Colin Cotterill

Somebody in Laos is wooing and wedding country girls - and then killing them on honeymoon and binding their bodies to trees. The horror of what this monster does to his victims leaves a bad taste in the mouths of Dr Siri and his morgue team and they vow revenge. But they're distracted by the disappearance of itinerant Crazy Rajid. Siri has been getting premonitions that he's in danger.

On the gulf of Thailand, the Juree family are managing their run-down beach resort for the second year still stalked by disaster. Daughter Jimm has a new love in her life, but finds herself pursued by another man with a markedly different agenda in mind.Meanwhile, Jimms new case is that of Dr. Somluk, a champion of the rights of rural mothers, who is missing following a run-in with the marketeers of infant formula.As ever, there is blood, brine and bedlam aplenty at the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort.

Laos, 1976. Les communistes du Pathet s'emparent du pouvoir et l'intelligentsia fuit le pays. Siri Paiboun, un médecin qui a fait ses études à Paris, décide de rester. À 72 ans, et bien qu'il n'ait jamais pratiqué d'autopsie, il est nommé coroner. Quand la femme d'un ponte du Parti meurt en plein banquet et que les cadavres de trois soldats vietnamiens sont retrouvés flottant sur les eaux d'un lac laotien, tous les regards se tournent vers lui. Déterminé à résoudre ces crimes en dépit des tentatives d'intimidation, Siri mène l'enquête, recrutant au passage quelques vieux amis, mais aussi les shamans hmongs, les esprits des forêts, et même ceux des morts qui le visitent en songe. Première des aventures du Dr Siri, vieux sage excentrique revenu de tout - un peu Maigret sauce saté, un peu juge Ti -, Le Déjeuner du coroner comblera les fans d'Alexandre McCall Smith et tous les amateurs de polars originaux, brillants et pleins d'humour.

Laos,1976. The monarchy has been deposed, the Communist Pathet Lao have taken over. Most of the educated class has fled, but Dr Siri Paiboun, a Paris-trained doctor remains. And so this 72-year-old physician is appointed state coroner, despite having no training, equipment, experience or even inclination for the job. But the job's not that bad and Siri quickly settles into a routine of studying outdated medical texts, scrounging scarce supplies, and circumnavigating bureaucratic red tape to arrive at justice. The fact that the recently departed are prone to pay Siri the odd, unwanted nocturnal visit turns out to be an added bonus in his new line of work. But when the wife of a party leader turns up dead and the bodies of tortured Vietnamese soldiers start bobbing to the surface of a Laotian lake, all eyes turn to Siri. Faced with official cover-ups and an emerging international crisis, the doctor enlists old friends, village shamans, forest spirits, dream visits from the dead - and even the occasional bit of medical deduction - to solve the crimes.

Who do you tell when you wake up to find a severed head on your resort-front beach in the morning? For frustrated ex-crime reporter Jimm Juree it means action With her former cop grandfather as back up, she sets out to discover how the poor fellow ended up where he did - and why...

Dr Siri Paiboun, reluctant national coroner of the People´s Democratic Republic of Laos, is summoned to a remote location in the mountains of Huaphan Province, where for years the leaders of the current government had hidden out in caves, waiting to assume power...

Following a rash moment of insolence, Dr Siri Paiboun, Laos' reluctant national coroner, confused shaman and disheartened communist, is forced to go on a road trip with Judge Haeng and the Justice Department. While newly pregnant Nurse Dtui and Dr Siri's fiance Madame Daeng are left at the morgue to defend the staff again

When a blind, retired dentist is run down by a logging truck as he crosses the road to post a letter, Dr Siri Paiboun, official and only coroner of Laos, finds himself faced with his most explosive case yet. The dentist's mortal remains aren't nearly as intriguing as the letter in his pocket. Written in invisible ink and encrypted, the letter presents Dr Siri with an irresistible challenge. Enlisting the help of his old friend, Civilai, now a senior member of the Laos politburo; Nurse Dtui ('Fatty'); Phosy, a police officer; and, Aunt Bpoo, a transvestite fortune-teller, Dr Siri soon finds himself on the trail of an international plot to overthrow the government of Laos. When a blind, retired dentist is run down by a logging truck as he crosses the road to post a letter, Dr Siri Paiboun, official and only coroner of Laos, finds himself faced with his most explosive case yet. The dentist's mortal remains aren't nearly as intriguing as the letter in his pocket.

