ABANDONED. Man trying to solve murder of woman he was sleeping with, he doesn't remember anything, set in a hot humid country

[Grace]

A man goes to see the woman he has been sleeping with but finds her murdered, her neighbours think she is a prostitute ( her name could have been Lila?) They are somewhere in a hot humid country maybe Tijuana, Mexico? I remember the main character was drunk and very sad. I can't recall much else except for one humourous excerpt where another character mentions his former pet octopus and how it asphyxiated when he tried to bring it on an airplane.
I think the main character was possible American and the woman was local to setting.

I read this book sometime in 2010-2011 but I think it was written maybe in the 80s and 90s. The cover was a sort of dated painted/design, can't recall any details about it but it was in the bin of my high school teacher's books.
The synopsis read like crime but it seemed more winding and less suspenseful although I only recall very little of the beginning part.

[Kris]

Grace, how did she appear to be killed?

Can you tell us more about the man - his age, job/skills/interests, personality, family/friends, was he working or vacationing, etc.?

[Grace]

Kris wrote: "Grace, how did she appear to be killed?

Can you tell us more about the man - his age, job/skills/interests, personality, family/friends, was he working or vacationing, etc.?"
Hi Kris!
I think she was found stabbed to death, I think I recall a bloody crime scene.

I think he was mid-age, not very young or very old and I believe he was there as an escape, not working or on vacation

[Kate]

Grace ~~
You can "bump" your thread every month or so. This pushes your thread back to the top of the folder instead of languishing here on page 220 from seven months ago where fewer eyes will see it. Get back in the game! Bump!
You can do this by typing a new comment at the end of the thread, or even by typing the word "bump."
Good luck!

[Grace]

bump!!

[Kris]

Grace, please post a new comment if you're still looking for this book - or if you found it.

Grace (OP) was last active on the site in February 2020. Moving to Abandoned folder.