Killed at the Whim of a Hat, by Colin Cotterill

I've loved Cotterill's writing since reading Thirty-Three Teeth, and adored him as a person since hearing him tell his life story in cartoons at the Mystery Bookstore.  This is the first book in a new series, featuring Jimm Juree, a freelance crime reporter and resort operator in rural Thailand, and her family of odd ducks and dogs.  In this book, Jimm, assisted by her sister and Lt. Shampoon, solves the mysteries surrounding two skeletons found in a long buried VW van and the more recent murder of a Buddhist abbot.  The books featuring the Laotian coroner, Dr. Siri Paiboun, have a solid core of political satire.  The Jimm Juree series is sweeter and gentler, while still quite funny and charming.  Each chapter begins with a nonsensical quote from George W. Bush.