loved it. I do object to the fact that the author seems compelled to place his chracters in mortal danger every time, but the mix of mystery, humor and exoticism is irresistable ( )

No. 7 in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series, and the best so far. There's a fair bit of humor in this series, and in this one it's absolutely necessary to counteract the darkness. It's 1978. Lao citizens Dr. Siri and his friend Civilai are invited to attend an embassy affair in neighboring Cambodia/Kampuchea, now under the control of the Khmer Rouge guerillas, who are not the least bit funny. A stark picture of life under Big Brother's thumb emerges as Siri finds himself at odds with a regime that has no respect for human life, rejects the relevance of human feeling, and does not take his lack of cooperation lightly. A much better "read", in my opinion, than the celebrated works of the early 20th century that make the same point. ( )

I love these Dr Siri Paiboune books. Dr Sir is so funny and irreverent towards his country's government.
He should be a retired doctor now, enjoying his golden years, but they forced him to be the country's only coroner.
In the last couple of books, he and Madame daeng have found true love together and gotten married. They're an adorable couple.
In this book, fearless Dr Siri has been taken prisoner by the Cambodian government. I almost feared it was the end for Dr siri, but how could that be, if it's a series!?

In this excerpt, we get a little bit of history about Vientiane, and why there are French buildings there:
".. and there, the old city rotted, strangled by the encroaching jungle, ignored until deep into the 19th century.
Enter the french. Following a treaty with the siamese, the East Bank of the Mekhong was ceded to the Invaders from europe. Vientiane was dug from the forest, replanned and rebuilt in French colonial style. Temples grew around the crippled stupas, and That Luang, the soul of the Lao nation, was recreated from French missionary etchings of the centuries past. The buildings were a confused mismatch of Asian frugality and modern European splendor. It was a typical Southeast Asian City as conceived on a budget on a drawing board in paris. Just as in Saigon and Phnom Penh, the colonists had always known what the locals wanted better than the natives knew themselves. And the children grew up believing that this was their style, their architecture, and they were annoyed that the hokey temples didn't make any attempt to fit in. But there it was, voilà, la nouvelle Vientiane, renamed to accommodate the French inability to pronounce the original name: Viang Chan."

A series of murders, committed with an éPée, the swords that are used in the sport of fencing, involves Dr Siri and his group of friends in searching for clues to who is the murderer: Madame daeng his wife, Nurse Dtui, Civilai his best friend, and Sergeant Phosy, Nurse Dtui's husband.

The rain that's been pouring for days now in Vientiane has let up briefly several chapters into the book, and that's when toads and frogs come pouring out from the riverbanks.
Schoolchildren are picking them up and dumping them in cardboard boxes and sacks to take them home to eat:
"...A lot of the stomach-turning but nutritious Fare once considered the mainstay of the ignorant country folks had made a comeback on the kitchen tables of the city.
Toads, if one remembered to remove the poisonous skin and eggs, tasted vaguely of duck. Pa dtaek, fermented fish sauce, was so pungent it had to be stored in Earthware jars as far from the house as possible. Snakes made an interesting stew. Then there were the little creepy critters: fat white grubs that smelled bad but tasted fabulous, scorpion claws, fried termites, Beetles, grasshoppers, and the absolutely delicious - Michelin five star - red ant eggs, squishy heaven in every bite."
I'm vegan, but this doesn't really gross me out. The fact is, in the future, humans will probably have to eat dead humans. Soylent green. And scorpion claws are just smaller lobster claws. Red ant eggs? Probably just like caviar.

Dr Siri has the spirit of an old shaman stuck inside of him. He has some kind of an amulet that keeps spirits, besides the shaman, at Bay. I have no problem believing in the spirit world:
"... Again he had the sense he was close to a spirit but it was holding back. He wondered if it knew it was on the other side. Some ghosts took a lot of convincing they were dead. He called out, 'I know you're here,' and his words seem to cause some consternation in the afterlife. He caught the briefest of glimpses, no more than a flash, like two people on trains going in opposite directions. And the glimpse he'd been afforded was frightening enough. The spirit was incensed, its face contorted, its middle finger raised. He was mystified."
I've never sensed or seen a human ghost, but pets of mine who have crossed the rainbow bridge, have a habit of jumping up onto my bed, when I'm reading, where they spent years keeping me company.

I love the characters in Colin Cotterill's books, but I especially love Nurse Dtui.
"... Nurse Dtui was at her own desk studying Russian. She hadn't entirely given up hope that one day in the future, she might continue her studies overseas. This éPée case- three women given scholarships - had caused her to wonder how her own course in the Soviet Union might have been progressing if only..
She'd been on her way, tickets booked, woolen hats crocheted, when, wham, she'd been hit head-on by events. A little bit of lust induced by a powerful but foolish crush, a determined sperm, rampant biology, and there she was, with child but without mate. Her sperm donor had felt obliged to do the right thing and she said, 'yes.' Clearly her mistake. Beautiful baby, womanizing husband. One out of two wasn't bad...."
I can relate Nurse Dtui.

Siri is invited as a Laotian official to Cambodia on a diplomatic mission. Something is seriously wrong in the capital of the Khmer Rouge:
"Ambassador Kavinh had heard the Khmer Rouge leaders describe it as an experiment. An experiment in human engineering. But to Siri's ears it was jealousy, pure and simple. They have-nots wiping out the haves. The country poor had swept across the country like a black-suited plague and exterminated the rich and the educated. Then they'd moved against the middle classes, the not-so-rich and the semi-educated. And when there was nobody left to hate, the Khmer Rouge had begun to turn on itself. And here, what was left of the administration, hanging by a threadbare noose. A still kicking corpse, living in fear and paranoia."
This is what they call socialism, but true socialism has never been given a chance. The same as communism.

It was delightful reading the 7th book of the series, and I can't wait to start number 8. ( )

Shivers. Dr. Siri in Cambodia under Pol Pot. I wonder if there were political visits from Laos during that time. The murder investigation thread and Siri's escape were both unlikely but good tales. I was turning pages as quick as I could to help. ( )

I love this series of books and number 7did not disappoint. Siri is as amusing and disrespectful as ever-a wonderful character. In this book the case Siri becomes involved with is secondary to his journey into Cambodia and its consequences. Be prepared for some dark, dark moments. Hopefully it will encourage readers to delve further into what went on in Cambodia during this time-disturbing stuff. Look forward to reading the next one. ( )