will be more books featuring nurse ethicist, Ladaret Patalung in the future. I love reading mysteries set in countries around the world. I’ve learned a lot by books set in Germany, India, France and certainly Great Britain.
   Thank you for these books!

   Reply