Intrepid coroner Dr Siri is used to playing the lead in the dramas of his life. But this time his wife is centre stage. Madame Daeng is privy to a secret and it puts her in grave danger.And thats not all. When Siri whisks his wife away for a romantic weekend they walk straight into another mystery, meeting a woman whos been shot twice but is still clinging to life. Who would want to kill her and why?Dr Siri will have his work cut out to unravel this case, while keeping Madame Daeng away from those who want to harm her.But he soon discovers theres much more to his wife than meets the eye

Laos, 1977. Han pasado dos años desde la gloriosa victoria revolucionaria que ha instaurado el paraíso comunista tras años de conflicto. A sus setenta y tres años, el doctor Siri, reticente forense n

El doctor Siri Paiboun no entiende de personas ni de partidos; ya tiene una edad y se siente con derecho a ser independiente. En esta segunda novela de la serie, nuestro aguerrido y septuagenario forense viajara a Luang Prabang antigua capital real de Laos, donde establecera contacto con el rey depuesto, el cual parece abocado a un aciago destino. Asimismo, Siri asistira a una conferencia de chamanes convocada por el Partido Comunista con el fin dar un ultimatum a los espiritus: o se doblegan a las normas del nuevo regimen o se van con la musica a otra parte. Entretanto, la enfermera Dtui asumira el mando de la investigacion de una serie de cadaveres mutilados que van llegando a la morgue. El doctor Siri debera hacer uso de sus habilidades forenses y chamanicas para descubrir que criatura animal o espiritu esta detras de estos terribles asesinatos.

A pesar de haber cumplido ya setenta y tres años, al doctor Siri Paiboun no le falta vigor ni astucia. En esta ocasión, el médico forense de la República Democrática Popular Lao será enviado al montañoso norte del pais, donde la repentina aparicion de un brazo momificado junto a la nueva mansion del presidente ha provocado un comprensible revuelo. La autopsia del cuerpo unido al brazo revelara no pocas sorpresas espeluznantes, pero seran las habilidades chamanicas del doctor Siri las que lo pondran sobre la pista del asesino. A medida que avanza la investigacion, Siri y sus compañeros deberan hacer frente a una propuesta de matrimonio, ademas de sortear los peligros de la vida en carretera y presenciar un aterrador ritual de sacrificio. No es de extrañar que al doctor Siri le entren ganas de mover el esqueleto.

El doctor Siri Paiboun, un médico de 72 años, ha sido nombrado contra su voluntad forense nacional del nuevo Laos socialista. Aunque su laboratorio carece de fondos, su jefe es incompetente y su personal es, cuando menos, estrafalario, el sentido del humor de Siri le permite superar su dia a dia, a menudo frustrante. Cuando el cuerpo de la esposa de un prominente politico llega a su morgue, Siri tiene razones para sospechar que la mujer ha sido asesinada. Para llegar a la verdad, Siri y su equipo se enfrentan a secretos del Gobierno, vecinos espias, victimas embrujadas, chamanes hmong, romances frustrados y otros peligros mortales. De alguna manera, Siri debe encontrar la forma de equilibrar la voluntad del Partido y la de los muertos.

El doctor Siri Paiboun no entiende de personas ni de partidos; ya tiene una edad y se siente con derecho a ser independiente. En esta segunda novela de la serie, nuestro aguerrido y septuagenario forense viajara a Luang Prabang —antigua capital real de Laos—, donde establecera contacto con el rey depuesto, el cual parece abocado a un aciago destino. Asimismo, Siri asistira a una conferencia de chamanes convocada por el Partido Comunista con el fin dar un ultimatum a los espiritus: o se doblegan a las normas del nuevo regimen o se van con la musica a otra parte. Entretanto, la enfermera Dtui asumira el mando de la investigacion de una serie de cadaveres mutilados que van llegando a la morgue. El doctor Siri debera hacer uso de sus habilidades forenses y chamanicas para descubrir que criatura —animal o espiritu— esta detras de estos terribles asesinatos.