Zelda wants to teach children English and "find herself" in Kathmandu. Ian wants to get stoned and trek the Himalayas. Tommy wants to get rich by smuggling diamonds. How their stories collide will leave you on the edge of your seat!

Travel from the dusty, tout-filled streets and holy sites of Nepal to the sultry metropolises and picture-perfect beaches of Thailand, as Zelda and Ian try to outsmart the smugglers and escape Asia alive.

This fast-paced, thrilling travel mystery set in Nepal and Thailand is sure to captivate readers thirsty for some armchair adventure. Down and Out in Kathmandu: A Backpacker Mystery is the perfect book for lovers of dark comedy, backpacker fiction and (mis)adventure novels.

This novel is a PREQUEL to the art history mysteries Zelda Richardson gets involved with later in this series. All four mysteries in the Adventures of Zelda Richardson series are stand-alone novels and can be read in any order.

Due to popular demand, I removed many swear words from this novel and republished it on July 31, 2018. Same great story, now with less swearing! PG-13 rating. This travel thriller was inspired by my real-life adventure as a volunteer and solo traveler in Nepal and Thailand. I have also released a travelogue about my journey - Notes of a Naive Traveler: Nepal and Thailand.

All four mysteries in the Adventures of Zelda Richardson series are stand-alone novels and can be read in any order:
Down and Out in Kathmandu: A Backpacker Mystery
Holiday Gone Wrong: A Short Mystery Story
The Lover's Portrait: An Art Mystery
Rituals of the Dead: An Artifact Mystery

"Better than anything else I've read lately, this one was a joy to come back to daily. I could tell she was familiar with the area, and her writing made me feel I was there as well." - Amazon VINE VOICE review

"The story woven through Zelda's experience—of thugs, missing diamonds, fellow travelers, and the adventures of Tommy and Ian—make the book a fun and captivating read!" - author Lucia Davis

"Down and Out in Kathmandu takes the reader not only to Nepal, but also into the minds of self-centered twenty-somethings as they fumble their way toward self-discovery and perhaps a little bit of wisdom." – author Robert Krenzel

"A book I'd like to mention to any readers thirsty for some armchair adventure." – Beth Green of The Displaced Nation

"Down and Out is an engrossing and thrilling travel mystery that was hard to put down." - author Jill Dobbe

"Anyone who has backpacked, thrown themselves naively into another culture, will be able to relate to this, and should read it." - author Kait Fennell

Related subjects include: thrillers, action, adventure, suspense, intrigue, travel fiction, Asian travel, backpacking, smuggling, volunteering, Kathmandu, trekking, cultural heritage, humor, international adventure, whodunit, amateur sleuth.