A review by book_concierge
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill

3.0

Dr Siri Paiboun was trained in France, but returned to his native Laos as a loyal member of the Communist Party. Now one of the country’s few remaining physicians, at age 72 he’s been appointed as the country’s chief coroner. It’s a lofty title but the reality is different: the morgue is barely equipped, and his only assistants are a nurse and a morgue technician with Down’s syndrome. That’s not much of a problem as they rarely have a case, but suddenly there are multiple cases. The Party wants certain answers, but Dr Siri is intent on arriving at, and presenting the truth.

What an interesting and engaging mystery. I really liked Dr Siri, Mr Geung and nurse Dtui; they make a great team. Siri’s acerbic wit gets a nice workout against the bureaucrats who seem intent on thwarting his efforts. After all, he’s 72 years old, what can they do to him? He is a widower, without any children; he’d be happy to be retired, even in a “re-education” camp.

The paranormal element of the story, however, threw me for a loop. I didn’t so much mind the ghosts visiting Siri in his dreams, nor even his being able to occasionally see those spirits while awake. But the trip to the Hmong village and the “exorcism” seemed an unnecessary side trip; I found it detracted from the central story.

On the whole, however, this was an entertaining mystery with great characters. I’ll definitely read more of the series.