3.5 ( )

Really a sweet series of books about a coroner who works for the Communist government in Laos, on a dime budget, and whose idol is Inspector Maigrett. All the Laotians speak English like British people: "chaps, lasses, bloody hell," and so on, lol. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that there was a bit more about the revolution and politics of Laos. It gave me a great sense of the time and place (1977 Laos). The mysteries were interesting and kept my interest and it set up some interesting story lines for future books in the series. ( )

These are so good. Am still chewing on the ending, not sure if I'm happy with it. ( )

Dr. Siri and the Coup d'état
Review of the Knopf Canada hardcover edition (August 21, 2007) of the Soho Crime hardcover original (August 1, 2007)

I was late to the party and started my reading of Colin Cotterill's quirky Laos chief coroner Dr. Siri Paiboun mysteries with the 15th and supposed (I never rule out the possibility of continuations) final book "The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot" (2020). Luckily, my friend Karan had several of the earliest books to lend me and I was fortunately able to start the series from the beginning. I am continuing now with the rest of the books in order as best as I am able to source them from the Toronto Public Library.

Anarchy and Old Dogs is the 4th book of the series and finds Dr. Siri attempting to prevent a coup d'état on the still rather shaky Lao government. The plan is discovered through the accidental death of a blind dentist who was carrying a cryptographic letter. Dr. Siri and his old friend & colleague Civilai head to the south where Siri meets an old friend at her noodle stand while they attempt to uncover further details of the coup plot. Inspector Phosy and Nurse Dtui go undercover in Thailand and Attendant Deung is still recovering from his travails in Disco for the Departed. It is another widespread investigation for the team that ends with a surprise twist and a hint of a romantic future for Siri.

This series continues to delight with its overviews of Lao lifestyles and culture, the human persistence in the face of bureaucratic & totalitarian incompetence and Dr. Siri's unique investigative methods that combine spiritual perception with common sense intuition. I've already sourced #5 in the series, Curse of the Pogo Stick (2008), thanks to the holds system at the Toronto Public Library. ( )