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The Coroner’s Lunch (A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery), by Colin Cotterill

I have been trying to read some books outside of my usual themes, and this one is interesting! I like mysteries, and I really enjoy discovering a new series. This one will take me a while to work through, so I’m looking forward to it. I don’t usually read a lot of historical fiction, and I do not have a lot of experience in reading books set in Southeast Asia – but this is a really interesting look at a period in time and a place I know only from news stories.

From Amazon: “Laos, 1978: Dr. Siri Paiboun, a 72-year-old medical doctor, has unwillingly been appointed the national coroner of the new socialist Laos. His lab is underfunded, his boss is incompetent, and his support staff is quirky, to say the least. But Siri’s sense of humor gets him through his often frustrating days. When the body of the wife of a prominent politician comes through his morgue, Siri has reason to suspect the woman has been murdered. To get to the truth, Siri and his team face government secrets, spying neighbors, victim hauntings, Hmong shamans, botched romances, and other deadly dangers. Somehow, Siri must figure out a way to balance the will of the party and the will of the dead.”