The Coroner's Lunch
The Coroner's Lunch is the first in Colin Cotterill's series featuring Dr. Siri Paiboun. An unexpected detective, Siri is a wry 72-year-old doctor who has recently been appointed — much to his annoyance — as the state coroner of Laos. At the novel's opening, Siri is handed several unusual cases: the wife of a Party leader who died suddenly in a room full of people, and the bodies of two waterlogged, possibly tortured Vietnamese soldiers. As Siri dodges the watchful eyes of communist informants, unexpected ghostly apparitions, and a few stray bullets, he uncovers corruption and murder at every turn.
Quote:
"On Saturday, Siri was deservedly dull-headed. The chair squeaked when he leaned back from his thick forensic pathology text. He put his hand on his forehead and scoured the French department of his memory for a word. He knew it was in there. He'd put it in almost fifty years before and hadn't had cause to remove it. But for the life of him he couldn't find it."
Author:
Colin Cotterill is a British cartoonist, novelist, and teacher. He is best-known for his Dr. Siri series, set in Laos, and his Jimm Juree series, set in Thailand. He has lived and worked in England, Japan, Thailand, Laos, and Australia.
Published: 2004
Length: 255 pages
Set in: Vientiane, Laos