Anarchy and Old Dogs (Dr Siri Paiboun Mystery 4) Book

Colin Cotterill's strikingly unusual crime series (The Coroner's Lunch, Thirty Three Teeth), featuring Laos’ only coroner, Dr Siri Paiboun, has already gleaned (in a relatively short time) a devoted legion of readers, as much for the sharp and quirky characterisations as for the colourful evocation of the Laos locales. In Anarchy and Old Dogs, the ageing Siri is, as usual, up to his elbows in double-dealing on the part of officialdom as much as the mysteries of the case he is working on. A sightless dentist is struck by a logging company truck, and Siri Paiboun becomes involved – mainly as there is nobody else performing his function as coroner. The dentist, it transpires, was en route to post a letter, but Siri, when examining it, finds it impossible to read (the dentist has used invisible ink and has then encrypted the message). But as Siri peels back the layers of confusion surrounding the case, he realises that the stakes are as high as might be imagined: in fact, he has stumbled on nothing less than a plot to replace the government. Aficionados of the crime thriller often lament that moment – all too familiar when reading many a novel – when the thought 'Oh, it's that plot again!' occurs. Colin Cotterill admirers know that such a moment is unlikely to happen in one of his books – and certainly not in Anarchy and Old Dogs. --Barry ForshawRead More