Panic in Patpong
To be released fall of 2025
Programmer Cody Hudson works for an information technology business called Track IT. He and the company’s employees are in Bangkok to celebrate the sale of a specialized software package for one of Bangkok’s most prestigious gem and jewelry stores, KC Gems. Cody and his two best working buddies, Charlie and Evan, are directly responsible for developing the specialized Point of Sale program. Perhaps it is because Cody is a typical nerd, who is shy, quiet, naïve about the world, and totally devoted to his wife Kelsie at home, that Charlie and Evan take it upon themselves to try and widen his horizons by introducing him to Bangkok’s entertainments.
Trouble soon begins when the computer system at KC Gem’s freezes. Is it the new software or is something else at play? When Cody begins to figure out the problem, he ends up learning more than he can handle. He is pursued, robbed, and lied to, as a world of kidnapping, blackmail, and smuggling quickly overwhelm him. Is there a spy involved that is causing the problem, or is the spy the answer to his problem?
The Treasure Hunt
To be released January 2026
In this first book of the Puzzler Series, Detective Inspector Alfred Flavian Bowman, of London’s Criminal Investigation Department, applies his knowledge and intuition to solving unusual crimes. He was posted at the Kingston Police Department until he was critically injured just short of his retirement. Although forced from active duty, he remains as a consultant. To alleviate his many months of recouperation and lack of mobility, he takes up doing jigsaw puzzles; thus, earning himself the nickname ‘the puzzler’. His live-in housekeeper, Ulima, her son Jason, and Jason’s wife Gia, enjoy acting as his eyes, ears and legs on voluntary missions to assist him. Alfred’s Detective Sergeant, Chester Hughes, remains as his friend and contact at the station. One of Alfred’s first major crimes as a consultant begins with the enclosed story, which the two officers dub The Treasure Hunt.
The story begins when eighteen-year-old Grayson Carter, inherits his family’s wealth, begun by his grandfather’s early locomotive designs. When Grayson and his brother Conrad were children, their grandma, Amelia Carter, taught them the Treasure Hunt Game to keep them entertained while their parents were busy socialites. Amelia would hide treasures in her beautiful garden, which the boys loved to find. After their mother passes away, their father marries a woman named Molly, who seems below his father’s status. Then expensive items in the house begin to disappear. The father purchases a new car and a chauffeur is hired, named Kasper. Kasper and Grayson become friends and end up working together in search of those missing items. Then, a series of thefts begin to occur around London, and at each place, flower petals are left as clues. This challenges Detective Sergeant Hughes, and Alfred. What do the flowers mean, and how do they lead to one of London’s vast underground economies?
The official website of Lita-Luise Chappell, writer on sex, magic, food, distant lands, and everyday life with articles, poetry, novels, travelogues, rituals, cookbooks, and short-stories.
