Reading about Dr. Siri gives me the urge to sit down by a slow-moving river with a Lao cocktail (per Dr. Siri--half rice whiskey and the other half rice whiskey).


This time Dr. Siri and his long-term comrade Civilai are drawn into an investigation after a blind dentist is found dead, a letter written in invisible ink tucked inside his pocket. Dr. Siri consults a school teacher to break the code (and how I love Cotterill's affection for talented teachers!), leading Siri and Civilai on a journey to the southern city of Pakse. Siri's incompetent boss, the Judge, provides the transportation south, with the caveat that Siri investigate a possible bathtub electrocution that could have been caused by the Russians. As he works the political drowning case, Siri also pursues the mysterious letter as well as a local village boy's drowning. Malignant spirits lurk in the background, a chance meeting in Pakse allows Siri to connect with his rebel days, and Dtui and Phosy, Siri's faithful associates in the coroner's office, take initiative while he is gone.


Anarchy contains everything there is to love about the Siri investigations. There's bits of shared Laotian culture, particularly a funeral and wedding, both with insight into ceremonies before and after the communists have come to power. There is evolving political commentary on the nature of government and revolutions. Notably, Cotterill achieves the rare feat of being simultaneously hopeful, disillusioned and uniformly critical of all forms of power. The Lao people are starting to notice the communists were failing to create a revolution, except in red tape. "The government was starting to look like a depressingly unloved relative who'd come to visit for the weekend and stayed for two years."


Leavening the seriousness of the political landscape are meltaway bits of humor, particularly Aunt Bpoo the mystic. I started to get worried when a transvestite was described as "a luminous beacon--and definitely a buoy," and I knew there was troubled waters ahead when I ran into the line, "it's hard to hold a serious debriefing with a man who's ripping off his pants." Yes, you read it--puns launched a subversive attack on a somber and contemplative mystery. Luckily a state-sponsored narration of a Bruce Lee movie provides some genuine comedic relief.


Aging remains a consistent theme, and I've come to enjoy the perspective of the older adult and the freedom that a lack of political ambitions can provide a narrative. I myself have noticed a similar experience to Siri's encounter with a pair of policemen: "As they entered, Siri looked at their boyish faces and noted how narrow the gap was becoming between puberty and authority."

Ah Siri, one of my favorite detectives. I hope by the time I am seventy-three that I too will "hardly ever flew into a rage or insulted anyone who didn't absolutely deserve it."

Criticisms include a enormous development in the Dtui storyline without adequate background and a somewhat obvious antagonist.

3.75 stars, rounding up because I'm hoping to adopt Dr. Siri.

Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/06/21/anarchy-and-old-dogs-by-colin-cotteril... ( )

Really a sweet series of books about a coroner who works for the Communist government in Laos, on a dime budget, and whose idol is Inspector Maigrett. All the Laotians speak English like British people: "chaps, lasses, bloody hell," and so on, lol. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that there was a bit more about the revolution and politics of Laos. It gave me a great sense of the time and place (1977 Laos). The mysteries were interesting and kept my interest and it set up some interesting story lines for future books in the series. ( )

These are so good. Am still chewing on the ending, not sure if I'm happy with it. ( )

Dr. Siri and the Coup d'état
Review of the Knopf Canada hardcover edition (August 21, 2007) of the Soho Crime hardcover original (August 1, 2007)

I was late to the party and started my reading of Colin Cotterill's quirky Laos chief coroner Dr. Siri Paiboun mysteries with the 15th and supposed (I never rule out the possibility of continuations) final book "The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot" (2020). Luckily, my friend Karan had several of the earliest books to lend me and I was fortunately able to start the series from the beginning. I am continuing now with the rest of the books in order as best as I am able to source them from the Toronto Public Library.

Anarchy and Old Dogs is the 4th book of the series and finds Dr. Siri attempting to prevent a coup d'état on the still rather shaky Lao government. The plan is discovered through the accidental death of a blind dentist who was carrying a cryptographic letter. Dr. Siri and his old friend & colleague Civilai head to the south where Siri meets an old friend at her noodle stand while they attempt to uncover further details of the coup plot. Inspector Phosy and Nurse Dtui go undercover in Thailand and Attendant Deung is still recovering from his travails in Disco for the Departed. It is another widespread investigation for the team that ends with a surprise twist and a hint of a romantic future for Siri.

This series continues to delight with its overviews of Lao lifestyles and culture, the human persistence in the face of bureaucratic & totalitarian incompetence and Dr. Siri's unique investigative methods that combine spiritual perception with common sense intuition. I've already sourced #5 in the series, Curse of the Pogo Stick (2008), thanks to the holds system at the Toronto Public Library. ( )