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The Coroner's Lunch (A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery) Paperback – April 7, 2015
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSoho Crime
- Publication dateApril 7, 2015
- Dimensions4.97 x 0.76 x 7.48 inches
- ISBN-101616956496
- ISBN-13978-1616956493
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A Booklist Book of the Year
An Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Killer Book of the Year
A Book Sense Selection
“A wonderfully fresh and exotic mystery . . . If Cotterill . . . had done nothing more than treat us to Siri’s views on the dramatic, even comic crises that mark periods of government upheaval, his debut mystery would still be fascinating. But the multiple cases spread out on Siri’s examining table . . . are not cozy entertainments, but substantial crimes that take us into the thick of political intrigue.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“The sights, smells, and colors of Laos practically jump of the pages of this inspired, often wryly witty first novel.”
—The Denver Post
“The Soho Press crime series . . . has done mystery connoisseurs everywhere a favor by adding Colin Cotterill to its publishing list. The author gives us exotic locations; a world that few of us know well; crisp, intelligent, and often-witty writing; and, most of all, a hero unlike any other.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“This series kickoff is an embarrassment of riches: Holmesian sleuthing, political satire, and [a] droll comic study of a prickly late bloomer.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“In Siri, Cotterill has created a detective as distinctive as Maigret or Poirot.”
—Orlando Sentinel
“This debut mystery, with its convincing and highly interesting portrayal of an exotic locale, marks the author as someone to watch.”
—Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Tran, Tran, and Hok broke through the heavy end-of-wet-season clouds. The warm night air rushed against their reluctant smiles and yanked their hair vertical. They fell in a neat formation, like sleet. There was no time for elegant floating or fancy aerobatics; they just followed the rusty bombshells that were tied to their feet with pink nylon string.
Tran the elder led the charge. He was the heaviest of the three. By the time he reached the surface of Nam Ngum reservoir, he was already ahead by two seconds. If this had been the Olympics, he would have scored a 9.98 or thereabouts. There was barely a splash. Tran the younger and Hok-the-twice-dead pierced the water without so much as a pulse-beat between them.
A quarter of a ton of unarmed ordnance dragged all three men quickly to the smooth muddy bottom of the lake and anchored them there. For two weeks, Tran, Tran, and Hok swayed gently back and forth in the current and entertained the fish and algae that fed on them like diners at a slow-moving noodle stall.
Vientiane, Two Weeks Later
It was a depressing audience, and there were going to be a lot more like it. Now that Haeng, the spotty-faced magistrate, was back, Siri would have to explain himself every damn Friday, and kowtow to a man young enough to be his grandson.
In the jargon of the Marxist–Leninists, the sessions were known as “burden-sharing tutorials.” But after the first hour in front of Judge Haeng’s warped plywood desk, Dr. Siri’s burden had become more weighty. The judge, fresh off the production line, had taken great delight in casting un-expert doubts on Siri’s reports and correcting his spelling.
“And what do you put the loss of blood down to?” Judge Haeng asked.
Siri wondered more than once whether he was deliberately being asked trick questions to establish the state of his mind. “Well.” He considered it for a moment. “The body’s inability to keep it in?” The little judge h’mmed and looked back down at the report. He wasn’t even bright enough for sarcasm. “Of course, the fact that the poor man’s legs had been cut off above the knees might have had something to do with it. It’s all there in the report.”
“You may believe it’s all here in the report, Comrade Siri, but you seem to be very selective as to what information you share with your readers. I’d like to see much more detail in the future, if you don’t mind. And to be honest, I don’t see how you can be so sure it was the loss of blood that killed him, rather than, say . . .”
“Heart failure?”
“Exactly. It would have been a terrible shock when his legs were severed. How do you know he didn’t have a heart attack? He wasn’t a young man.”
With each of the previous three cases they’d debated, Haeng had somehow twisted the facts around to the possibility of a natural death, but this was his most creative suggestion. It struck Siri that the judge would be delighted if all the case reports that came through his office were headed “cardiac arrest.”
