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Longboat on the Mekong
Sunrise on the Mekong
The Merry Misogynist (2009, Dr Siri Paiboun #6) by Colin Cotterill
Cliffhanger's 3 Heart Rating
Slash and Burn (2011, Dr Siri Paiboun #8) by Colin Cotterill
Cliffhanger's 5 Heart Rating
Curse of the Pogo Stick  (2008, Dr. Siri Paiboun #5) by Colin Cotterill
Cliffhanger's 4 Heart Rating
 Anarchy and Old Dogs  (2007, Dr. Siri Paiboun #4) by Colin Cotterill
Cliffhanger's 5 Heart Rating
Disco for the Departed  (2006, Dr. Siri Paiboun #3) by Colin Cotterill
Cliffhanger's 3 Heart Rating
  Thirty-Three Teeth  (2005, Dr. Siri Paiboun #2) by Colin Cotterill
Cliffhanger's 5 Heart Rating
The Coroner's Lunch  (2004, Dr. Siri Paiboun #1) by Colin Cotterill
Cliffhanger's 4 Heart Rating
Slash and Burn
(2011, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #8)
by Colin Cotterill
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Cotterill is in top form. The mystery kept me guessing until the very end.

Plus: Dr. Siri finally gets the goods on Judge Haeng.

Cliffhangers: Will Dr. Siri really retire? Has Mr. Geung found true love?

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(Cozies. Historical. Funny. Forensics. 1970s Laos.)
The Coroner's Lunch 
(2004, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #1)
by Colin Cotterill
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An excellent kickoff to the series with a very satisfying plot, but Cotterill doesn't really kick loose with the humor until the next book. 

Some cliffhangers: Will Dr. Siri adapt to the telephone? Will police officer Phosy get a desk? Will Dr. Siri get a new house? Will Nurse Dtui find a husband? Will the Phibob follow Dr. Siri home? Will Laos go to war with Vietnam?

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(Cozies. Historical. Funny. Forensics. 1970s Laos.)
Thirty-Three Teeth 
(2005, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #2)
by Colin Cotterill
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WINNER! Dilys Award

A hoot on both the material and spiritual planes.

Plus: A conference of shamans called by the Party because the dearly departed aren't following Party orders.

Some cliffhangers: Will the Phibob follow Dr. Siri home?  Will Miss Vong and Mr. Inthanet get together? Will Dr. Siri and Auntie Lah have a second date? Will the morgue's chemicals ever clear customs?

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(Cozies. Historical. Funny. Forensics. 1970s Laos.)
Disco for the Departed 
(2006, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #3)
by Colin Cotterill
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I found the mystery a bit less satisfying than usual and one of my favorite Mahosot Hospital Irregulars isn't included in this story. I missed him.

Plus: The disco scene is priceless.
Plus: Nurse Dtui shines.
Plus: Dr. Siri gets rhythm.

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(Cozies. Historical. Funny. Forensics. 1970s Laos.)
Anarchy and Old Dogs
(2007, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #4)
by Colin Cotterill
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Probably my favorite in the series. The case is satisfyingly complex and involves a surprising betrayal. Cotterill does his usual masterful job intertwining subplots. And there's a funeral, a wedding and a whole lot of rice whisky.

Plus two wonderful new characters: Aunt Bpoo, a transvestite fortune teller, and Madame Daeng, the Julia Child of noodle cooks and a blast from Dr. Siri's past.

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(Cozies. Historical. Funny. Forensics. 1970s Laos.)
Curse of the Pogo Stick 
(2008, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #5)
by Colin Cotterill
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I enjoyed this a lot even though it isn't a conventional mystery. Dr. Siri spends much of the book in a Hmong village, separated from his pals. I found the story about the plight of the Hmong moving.

Plus: The book ends with a wedding and who doesn't love that?
And: Judge Haeng, lost in the wilderness.
And: Crazy Rajid puts some clothes on.

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(Cozies. Historical. Funny. Forensics. 1970s Laos.)
The Merry Misogynist
(2009, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #6)
by Colin Cotterill
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The main mystery didn't grab me but there are all sorts of interesting developments in the lives of the characters.  Fans shouldn't miss this one.

Plus: High-stakes scavenger hunt in Vientiane
Plus: Rajid lost at sea
Plus: The housing department declares war on Dr. Siri
Plus: A birth!
Plus: The Great Buddha Park

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(Cozies. Historical. Funny. Forensics. 1970s Laos.)
Temple in Laos
Series Review
1976, Laos: Cranky Septuagenarian Named National Coroner
In 1976, Dr. Siri Paiboun, the hero of nine mystery novels, was ready to retire after a lifetime in the jungle as a battle surgeon when his government, the communist People's Democratic Republic of Laos, made him a job offer he couldn't refuse: national coroner.

