Colin Cotterill is the author of nine other books in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series including The Coroner's Lunch, Disco for the Departed, Anarchy and Old Dogs, and Six and a Half Deadly Sins. His fiction has won a Dilys Award and a CWA Dagger in the Library. He lives in Chumphon, Thailand, with his wife and five deranged dogs.
Dr. Siri Paiboun of Laos-"reluctant national coroner, confused psychic, [and] disheartened communist"-employs forensic skills and spiritual acumen to solve a series of bizarre killings in Cotterill's quirky, exotic and winning second novel, set in 1977. Could an old escaped bear be mauling Vientiane citizens? Or is it something more mystical-say, a weretiger? When Paiboun is summoned to the capital to identify the nationality of a pair of charred bodies, he quickly flags them as Asians killed in a helicopter crash, and his ability to connect them to the royal family annoys Communist Party leaders. As Paiboun learns of an effort to get the remaining royal family members out of town, he's arrested, accused of damaging government property. But the witness's testimony is questionable, and Paiboun, representing himself in court, escapes this scrape as handily as he's escaped others before. Paiboun's droll wit and Cotterill's engaging plot twists keep things energetic; the rather grisly murders are offset by comedy, including a scene in which a Party member attempts to impose regulations on the spirit world. The elegant, elderly Paiboun seems an unlikely vehicle to carry a series (he debuted in 2004's The Coroner's Lunch), but he does so with charm and aplomb. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
The 72-year-old reluctant national coroner of Laos, Dr. Siri Paiboun, finds himself embroiled with a new Communist government, a deposed king, party leaders, and shamans in the follow-up to the debut The Coroner's Lunch. Cotterill lives in Thailand. A six-city author tour. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Praise for Thirty-Three Teeth
"Paiboun's droll wit and Cotterill's engaging plot twists
keep things energetic; the rather grisly murders are offset by
comedy . . . The elegant, elderly Paiboun seems an unlikely vehicle
to carry a series . . . but he does so with charm and aplomb."
--Entertainment Weekly
"Keeps a perfect balance between the modern mysteries of forensic
science and the ancient secrets of the spirit world."
--The New York Times Book Review
"The series neatly manages to include an engrossing
mystery--political and folk history and a lot of sly satire."
--Day to Day, NPR "[Cotterill's] second is as
entertaining as his debut."
--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
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