Death in the Rainy Season (Commandant Morel)

I absolutely loved the first book in the Serge Morel series, The Lying Down room, when I read it last year. Death in the Rainy Season is the second book in the series that features Parisian detective Commandant Serge Morel, whose late mother was Cambodian, and whose French father is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. In this book, he's on holiday in Cambodia where he feels a special kinship. The death of a French citizen with connections in the Government forces Morel to abandon his vacation in the country to go to Phnom Penh to help the local police with the investigation.

Morel is baffled as to why the son of a prominent French minister has been murdered in a hotel room registered under a different name. The victim, Hugo Quercy, show more headed a local charity supporting street children, and was a respected figure in the local community. However, as Morel joins forces with local Police Chief Chey Sarit and medical examiner Sok Pran, it becomes apparent that Hugo is not quite the man everyone thought he was. In addition to the investigation, Morel also has to deal with both suspects and the police holding back information.

I thought this was another fabulous crime novel, set in a fascinating place. I could easily imagine Morel walking round the streets, sweltering in the humidity and trying to find a place to sit out the monsoon rains. I definitely missed the rest of Serge's coworkers who are largely missing from this book, even though he has some interaction with Paris over the phone. Morel is a man of contradictions with his character being all the more emotionally interesting for it. There were enough red herrings to keep me guessing until the very end. I found the whole book clever, compelling and absolutely wonderful. show less

I had some problems when I read the first Commandant Morel mystery, The Lying Down Room, but I'm happy to say that this second book didn't have them. Well, her, to be precise. I strongly disliked the character of Lila Markov, so I was thrilled that she stayed behind in Paris. With Miss High and Mighty out of the way, I could settle down to enjoy the book.

I liked the depiction of Phnom Penh during its monsoon season, and I learned a bit about the Khmer Rouge as I tried to solve the mystery. Morel, in the homeland of his deceased mother, is much more relaxed here and doesn't resort to his hobby of origami nearly as often as he did in the first book.

In Death in the Rainy Season, the whodunit is rather easy to solve. At least it was for me. show more It's the eternal "Why?" that kept my little grey cells confused. All in all, the setting and the mystery are strong reasons to read this second Morel book. I wonder if there will be a third? show less