One thing led to another and Dr. Siri discovered he had a real knack for solving crimes, aided by the Mahosot Hospital Irregulars (Nurse Dtui, Det. Phosy, and Mr. Geung) and the occasional psychic communication from an unhappy ghost.

Congenial characters, a great detective, a new and interesting setting and humor, humor, humor

These mysteries have it all: outstanding storytelling, a fabulous hero and a deeply interesting context. Plus humor, sometimes sharp, sometimes silly, sometimes political satire. Oh, and ghosts.

Dr. Siri Paiboun belongs in the Great Detective's Hall of Fame with Sherlock Holmes and Nero Wolfe.

Series Guide
Start with either with the second book, Thirty-Three Teeth (#2) or the eighth book, Slash and Burn (#8). I also love  Anarchy and Old Dogs (#4), but I think you will enjoy it more if you already adore all the characters.

Book Summaries
Below, the mystery novels in chronological order:

The Coroner's Lunch (2004, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #1)
When two bodies, tortured with electricity, pop up in the river, Dr. Siri insists on finding the truth instead of aiding in a cover-up as instructed by his bosses.
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Thirty-Three Teeth (2005, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #2)
The Mahosot Irregulars are hopping with a series of deaths by bear bite, the strange defenestration of two bureaucrats and a helicopter crash in the royal city of Luang Prabang.
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Disco for the Departed (2006, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #3)
Dr. Siri and Dtui trek to a former rebel stronghold in the mountains of Huaphan Province.
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Anarchy and Old Dogs (2007, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #4)
A dead dentist is carrying the key to a coup d'etat in his pocket.
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Curse of the Pogo Stick (2008, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #5)
Dr. Siri is kidnapped by seven Hmong villagers.
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The Merry Misogynist (2009, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #6)
A serial killer stalks girls in the Laotian countryside.
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Love Songs from a Shallow Grave (2010, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #7)
An all-expense-paid junket to Cambodia is almost the end of Dr. Siri.
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Slash and Burn (2011, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #8)
The gang heads into the jungle in search of a downed American pilot.
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The Woman Who Wouldn't Die (2013, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #9)
A ghost points Dr. Siri in the direction of a war-crimes cover-up.
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Dr. Siri's World
A great pleasure of this series comes from Dr. Siri's other major talent: a sly skill at tricking the political hacks into serving justice instead of themselves.

Another pleasure is Dr. Siri's ingenuity as he conducts investigations with none of the resources considered necessary for state-of-the-art forensics: training, chemicals, functioning equipment, electricity. . . .

Plus, the Irregulars are every bit as interesting and loveable as Dr. Siri himself.

Dr. Siri is committed heart and soul to the Irregulars (and vice versa). This is why we can read about their travails in a distressing, dangerous, and depressing environment and not be overwhelmed by the sadness of the Lao people's predicament in the first few years following their revolution. Instead we laugh and cry with our warm-hearted hero and his lovely friends as they bravely build lives while their country falls apart.

Dr. Siri's reluctant relationship with the spirit world is one of the most interesting features of this series. Ghosts help him solve investigations but they also add a level of humor (as a man of science, Dr. Siri doesn't believe in these phenomena) and suspense: the shaman he hosts has many enemies in the great beyond.

Dr. Siri also has a reluctant relationship with the communist government for which he works. Mainly, he thinks it's nuts, which gives rise to some wicked political humor reminiscent of M*A*S*H* and Catch-22.
Dr. Siri Paiboun Mysteries
by Colin Cotterill
Cozy Series Set in 1970s Laos
Book Reviews
Dr. Siri Paiboun Series
(From newest to oldest; Dates refer to publication in the US in English;
# refers to series order)
Above, from top to bottom:  Temple ruins in Laos; Longboat on the Mekong River; Sunrise on the Mekong; Monument in Vientiane; Mountains in Laos
The Woman Who Wouldn't Die (2013, Dr. Siri Paiboun #9) by Colin Cotterill
The Woman Who Wouldn't Die (2013, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #9)
by Colin Cotterill
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NOT YET REVIEWED

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(Cozies. Historical. Funny. Forensics. 1970s Laos.)
Love Songs from a Shallow Grave (2010, Dr Siri Paiboun #7) by Colin Cotterill
Cliffhanger's 4 Heart Rating
Love Songs from a Shallow Grave (2010, Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Books #7)
by Colin Cotterill
BUY NOW

A really scary story. Set partially in Cambodia.

Plus: The Department of Hero Creation
Plus: The Train from the Xiang Wu Irrigation Plant: The Movie

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(Cozies. Historical. Funny. Forensics. 1970s Laos. 1970s Cambodia)
Mountains in Laos
Monument in Vientianne
Crime novels set in other historical eras
Noir aka Hardboiled
Cozies
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