True, the fisherman’s heart had stopped beating, but it was the signal announcing his death rather than the cause of it. The newly armor-plated military launch had crashed into the concrete dock at Tar Deua. With all the extra weight, it lay low in the water. Fortunately for the crew, the collision was cushioned by the longboat man standing in his little wooden craft against the wall, with no way to escape. Like a surprising number of fishermen on the Mekhong, he’d never learned to swim.
The overlapping metal deck sliced him apart like a scythe cutting through rice stalks, and the railing pinned him upright where he had been standing. The embarrassed captain and his crew pulled him—his torso—up onto the deck, where he lay in numb confusion, chattering and laughing as if he didn’t know he was missing a couple of limbs.
The boat reversed and people on the bank watched the legs topple into the water and sink. They likely swelled up in a few hours and returned to the surface. They had worn odd flip-flops, so the chances of them being reunited in time for the funeral were poor. “If you intend to cite a heart attack for every cause of death, I don’t really see why we need a coroner at all, Comrade.” Siri had reached his limit, and it was a limit that floated in a vast distant atmosphere. After seventy-two years, he’d seen so many hardships that he’d reached the calmness of an astronaut bobbing about in space. Although he wasn’t much better at Buddhism than he was at communism, he seemed able to meditate himself away from anger. Nobody could recall him losing his temper.
Dr. Siri Paiboun was often described as a short-arsed man. He had a peculiar build, like a lightweight wrestler with a stoop. When he walked, it was as if his bottom half was doing its best to keep up with his top half. His hair, clipped short, was a dazzling white. Where a lot of Lao men had awakened late in life to find, by some miracle of the Lord above, their hair returned to its youthful blackness, Siri had more sensible uses for his allowance than Yu Dum Chinese dye. There was nothing fake or added or subtracted about him. He was all himself.
He’d never had much success with whiskers, unless you counted eyebrows as whiskers. Siri’s had become so overgrown, it took strangers a while to make out his peculiar eyes. Even those who’d traveled ten times around the world had never seen such eyes. They were the bright green of well-lighted snooker-table felt, and they never failed to amuse him when they stared back from his mirror. He didn’t know much about his real parents, but there had been no rumors of aliens in his blood. How he’d ended up with eyes like these, he couldn’t explain to anyone.
Forty minutes into the “shared burden tutorial,” Judge Haeng still hadn’t been able to look into those eyes. He’d watched his pencil wagging. He’d looked at the button dangling from the cuff of the doctor’s white shirt. He’d stared up through the broken louver window as if the red star were sparkling in the evening sky outside the walls of the Department of Justice. But he hadn’t once looked into Siri’s brilliant green eyes.
“Of course, Comrade Siri, we have to have a coroner because, as you well know, any organized socialist system must be accountable to its brothers and sisters. Revolutionary consciousness is maintained beneath the brilliance of the beam from the socialist lighthouse. But the people have a right to see the lighthouse keeper’s clean underwear drying on the rocks.”
Hell, the boy was good at that: he was a master at coming up with exactly the wrong motto for the right situation. Everyone went home and analyzed their mottoes, and realized too late that they had no bearing on . . . anything. Siri stared at the sun-starved boy and felt kind of sorry for him.
His only claim to respect was a Soviet law degree on paper so thin, you could see the wall where it hung through it. He’d been trained, rapidly, to fill one of the many gaps left by the fleeing upper classes. He’d studied in a language he didn’t really understand and been handed a degree he didn’t really deserve. The Soviets added his name to the roster of Asian communists successfully educated by the great and gloriously enlightened socialist Motherland.
Siri believed a judge should be someone who acquired wisdom layer by layer over a long life, like tree rings of knowledge, believed you couldn’t just walk into the position by guessing the right answers to multiple choice tests in Russian.
“Can I go?” Siri stood and walked toward the door without waiting for permission.
Haeng looked at him like he was lower than dirt. “I think we’ll need to discuss attitude at our next tutorial. Don’t you?”
Siri smiled and resisted making a comment.
“And, Doctor,” the coroner stood with his nose to the door, “why do you suppose the Democratic Republic issues quality black shoes to its government officials free of charge?”
Siri looked down at his ragged brown sandals. “To keep Chinese factories open?”
Judge Haeng lowered his head and moved it from side to side in slow motion. It was a gesture he’d learned from older men, and it didn’t quite suit him.
