Dr. Siri Paiboun Series

This series follows Dr. Siri Paiboun, a physician working as the national coroner in Laos during the mid-1970s. Despite the often grim nature of his work, Dr. Siri finds himself entangled in mysterious cases and political intrigue. His sharp intellect and unconventional methods help him uncover truths in a post-revolutionary nation where tradition meets a new regime. The narratives offer a captivating glimpse into Laotian culture, history, and daily life, blending suspense with poignant observations.

Disco for the Departed. Totentanz für Dr. Siri, englische Ausgabe

Recommended Reading Order

1
The coroner's lunch
Colin Cotterill
288 pages
11 hours of reading
3.8(181)Add rating
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 But the job's not that bad and Siri quickly settles into a routine of studying outdated medical texts, scrounging scarce supplies, and circumnavigating bureaucratic red tape to arrive at justice.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
2
Thirty-Three Teeth. Dr. Siri sieht Gespenster, englische Ausgabe
Colin Cotterill
3.7(95)Add rating
Dr. Siri Paiboun of Laos"reluctant national coroner, confused psychic, [and] disheartened communist"employs forensic skills and spiritual acumen to solve a series of bizarre killings in Cotterill's quirky, exotic and winning second novel, set in 1977. Could an old escaped bear be mauling Vientiane citizens? Or is it something more mysticalsay, a weretiger? When Paiboun is summoned to the capital to identify the nationality of a pair of charred bodies, he quickly flags them as Asians killed in a helicopter crash, and his ability to connect them to the royal family annoys Communist Party leaders. As Paiboun learns of an effort to get the remaining royal family members out of town, he's arrested, accused of damaging government property. But the witness's testimony is questionable, and Paiboun, representing himself in court, escapes this scrape as handily as he's escaped others before. Paiboun's droll wit and Cotterill's engaging plot twists keep things energetic; the rather grisly murders are offset by comedy, including a scene in which a Party member attempts to impose regulations on the spirit world.
3
Disco for the Departed. Totentanz für Dr. Siri, englische Ausgabe
Colin Cotterill
3.9(121)Add rating
Dr Siri Paiboun may be in his seventy-third year, but he's still as sturdy as a jungle boar - and as crafty as one. Reluctant coroner to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, he's been despatched to the country's mountainous north where the sudden appearance of a mummified arm protruding from a concrete path laid in front of the President's new mansion has caused an understandable degree of embarrassment. Dr Siri's disinterment and autopsy of the body attached to the arm provide some grisly surprises but it is his gifts as a shaman that put the septuagenarian doctor on the trail of the killer. As Siri and his team close in, they must tackle a marriage proposal, brave the perils of the life on the open road, and come face-to-face with a horrific sacrificial ritual.Is it any wonder Dr Siri takes up disco dancing?
4
Anarchy and Old Dogs
Colin Cotterill
4.0(93)Add rating
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.
5
Curse of the Pogo Stick. Der Tote im Eisfach, englische Ausgabe
Colin Cotterill
3.5(48)Add rating
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 fiancé Madame Daeng are left at the morgue to defend the staff against exploding corpses and geriatric gunslingers, Siri has his own problems. On a deserted jungle trail, Siri is kidnapped. His only route to freedom is to exorcise the local village of its demon - but that means lifting the curse of the pogo stick.
6
The Merry Misogynist
Colin Cotterill
3.9(86)Add rating
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 appals 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. A trail of elaborate clues and remarkable disclosures about the Indian's past lead them to Vientiane's most ancient temple - and a terrible discovery.
7
Love Songs from a Shallow Grave
Colin Cotterill
3.9(56)Add rating
When a female security officer is discovered stabbed through the heart with a fencing sword, Dr. Siri's instincts tell him there is more to the mystery than anyone can imagine
8
Slash and Burn
Colin Cotterill
4.1(49)Add rating
Dr Siri's bagged himself a holiday: an all-expenses-paid trip to the northern mountains of Laos. What's more, through a bit of skilful bartering (well, blackmail) he has wangled it so that his nearest and dearest may accompany him. They are to assist a US-funded search for a lost CIA pilot - Boyd Bowry - missing since his aircraft was downed in 1968. But Siri's not taking the search too seriously, as he strongly suspects that when the helicopter exploded, the pilot followed suit. However, just hours into the trip, it becomes apparent that ulterior motives are at work within the group. And Siri's suspicions are confirmed when those associated with the airman start dropping like the insects that frequent his country. Siri and co are caught up in something big: something that goes way back, and way over their heads. And, if this wasn't bad enough, a psychic of unquestionable repute then informs Siri that he will shortly die: in 'a day or two', to be precise.
9
The Woman Who Wouldn't Die
Colin Cotterill
4.0(33)Add rating
The next instalment in Cotterill's prize-winning Dr Siri series: Siri's wife, Madame Daeng, is in grave danger...
10
Six and a Half Deadly Sins
Colin Cotterill
272 pages
10 hours of reading
4.5(4)Add rating
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.
11
I Shot the Buddha
Colin Cotterill
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"--
12
The Rat Catchers' Olympics
Colin Cotterill
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
13
Don't Eat Me
Colin Cotterill
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"--
14
The Second Biggest Nothing
Colin Cotterill
4.0(434)Add rating
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.
15
The Delightful Life Of A Suicide Pilot
Colin Cotterill
3.8(75)Add rating
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.