Siri Paiboun Novels

Author: Colin Cotterill

Tags: Crime, Detective

Ever been to Laos? Me neither, but I have often been transported there by Colin Cotterill via his series of Dr Siri Paiboun novels. This series is a huge departure from the other stuff I've written about so far and, once again, it could well be my favorite series (I told you I would probably say that more than once).

Nobody knows how old Dr. Siri and his wife, Madame Deng, really are, although most believe they are somewhere in their mid-70s. They both fought for the Pathet Lao communists who, after a long struggle, successfully defeated the Royal Lao Army in 1975 (it was far more complicated than that but that's close enough for this review). Siri was an army medic trained in France while his wife had a more understated mysterious role that is tangentially referred to in some of the novels and appears to involve killing people at close quarters. Because of his training and partly because everyone else with the skill has left the country, Siri has reluctantly been appointed as the country's coroner.

It is not clear if, having seen the results of the Pathet Lao's victory, Siri is still a true believer in communism or if he is naturally altruistic but he could hardly exhibit a larger degree of cynicism about the affairs of government even though his longtime close friend, Civilai, is a senior member of the party. Siri accepts his government awarded house but populates it with an assortment of needy waifs and strays while he spends most of his time living above his wife's, noodle shop. A noodle shop that, by the way, sells the best noodles in Laos.

Siri's mortuary is in Vientaine, Loas, just across the Mekong river from Thailand. In the early books he is assisted by Nurse Dtui and Geung Watajak but as Siri's adventures take him farther afield they pretty much run the establishment for hm. Geung was the assistant to the previous coroner and suffers from Down's Syndrome but he taught Siri all he knows about being a coroner. Nurse Dtui is married to Phosy, the local police chief, but is using the mortuary to create a career of her own and is studying to be the coroner when Siri retires. A wise move on her part as Siri has tried, and failed, to retire four times so far.

Siri's first adventure starts when he autopsies a body and finds it to have been buried alive. Curiosity and a sense of justice get the better of him and he sets off to find out what happened. During this and his other adventures, he, his best friend Civilai, Phosy, Nurse Dtui, Geung, and various other characters, including a naked Indian and even Siri's dog, all combine in different ways to overcome the incompetencies and corruption of their leaders to solve the incredibly ingenious mysteries that Colin Cotterill has served up for them.

To add to your pleasure is a layer of the supernatural wending its way through the stories. It transpires that Siri is somewhat of a shaman, although he doesn't really know it, and he is possessed by Yeh Ming, a dead Hmong shaman. Occasionally, and usually at inconvenient times, Siri will disappear into a spirit world where he receives insight from the spirits that often just confuses him more. In one story he and his wife make a deal with a magical woman who provides them with the means to solve a mystery in exchange for.....well, I'll let you find that out for yourselves.

These are not hard core mystery books that have you on the edge of your seat but they are definitely page turners. The stories are complex, intelligent, and well crafted. Being immersed in Cotterill's vision and first-hand experiences of post revolution Loas, it's culture, and the influences that Vietnam and Thailand have on its people is an absolute education and adds massively to the enjoyment of these books. While there are certainly dark and poignant moments in the books, Siri has a delightful sense of humor that keeps everything on a lighter plane.

I absolutely love these books and can't wait for the next one to be released. However, while writing this, I read a review that suggested that the fifteenth book in the series, The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot, will be the last in the series. I have tried researching this but I cannot find anything to substantiate it. I certainly hope it's a mistake. If you know anything more about this, let me know!

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