“We have left the jungle, Comrade. We have escaped from the caves. We now command respect from the masses, and our attire reflects our standing in the new society. Civilized people wear shoes. Our comrades expect it of us. Do you understand what I’m telling you?” He was speaking slowly now, like a nurse to a senile patient.
Siri turned back to him with no sign that he’d been humiliated. “I believe I do, Comrade. But I think if the proletariat are going to kiss my feet, the least I can do is give them a few toes to wrap their lips around.”
He yanked open the sticky door and left.
Product details
- Publisher : Soho Crime; Reissue edition (April 7, 2015)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1616956496
- ISBN-13 : 978-1616956493
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 4.97 x 0.76 x 7.48 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #140,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #970 in International Mystery & Crime (Books)
- #1,057 in Science Fiction Crime & Mystery
- #1,924 in Historical Mystery
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Colin Cotterill is the author of the Dr. Siri series of novels. Born in London, he has taught in Australia, the USA and Japan and lived for many years in Laos where he worked for non-governmental social service organizations. He now writes full-time and lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the mystery content clever and intricate with many twists and turns. They enjoy the humor and satire, which pokes fun at conceits and foibles of humorless politicos. The book is described as delightful, fun to read, and wonderful. Readers praise the compelling characters and witty repartee among them. They appreciate the rich background narrative set in Laos that brings the country alive. The pacing is described as nice and well-written.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the engaging mystery content. They find the writing clever and the plot intricate with many twists and turns. The book is described as an intelligent, complex read that interweaves political, religious, and unique settings. Readers appreciate the well-dosed supernatural elements that augment the tale and add atmosphere.
"...you like mysteries in foreign countries with great characters, very good plotting and humor, you should like this book." Read more
"...The mysteries are wonderfully varied, and take place in Laos, Cambodia, Viet Nam, etc., with references to early years in Paris....it's all there!..." Read more
"...The list of books included in their crime series is rather extensive and there appear to be a lot of interesting picks to be discovered." Read more
"...There are many interesting characters in this book as well as many twists and turns...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's humor and satire. They find the dialogue sharp and entertaining, with laughter in many places. The humor pokes fun at the conceits and foibles of humorless politicians and normal people. Readers appreciate the witty leading man with a keen mind. They also love the irreverent writing style and find Dr. Siri an unexpected delight.
"...The humor is sly, the characters are memorable and particularly Dr. Siri, who cannot, even after all this time, allow himself to give lip service..." Read more
"...in foreign countries with great characters, very good plotting and humor, you should like this book." Read more
"...With all the serious plots, there is marvelous humor and lots of satire - brilliant! I recommend this book (the whole series) most strongly...." Read more
"...His struggle accepting this responsibility is human and humorous...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's engaging characters and storyline. They find it fun to read from start to finish, moving through the timeline as they learn more about the characters and the series. The book has a mix of feel-good mystery and supernatural elements, with a cozy feel like the Flavia de Luce books and humor and heart like No. 1 Ladies. It's described as a gentle yet intriguing read with many interesting twists.
"...I laughed out loud several times. It is a gentle book yet it is not. Dr. Suri makes it seem that way. I have the next book to read...." Read more
"...The characters are so varied, their personalities so delightful and interesting, that I ended up reading all the sequels as well - I am hooked..." Read more
"...With that said, I actually enjoyed the book a great deal. The setting is really unique...." Read more
"...It is a well written and wonderful novel which has really been brought to life by the author. I highly recommend it." Read more
Customers find the book's characters compelling and witty. They appreciate that the main characters are old, disabled, and unattractive. The leading man is charming with a droll wit and a keen mind.
"...The humor is sly, the characters are memorable and particularly Dr. Siri, who cannot, even after all this time, allow himself to give lip service..." Read more
"...The characters are special in the book. Dr. Siri is humorous and speaks his mind in an atmosphere that does not encourage this at all...." Read more
"...The characters are so varied, their personalities so delightful and interesting, that I ended up reading all the sequels as well - I am hooked..." Read more
"...Siri is a wonderful character. He is so colorful and I enjoyed him so much...." Read more
Customers enjoy the cultural insights in the book. They find the setting in Laos interesting and the narrative rich, bringing the country alive. The book is described as descriptive and an immersive experience into a time and place they aren't familiar with.
