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A review by constantreader471
Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill
4.0
4 stars for a pleasant mystery in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series, set in 1977 Laos. The Royalist government has been overthrown by the Pathet Lao Communist rebels. Siri Paiboun was a member of the rebel forces, serving as a doctor. He is now 74 years old and wanted to retire. But the new government forces him to become the National coroner for Laos, and actually the only coroner in Laos. This is book 4 in the series, but it would work as a standalone.
He is tasked with identifying a man run over by a truck in the capital, Vientiane. There is a letter on the dead man's body. It looks blank, but Siri realizes that it has invisible ink. He is able to make the writing appear and finds an indecipherable code.
He also solves more two mysteries while solving this mystery. It is full of commentary of the new government and humorous asides.
One quote: "The Pathet Lao had come to power in 1975 and even the prime minister admitted they hadn't achieved too much since then. But the jungle-trained administration adopted a policy of disguising its lack of ability by baffling the populace with red tape. No fewer than six signatures were needed for permission to ride a bicycle from one prefecture to another."
Siri is in contact with the spirit world. Sometimes the spirits help him, other times they threaten him. This was a library eBook that I read in 3 days.
He is tasked with identifying a man run over by a truck in the capital, Vientiane. There is a letter on the dead man's body. It looks blank, but Siri realizes that it has invisible ink. He is able to make the writing appear and finds an indecipherable code.
He also solves more two mysteries while solving this mystery. It is full of commentary of the new government and humorous asides.
One quote: "The Pathet Lao had come to power in 1975 and even the prime minister admitted they hadn't achieved too much since then. But the jungle-trained administration adopted a policy of disguising its lack of ability by baffling the populace with red tape. No fewer than six signatures were needed for permission to ride a bicycle from one prefecture to another."
Siri is in contact with the spirit world. Sometimes the spirits help him, other times they threaten him. This was a library eBook that I read in 3 days.