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Dr Siri Paiboun, reluctant national coroner of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, is summoned to a remote location in the mountains of Huaphan Province, where for years the leaders of the current government had hidden out in caves, waiting to assume power. Now, as a major celebration of the new regime is scheduled to take place, an arm is found protruding from the concrete walk that had been laid from the President’s former cave hideout to his new house beneath the cliffs. Dr Siri is ordered to supervise the disinterment of the body attached to the arm, identify the corpse, and discover how he died.
"Paiboun's gift for conversing with the dead comes in handy as he endures such strange happenings as nightly disco music only he can hear. This witty and unusual series just keeps getting better." - Publishers Weekly.
"Readers who enjoy Eliot Pattison's Asian thrillers will find that Cotterill shares the same sardonic view of Asian communism mixed with a touch of mysticism, a quality that sets the work of both authors apart from most mystery fare." - Library Journal.
"The supernatural happenings and unfamiliar location, time, and characters demand sophistication on the part of teen readers, but for those eager to explore new territory, the novel offers an excellent alternative to the typical American or British mystery setting." - School Library Journal.
"With its snappy chapter titles and its emphasis on character, this third installment in Cotterill's series will especially appeal to fans returning from earlier episodes." - Kirkus Reviews.
"With such a compelling cast of characters, the twisty mystery comes as a nice bonus." - Booklist.
This information about Disco for the Departed was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Jessica Cotterill
Colin Cotterill was born in London and taught in Australia, the U.S., Laos, and Japan. He works for UNICEF and local nongovernmental agencies to prevent child prostitution and to rehabilitate abused children. He and his wife live in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he teaches at the university.
Cotterill's books include The Coroner’s Lunch, Thirty-Three Teeth, Disco for the Departed, Anarchy and Old Dogs, and Curse of the Pogo Stick, all featuring seventy-three year old Dr. Siri Paiboun, national coroner of Laos. The Dr. Siri series has received a Dilys Award win and a Barry Award nomination. Killed at the Whim of a Hat is the first book in the Jimm Juree Mystery series.
Link to Colin Cotterill's Website
Name Pronunciation
Colin Cotterill: COT-er-ill
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