"...The book is well written, descriptive of the country but mainly I found the details of life in a country undergoing such severe changes to be..." Read more
"...With that said, I actually enjoyed the book a great deal. The setting is really unique...." Read more
"...I love to read about other people, places, and cultures. All of the characters in this book are either Laotian or Vietnamese and I like that too...." Read more
"...Not only are they great stories, they have taught me so much about Laos, it's culture and its history, something I knew absolutely nothing about...." Read more
Customers find the book has a nice pace. They describe it as a quick read with an imaginative plot and sharp dialogue. The narrative flows smoothly, and the characters are well-developed. Overall, readers enjoy the book and find it helps them get through it faster.
"...The book is well written, descriptive of the country but mainly I found the details of life in a country undergoing such severe changes to be..." Read more
"...The protagonist of this book, Dr. Siri, is a very humble and likable character. He's a doctor, but admits he was never a very good one...." Read more
"...It is a well written and wonderful novel which has really been brought to life by the author. I highly recommend it." Read more
"The entire Dr. Siri series is quite well written. Almost every book has a very good story line...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's color palette and characters. They find the characters attractive, well-seasoned, and colorful. The author skillfully paints a vivid picture of life in Laos. Siri is engaging and endearing. Readers appreciate the author's crisp and jaunty writing style.
"...Can't remember the last time I was so in love with such a charming, clever character...." Read more
"...Siri is a wonderful character. He is so colorful and I enjoyed him so much...." Read more
"Hats off for a range of attractive and well-seasoned characters about whom I only wanted to learn more and more...." Read more
"...travelers, the atmosphere of a distant world, time, and culture are beautifully drawn." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and educational. They appreciate the author's wit, perspective, and lighthearted writing style. The book provides an insight into another world and is treasured by readers.
"...This book puts a whole new, different and valid perspective on that whole era...." Read more
"...book that interweaves political, religious, otherworldly, and practical considerations for a most interesting read...." Read more
"...Dr. Siri, is an unexpected delight, a 72 year old with a sharp and cunning mind, not to mention he's a shaman in a conflicted culture...." Read more
"...has given birth to a charming leading man with a droll wit and a keen mind. For most readers, this will probably be their first glimpse of Laos...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2018Dr. Siri Paiborn, a 76 yr. old, looking to retire is appointed the country of Laos' only coroner, despite the fact that he has no experience, little in the way of equipment and only some old reference books to teach him his new craft. Laos is still undergoing the change from a country led by a royal family to a communist regime supported by the old USSR. The book is well written, descriptive of the country but mainly I found the details of life in a country undergoing such severe changes to be fascinating. The humor is sly, the characters are memorable and particularly Dr. Siri, who cannot, even after all this time, allow himself to give lip service to the nonsense that passes for patriotism such as the 'burden sharing tutorials' in which his superior critiques his work under the guise of showing the way to properly serve the new government. Well done. I look forward to the next one.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2017I enjoyed this book very much. I knew I would probably like this series but I liked it even better than I thought I would.
Dr. Siri Palbourn is 72 years old and was ready for retirement. He is living in Laos and it is 1976. He studied medicine in France when he was a young man. He fell in love with a young revolutionary and followed her back to fight for the cause. Now he is 72 and and Laos has a new communist government. The doctor who had experience in doing autopsies swam across the river to Thailand so now Siri is made the National Coroner of Laos. The problem is that he has not trained in this area.
The department is underfunded and has few supplies. He has a boss who doesn't understand his own job. Suri does his first autopsy by following a 30 year old French book. The characters are special in the book. Dr. Siri is humorous and speaks his mind in an atmosphere that does not encourage this at all. He has two not typical assistants who he likes very much. One is a nurse Drui who wants to train for his job. She likes to read entertainment magazines. Mr. Geung has Downs Syndrome and has become skilled in autopsy skills. He and Dr. Siri greet each other every day "Do we have any customers today. No customers today, Dr. Comrade."
The first page of the book is quite dramatic. It starts the mystery of three men who are dropped from a helicopter into a lake with weights attached to their legs. Two countries, Vietnam and Laos become involved with investigation of the murders. Dr. Suri investigates.
