It’s almost exactly a year since the spare room was festooned with packing cubes ready for our month long trip to India. Sadly, Covid put paid to that! However, it doesn’t mean I can’t travel vicariously through books and I’m delighted to welcome Gerald Hogg to Linda’s Book Bag today to take me what sounds as if it could be an exciting adventure as he tells me about his latest book.

Staying in with Gerald Hogg

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Gerald. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Hi Linda thank you for inviting me for a night in with you, I am sure that we will have a great evening.

I hope so. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

The book that I have decided to share with you tonight is the first book in the Thai Died Series of books that I wrote; Murder in Paradise…Coronavirus Has Arrived in Koh Samui But So Has Another Killer.

Gosh! That’s quite a title. I like the word play! What can we expect from an evening in with Thai Died: Murder in Paradise?

The book features Lieutenant Chai Son Sinuan of the Royal Thailand Police an incorruptible policeman in a police force that is deep rooted in corruption.

The book is set on the Paradise Island of Koh Samui, where a young English girl’s body is found posed looking out to sea on Bophut Beach. Her throat has been cut to near decapitation and Lieutenant Sinuan is handed the toughest murder case of his career. At the same time, Covid-19 has devastated Koh Samui’s and Thailand’s tourist industry and the government is putting pressure on Son to solve the case to save face with the international community. Son is in a race against time to solve the murder, but with most businesses, hotels, massage parlours, restaurants and bars now closed and with many potential witnesses having already left the island to return to their home countries or provinces around Thailand there are very few leads to follow. The investigation takes Son to Ko Pha-Ngan and the Island of Phuket and then back to Koh Samui as he untangles a crime with links back to the notorious gangsters the Kray twins the most feared, most ruthless gangsters in London during the 1950 and 1960s.

What a plot! How is the book being received?

The book has received some great reviews such as this one from Crime Fiction Lover:

Thai Died… Murder in Paradise by Gerald Hogg

Quite a few crime fiction lovers decide to write a crime novel when they retire, and Gerald Hogg is one of them. Thai Died is one of the first COVID-era crime novels we’ve come across and is set during lockdown in Koh Samui, a popular Thai beach resort. A young woman’s body has been found, and police lieutenant Chai Son Sinuan is on the case. In a police force that is often corrupt, Sinuan is an honest man swimming against the current. Carrying out an investigation with COVID restrictions is one challenge. Another is the strange link he discovers between the murder and organised crime in London during the 50s and 60s, including the Kray twins. See what you think, Thai Died is out now.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

Before I retired to Thailand I was a chef and I travelled the world working in hotels in countries including Jamaica, Bermuda, Singapore, Australia and Papua New Guinea and I also worked on cruise ships for a good portion of my life. I’ve brought a couple of pages (Gazette and Gazette 2) your blog readers might like to see.

How exciting. I love travel and I’m pretty partial to a cruise too. Papua New Guinea was on our list but sadly Covid has put paid to that for now although we have visited the other countries you mention. I wonder if you’ve ever cooked for us?

Two years after I retired in Thailand I met a lovely Thai lady called Noy, who has taught me many of the secrets of Thai cooking so I have prepared Tom Yum Goong a Spicy Shrimp Soup cooked in coconut cream, with straw mushrooms, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, garlic and galangal. I lived much of my life in Australia and I consider Australian wines to be far superior to French wines so I have bought a bottle of ILR Reserve Semillon.

Oh, you can visit again. I love Thai food. It’s far too long since I’ve been there.

I was not sure what your taste in music might be but growing up in England in the mid-1960s I was lucky enough to be leaving school when groups like The Beatles The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Small Faces were at the pinnacle of their musical careers so I was quiet spoiled for choice and I now find much of the music of today quite bland. I have brought a self titled LP of my favourite band of around that time a band called Free. The reason that it’s my favourite is I went to school in my home town of Middlesbrough with the lead singer of Free, Paul Rogers, who in my opinion is the finest rock and roll singer ever to walk up to a microphone. So I hope that you have an old fashioned record player that plays 33rpm so that you can listen to it.

I think there’s one in the loft. I’ll get my husband to get it down.

I have brought a photo album as well and if we have the time I will go through some of my favourite photos with you.

That’s brilliant Gerald. Thanks so much for staying in with me. You serve up the Tom Yum Goong and I’ll give blog readers a bit of information about Thai Died… Murder in Paradise.

Thai Died… Murder in Paradise

On the Paradise Island of Koh Samui a young English girl’s body is found posed looking out to sea on Bophut Beach. Her throat has been cut to near decapitation and Police Lieutenant Chai Son Sinuan of the Royal Thailand Police is handed the toughest murder case of his career. At the same time, Covid-19 has devastated Koh Samuis and Thailand’s tourist industry and the government is putting pressure on Son to solve the case to save face with the international community. Son is in a race against time to solve the murder, but with most businesses, hotels, massage parlours, restaurants and bars now closed and with many potential witnesses having already left the island to return to their home countries or provinces around Thailand there are very few leads to follow. The investigation takes Son to Ko Pha-Ngan and to the Island of Phuket and then back to Koh Samui as he untangles a crime with links back to the notorious gangsters the Kray twins the most feared, most ruthless gangsters in London during the 1950 and 1960s.

Thai Died… Murder in Paradise is available for purchase here.

About Gerald Hogg

Originally from the UK, Gerald migrated to Australia in 1974. Since then he has travelled the world working in hotels and restaurants, gold mines, cruise ships, Antarctic supply ships, custom patrol vessels, rig tenders, and oil tankers. In the capacity of his work as a chef Gerald has also lived in Jamaica, Bermuda, Singapore, the Falkland Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the USA.

Gerald has now retired to Thailand where he lives on the island of Koh Samui and travels extensively throughout South-East Asia doing research for his travel books. To keep active and to pursue his love of travel he has written five travel books in his Retirees Travel Guide Series of books which are aimed at retiree and baby boomer market. Gerald has also written The Deptford Mask Murders and has recently published his first book in the Thai Died Series of books, Murder in Paradise. Gerald also self published his biography; You Will Never Amount to Anything. He is now finalising the second book in the Thai Died Series of books…Bar-Girl.

You’ll find all of Gerald’s books here and his blog about retiring in Thailand here. Gerald has just joined Twitter @GeraldHogg3 and you’ll also find him on Facebook and can visit his website.