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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Loved this calm, whimsical story of a reluctant coroner in Laos! The characters are beautifully created with depth to their personalities and illustrating how they adjust to life in a changing city/ country in difficult times. There are a couple of mysteries to be solved, which are done with some psychic help as well as everyday investigations. This was a very charming story with multiple mysteries to keep the plot going!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Medical content, Murder
Moderate: War
In this amusing mystery, a 72 year old doctor, ready for retirement, is instead pressed into service as the State Coroner in newly Communist Laos.
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Much to love! A little bit of an identity crisis.
Part mystery, part fantasy, and pure magic. Great quick read that is intriguing from cover to cover.
I had very high expectations of this, which might've been its downfall.
Love the atmosphere, love the setting, but I wasn't gripped by the plot. The characters were okay, but a little flat. Clear good guys and bad guys, not much in between. Really, really loved the Hmong stuff halfway through, but wanted it to weave more throughout the book. Surely it'll come up more in future books.
Overall just okay. Not rushing to read the rest of the series, but I probably will eventually...
Love the atmosphere, love the setting, but I wasn't gripped by the plot. The characters were okay, but a little flat. Clear good guys and bad guys, not much in between. Really, really loved the Hmong stuff halfway through, but wanted it to weave more throughout the book. Surely it'll come up more in future books.
Overall just okay. Not rushing to read the rest of the series, but I probably will eventually...
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
I read this book as it was selected by another book club member. I really enjoyed this mystery. The writing was good, and the characters came alive. I would read other mysteries by this author.
I really enjoyed this mystery. It has a lead "detective" that is interesting, funny, and full of character development. It also takes place in Laos, which proves to be an interesting setting.
There is a fair amount of humor, as well, making it an all around entertaining mystery novel.
There is a fair amount of humor, as well, making it an all around entertaining mystery novel.
“Poverty led him to religion, religion to education, education to lust, lust to communism. And communism had brought him back full circle to poverty. There was a Ph.D. dissertation waiting to be written about such a cycle”* (55).
Christmas comes every day for those of us who travel the byways on foot, stopping – not by a snowy woods – but rather a Little Free Library dotted throughout my small town.
It is here that I came across the very first book in a mystery series. Set in communist Laos of the 1970s, Siri, an elderly coroner, not only attends to his duties with meticulous care, despite the dearth of medical supplies, but communicates with those spirits who are lying prone on the very slab in front of him. Inevitably a conundrum about death presents itself.
What a relief! What a joy! A respite from the unusual settings I love (still); everyone needs a change, no? Like Miss Marple, Siri is no “spring chicken.” At 75 he has studied in Europe, lived through the revolution, and now, is grappling with the reality of any idealistic theory when it meets reality. Yet, he takes what comes with humor and his sharp wits. His compatriots are an overweight, and brilliant nurse, and a meticulous assistant with Down Syndrome.
How this author manages to integrate all these personalities and their quirks, the cultural myths, including that of the Hmong, the political intrigue and bureaucracy is nothing less than a mystery itself.
Cotterill, Colin. The Coroner’s Lunch (A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery). New York: SoHo Press, 2004. Print.
*Cotterill, Colin. Thirty-Three Teeth (A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery). New York: SoHo Press, 2005. Print.
Christmas comes every day for those of us who travel the byways on foot, stopping – not by a snowy woods – but rather a Little Free Library dotted throughout my small town.
It is here that I came across the very first book in a mystery series. Set in communist Laos of the 1970s, Siri, an elderly coroner, not only attends to his duties with meticulous care, despite the dearth of medical supplies, but communicates with those spirits who are lying prone on the very slab in front of him. Inevitably a conundrum about death presents itself.
What a relief! What a joy! A respite from the unusual settings I love (still); everyone needs a change, no? Like Miss Marple, Siri is no “spring chicken.” At 75 he has studied in Europe, lived through the revolution, and now, is grappling with the reality of any idealistic theory when it meets reality. Yet, he takes what comes with humor and his sharp wits. His compatriots are an overweight, and brilliant nurse, and a meticulous assistant with Down Syndrome.
How this author manages to integrate all these personalities and their quirks, the cultural myths, including that of the Hmong, the political intrigue and bureaucracy is nothing less than a mystery itself.
Cotterill, Colin. The Coroner’s Lunch (A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery). New York: SoHo Press, 2004. Print.
*Cotterill, Colin. Thirty-Three Teeth (A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery). New York: SoHo Press, 2005. Print.
Dr Siri has a problem. In fact, he has several, but lucky for him, he has a good team on his side. This mystery takes place in Laos during Communist rule and concerns a doctor who wants to retire but can’t and finds himself as a coroner. He struggles to solve the murder of a high ranking official’s wife, and luckily has the help of a funny nurse Dtuti, and a morgue attendant.
And then there is the mysterious police officer.
Overall, I enjoy this book. The spiritual side, one that takes up a good section in the middle of the book is somewhat out of place, and feels like, in some sense, little more than a plot device. But it doesn’t overwhelm the story, which remains entertaining.
And I double dog dare you not to like Dtuti.
And then there is the mysterious police officer.
Overall, I enjoy this book. The spiritual side, one that takes up a good section in the middle of the book is somewhat out of place, and feels like, in some sense, little more than a plot device. But it doesn’t overwhelm the story, which remains entertaining.
And I double dog dare you not to like Dtuti.