Also, a prominent wife of a leader dies at a banquet and her husband is very eager to take the body away from Dr. Suri. Dr. Suri finds he has investigative skills and doesn't take the word of those above him for what has caused the deaths. Dr. Suri also has communications with his "customers". At first they come to him in dreams but later it occurs in his waking life.
I laughed out loud several times. It is a gentle book yet it is not. Dr. Suri makes it seem that way. I have the next book to read. It is a special series. I think if you like mysteries in foreign countries with great characters, very good plotting and humor, you should like this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2016Two people told me about this book, and since I respect their taste, I bought it. I LOVE IT!! I'm a real mystery buff, and haven't read anything quite like this. I thought the Inspector Shan books by Eliot Pattison were unusual (and wonderful), but this is a whole new (to me) concept. I was so taken with the primary character, Dr. Siri, that I bought all, but the most recent (2016) sequels. The story takes place, mostly in Laos, during the 1970's. The characters are so varied, their personalities so delightful and interesting, that I ended up reading all the sequels as well - I am hooked completely. The mysteries are wonderfully varied, and take place in Laos, Cambodia, Viet Nam, etc., with references to early years in Paris....it's all there! This series is classic, one of a kind in every way. I was very much alive during the Viet Nam war, so I have enough memories of that time. This book puts a whole new, different and valid perspective on that whole era. You understand what the people had to endure, and how they survived...and you're also seeing a side not seen before. With all the serious plots, there is marvelous humor and lots of satire - brilliant! I recommend this book (the whole series) most strongly. Can't remember the last time I was so in love with such a charming, clever character. Do yourself a real favor and read the book - you'll want the rest of them too.
Top reviews from other countries
- George Frederick BarberReviewed in Canada on July 10, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars An unusual tale of times past
But well worth reading, and a number of twists and plot turns with an entertaining diversity of characters. Good quality tale, well structured, gives little away.
-
Cliente AmazonReviewed in Spain on April 14, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars muy interesante por el protagonista y el lugar Laos
Lo que más me ha gustado es la descripción del país ,el sentido del humor del protagonista y que fuera un hombre mayor.
Me ha gustado tanto que me he comprado todos los libros de la serie.
- felinaReviewed in India on September 2, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb writing
Such a wonderful story. Beautifully written and so evocative of the place. Some great humour too! Plan to buy more of his work
- SnapdragonReviewed in Australia on June 27, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Adorable
We’re in the newly communist Laos of the 1970s. Dr Siri has long fought on the winning side and at 72, is looking forward to retirement. Alas, he is made coroner, a field in which he has no training. But with admirable aplomb and philosophical acceptance he does his best in the poorest of countries with the minimum of equipment. It’s not long before he finds himself having to autopsy the wife of a senior cadre and things don’t add up. Then along comes a case involving three Vietnamese corpses found in a reservoir attached to weights. This one leads to very murky depths indeed and has a relationship with the Hmong people who grow opium. Things get a little woo-woo down in Hmong territory.
While the story has echoes of Brave New World and 1984 and corruption, daft political correctness etc are everywhere, this book is a fun and interesting read because of the charm of its characters who regularly engage in witty banter. There are enough good guys to warm the cockles of your heart and they are by no means simplistic - these are fully rounded, clever people who are making the best of things in very difficult circumstances. So it’s a warm book set in a country we hear little about. Now to download the rest of the series.
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NiddaReviewed in Germany on January 11, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Siri Mysteries - tolle Geschichten!
Nachdem ich das erste Buch der Reihe gelesen hatte, war ich ganz im Bann von Dr. Siri und seinen Kompagnons. Eine bunte Mischung unterschiedlichster Typen mit sehr eigenen Stärken und Schwächen die alle treu zueinander stehen und für jeden Spass zu haben sind.
Mir gefällt auch das etwas "Überirdische" an den Büchern, was aber wahrscheinlich Geschmacksache ist und eventuell nicht jedem gefällt.
Ich finde, es gibt dem Ganzen etwas Aussergewöhnliches.
Insgesamt nimmt sich jedoch keiner der Charaktere in den Büchern selbst zu ernst was auch für den ausserordentlichen Humor des Autors spricht!