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Colin Cotterill

    October 2, 1952

    Colin Cotterill is a storyteller with a deep interest in human destinies, setting his tales against the exotic backdrops of Southeast Asia. His style, interwoven with dark humor and keen observation, often delves into complex themes of human nature and society. Cotterill masterfully builds suspense while offering thoughtful reflections on ethics and justice. His works immerse readers in a world filled with intrigue, unexpected twists, and unforgettable characters.

    The Rat Catchers' Olympics
    The Woman Who Wouldn't Die
    Don't Eat Me
    Slash and Burn
    The Axe Factor. Mit Axt, Charme und Melone, englische Ausgabe
    Six and a Half Deadly Sins
    • 2023

      "Thailand, 1996: Supot, a postman with the Royal Thai Postal Service, hates his job. The only bright light in his life is watching classic movies with his best friend, Ali, the owner of a video store. These cinephiles adore the charisma of the old Western stars, particularly the actresses, and bemoan the state of modern Thai cinema-until a mysterious cassette, entitled Bangkok 2010, arrives at Ali's store. Bangkok 2010 is a dystopian film set in a Thailand run by chauvinistic Security Council officers-and Supot and Ali, immediately obsessed, agree it's the most brilliant Thai movie they've ever seen. But nobody else has ever heard of the movie, the director, the actors, or any of the crew. Who would make a movie like this and not release it, and why? Feeling a powerful calling to solve the mystery of Bangkok 2010, Supot journeys deep into the Thai countryside and discovers a curse around the motion picture, one that keeps Bangkok 2010 from ever being viewed. But does that mean its story can never be told? Colin Cotterill, author of the award-winning Dr. Siri Paiboun series, presents a complex, captivating narrative, interposed with fascinating flashes of Bangkok 2010's gritty screenplay, as the two intertwined tales of a Thailand in deep conflict begin to meet in the middle"-- Provided by publisher

      The Motion Picture Teller
    • 2020

      After 15 cunning, mischievous, heartbreaking, hilarious, eye-opening, and atmospheric installments, Colin Cotterill's award-winning Dr. Siri Paiboun series comes to a close. Make sure you don't miss this last chapter, a deliciously clever puzzle that illuminates the history of World War II in Southeast Asia. Laos, 1981: When an unofficial mailman drops off a strange bilingual diary, Dr. Siri is intrigued. Half is in Lao, but the other half is in Japanese, which no one Siri knows can read; it appears to have been written during the Second World War. Most mysterious of all, it comes with a note stapled to it: Dr. Siri, we need your help most urgently. But who is “we,” and why have they left no return address? To the chagrin of his wife and friends, who have to hear him read the diary out loud, Siri embarks on an investigation by examining the text. Though the journal was apparently written by a kamikaze pilot, it is surprisingly dull. Twenty pages in, no one has died, and the pilot never mentions any combat at all. Despite these shortcomings, Siri begins to obsess over the diary’s abrupt ending . . . and the riddle of why it found its way into his hands. Did the kamikaze pilot ever manage to get off the ground? To find out, he and Madame Daeng will have to hitch a ride south and uncover some of the darkest secrets of the Second World War.

      The Delightful Life Of A Suicide Pilot
    • 2019

      A death threat to Dr. Siri and all his friends sends the ex-coroner down memory lane in the 14th installment of Cotterill's quirky, critically acclaimed series set in 1970s Laos.Vientiane, 1980: For a man of his age and in his corner of the world, Dr. Siri, the 76-year-old former national coroner of Laos, is doing remarkably well—especially for someone possessed by a thousand-year-old Hmong shaman. That is, until he finds a mysterious note tied to his dog, Ugly's, tail: a death threat not just to him, but to everyone he holds dear. And whoever wrote the note claims the job will be executed in two weeks.   Thus, at the urging of his wife and his motley crew of faithful friends, Dr. Siri contemplates who would hold such a strong grudge as to wish him dead, prompting him to recount three incidents over the years: an early meeting with his lifelong pal Civilai in Paris in the early '30s, a particularly disruptive visit to an art museum in Saigon in 1956, and a prisoner of war negotiation in Hanoi at the height of the Vietnam War in the '70s. There will be grave consequences in the present if Dr. Siri can't put together the clues in the past.

      The Second Biggest Nothing
    • 2018

      Don't Eat Me

      • 290 pages
      • 11 hours of reading
      4.1(70)Add rating

      "Between getting into a tangle with a corrupt local judge, and discovering a disturbing black-market business, Dr. Siri Paiboun, the ex-national coroner of Laos and his friend Inspector Phosy have their hands full in the thirteenth installment of Colin Cotterill's quirky, critically acclaimed series. Dr. Siri Paiboun, the ex-national coroner of Laos, may have more experience dissecting bodies than making art, but when he manages to smuggle a fancy movie camera into the country he devises a plan to shoot a Lao adaptation of War and Peace with his friend Civilai. The only problem? The Ministry of Culture must approve the script before they can get rolling. That and they can't figure out how to turn on the camera. Meanwhile, the skeleton of a woman has appeared under the Anusawari Arch in the middle of the night. Siri puts his directorial debut on hold and assists his friend, the newly promoted Senior Police Inspector Phosy Vongvichai, with the ensuing investigation. Though the death of the unknown woman seems to be recent, the flesh on her corpse has been picked off in places as if something--or someone--has been gnawing on the bones. The plot Phosy soon uncovers involves much more than single set of skeletal remains"--

      Don't Eat Me
    • 2017

      The Rat Catchers' Olympics

      • 304 pages
      • 11 hours of reading
      4.0(71)Add rating

      1980: The Democratic People's Republic of Laos is proud to be competing in its first-ever Olympics. As the competition heats up, however, Siri begins to suspect that one of the athletes is not who he says he is. Fearing a conspiracy, Siri and his friends investigate, liaising in secret with Inspector Phosy back home in Laos to see if the man might be an assassin

      The Rat Catchers' Olympics
    • 2016

      I Shot the Buddha

      • 342 pages
      • 12 hours of reading
      3.8(154)Add rating

      "Laos, 1979. Retired coroner Siri Paiboun and his wife, Madame Daeng, have never been able to turn away a misfit. As a result, they share their small Vientiane house with an assortment of homeless people, mendicants, and oddballs. One of these oddballs is Noo, a Buddhist monk, who rides out on his bicycle one day and never comes back, leaving only a cryptic note in the refrigerator. Realizing that he needs rescuing, Siri and Daeng sneak illegally across the Mekhong River to Thailand, trying to track their missing monk-friend down and figure out who has kidnapped him"--

      I Shot the Buddha
    • 2016

      Six and a Half Deadly Sins

      • 272 pages
      • 10 hours of reading

      Laos, 1979: Dr. Siri Paiboun, the twice retired ex-National Coroner of Laos, receives an unmarked package in the mail. Inside is a handwoven pha sin, a colorful traditional skirt worn in northern Laos. A lovely present, but who sent it to him, and why? And, more importantly, why is there a severed human finger stitched into the sin's lining? Siri is convinced someone is trying to send him a message and won't let the matter rest until he's figured it out.

      Six and a Half Deadly Sins
    • 2014

      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, Jimm's 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.

      The Axe Factor. Mit Axt, Charme und Melone, englische Ausgabe
    • 2013
    • 2013

      In rural Thailand, former crime reporter Jimm Juree must grapple with her quirky family, a mysterious mother and daughter on the lam, and the small matter of a head on the beach.

      Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach