The Coroner’s Lunch

The Dr. Siri Investigations, Book 1

By: Colin Cotterill

Narrated by: Clive Chafer

Laos, 1975: The Communist Pathet Lao has taken over this former French colony. Dr. Siri Paiboun, a 72-year-old Paris-trained doctor, is appointed national coroner. Although he has no training for the job, there is no one else: the rest of the educated class have fled.

He is expected to come up with the answers the party wants, but crafty and charming Dr. Siri is immune to bureaucratic pressure. At his age, he reasons, what can they do to him? And he knows he cannot fail the dead who come into his care without risk of incurring their boundless displeasure. Eternity could be a long time to have the spirits mad at you.

©2004 Colin Cotterill (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A wonderfully fresh and exotic mystery…If Cotterill…had done nothing more than treat us to Siri’s views on the dramatic, even comic crises that mark periods of government upheaval, his debut mystery would still be fascinating. But the multiple cases spread out on Siri’s examining table…are not cozy entertainments but substantial crimes that take us into the thick of political intrigue.” ( New York Times Book Review)

Darkly Comic Mystery Set in Laos Post 1975

Dr Siri Paiboun became Coroner more or less by default. He is 72 years old and had spent most of his earlier years as a doctor treating soldiers injured in the struggle for Communism to take over the government. Now it has succeeded and the worker's utopia has been deserted for the most part by the wealthy and educated class. He has an antique microscope, a few chemicals, and a camera that has a very strictly limited amount of film that his investigations must share with the social events of the nurses. There's a government spy installed behind his mortuary who complains about the smell of the corpses and mystical experiences that interrupts his nights.

The reader was very good and I quite enjoyed listening to this book with it's convoluted plot and interesting background.

Restrained main character has no truck with fools

What made the experience of listening to The Coroner’s Lunch the most enjoyable?

The combination of immersion in a cultural and historical context with which I have little familiarity, with the wry humor of the main character. I tend not to like "magical realism," but the ghostly parts work fine here, just an injection of the supernatural (or science fiction) that adds to, rather than disturbs, the feel of the historical fiction.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Well, I wasn't sure where we were going, but I don't think I ever had that acute tension you might have with a thriller.

What does Clive Chafer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a good job. The main character is a bit of an old-fashioned type, so his style of speech is a bit restrained, but I thought it worked fine.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but I listened to it in a few days.

Any additional comments?

Looking forward to more of the series!

These people feel like family.

Wonderful character development. Excellent story that makes 1970's Laos feel like home. Subversivly optimistic.

Pleasant Listening Surprise

This title is very entertaining. Though it is not the type of "Die Hard" action that I prefer, it held my interest attention from beginning to end. I am pleased to have discovered this author's series. I will start to next title in the series in anticipation of it being as good as the first. This title is one that I would recommend to anyone.

Weirdly Fun.

Almost quit once or twice, but ultimately glad I stuck with it. Slowly grows on you; characters are fun! Narrator did a good job also. Going to check out second one.

Delightful find!

An elderly French-trained communist Lao doctor pressed into service as the national coroner in the years just after the Vietnam war sees ghosts and cleverly untangles mysteries both personal and political. Who'd a thunk it? This protagonist is sly, mocking, lucky, cynical and ultimately an absolute delight. I was so glad to see that it's a series!

Interesting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Love the characters and setting.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, very different mystery. Set in Laos. Lovable main character. A bit if history and mysticism (cultural).

What about Clive Chafer’s performance did you like?

Voice.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, certain parts made me cry and laugh too.

Any additional comments?

I didn't understand the ending fully. What did the last line mean?

Lao historical fiction<br />

Listened to parts of this every day until finished. Completely captivating for those who live in South East Asia. Great narration of separate characters, very easy to follow. A dry, droll sense of humor throughout emphasized the ridiculous contradictions of a socialist experiment gone wrong.

Too good for words

Clever, funny, poetic, complex....touching, irreverent...geez Louise, I can't do it justice.
The first novel I've read that takes place in Laos, the bits of cultural background were fascinating. The story is set in 1970's, in a newly formed People's Republic. The protagonist is as charming a detective as one could hope for....
I really can't recommend this book highly enough!

Wonderful and different story

If you could sum up The Coroner’s Lunch in three words, what would they be?

The reader sounded bored and depressed at the start of the book. Hang in there though; he does a much better job at the middle and end of the story.