Synopsis
Laos,1976. The monarchy has been deposed, the Communist Pathet Lao have taken over. Most of the educated class has fled, but Dr Siri Paiboun, a Paris-trained doctor remains. And so this 72-year-old physician is appointed state coroner, despite having no training, equipment, experience or even inclination for the job. But the job's not that bad and Siri quickly settles into a routine of studying outdated medical texts, scrounging scarce supplies, and circumnavigating bureaucratic red tape to arrive at justice. The fact that the recently departed are prone to pay Siri the odd, unwanted nocturnal visit turns out to be an added bonus in his new line of work. But when the wife of a party leader turns up dead and the bodies of tortured Vietnamese soldiers start bobbing to the surface of a Laotian lake, all eyes turn to Siri. Faced with official cover-ups and an emerging international crisis, the doctor enlists old friends, village shamans, forest spirits, dream visits from the dead - and even the occasional bit of medical deduction - to solve the crimes.

This is for Yorkshire-lass, as I noticed it on her wishlist. I'll pass it to her at the Uncon at Swindon this weekend :-)

Thank you so much for bringing this to Swndon for me, I'm very grateful.
I'm looking forward to reading it, but the book mountain has gotten so big it may be a little while before I get to it.

This was such a good read! Well written and witty, I love the main character Dr Siri Piboun and am looking forward to reading more of this series.
Thanks again Beqi for thinking of me and taking the book to the Swindon Uncon.

This is now on its way to ApoloniaX in Germany as part of the Wishlist Tag game.
Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Just got back from the Austrian Salzkammergut meeting - and this book was waiting for me :-)
Thanks a lot for tagging me, yorkshire-lass! And thanks for the magnet you sent along with it, and the card!

This kind of novel – set in far-away country, written by a “Western” author – often has a more or less patronising tone, some kind of colonial attitude. Not this one though! It’s a light read, with a lovely kind of subtle humour, but it isn’t shallow. The characters are well developed, and a lot of research has clearly gone into it. Cotterill brings up quite a bit of background information – the difficult Lao-Vietnamese relations, illegal logging by the military, the situation of the Hmong etc.
A good, entertaining read – recommendable.
(Check out this: Books for Laos)

This book was chosen from the Asian First Page VBB.
Hope you like it.

My choice from the Asian First Page VBB has arrived, and with two more books as RABCKs! Thank you so much ApoloniaX, haven't read anything set in Laos as yet...looking forward to this one, and the sequel you so kindly sent along! Thanks for hosting, too. :)

I recently read this book while on a cross-country trip, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the adventures of Dr. Siri Paiboun. Colin Cotteril's great sense of humour shows, and his talent...to be able to write a book featuring a 70-something protagonist and still make it fun and engrossing to read! A coroner-turned-detective solving crimes based on a sharp mind and evidence collected from dead bodies, with a South-East Asian backdrop and good research on historical/current situations - all combines to make a good, entertaining read. Thanks ApoloniaX, for passing this on! It's Thirty Three Teeth next. :)

ETA: Have passed it on to my brother-in-law to read before sending it ahead on its travels...

Passed on to ecuas, as I think he'll enjoy the book too. Happy reading!

thanks prachi :) Will read this soon as I get over the other books in my reading queue :P

Travelling to the winner of the 'Authors from Unusual Countries' Sweepstake. Enjoy!

Thank you for this book prachitulshan, as well as for the keychain and the card!

You have found a traveling book!
Send as a wishlist RABCK to dubaireader
Happy reading!

Thanks for this much travelled book. It's the first in the series and I have several waiting for this one to go first.
Thanks too for the cute card and bookmark :)