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Anarchy and Old Dogs Hardcover – August 1, 2007

by Colin Cotterill (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,018 ratings
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A blind retired dentist has been run down by a logging truck on the street in Vientiane just opposite the post office. His body is duly delivered to the morgue of Dr. Siri Paiboun, the official and only coroner of Laos. At the age of seventy-four, Dr. Siri is too old to be in awe of the new communist bureaucrats for whom he now works. He identifies the corpse, helped by the letter in the man’s pocket. But first he must decipher it; it is written in code and invisible ink. The dentist’s widow explains that the enigmatic letters and numbers describe chess moves, but they are unlike any chess symbols Siri has previously encountered. With the help of his old friend, Civilai, now a senior member of the Laos politburo; Nurse Dtui (“Fatty”); Phosy, a police officer; and Aunt Bpoo, a transvestite fortune-teller, Dr. Siri solves the mystery of the note and foils a plot to overthrow the government of Laos.
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Previous page
  1. Book 4 of 15
    Dr. Siri Paiboun Mysteries
  2. Print length
    288 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Soho Crime
  5. Publication date
    August 1, 2007
  6. Dimensions
    5.25 x 1 x 7.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    156947463X
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1569474631
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1970s Communist Laos, Cotterill's delightful fourth novel to feature Dr. Siri Paiboun, the Laotian national coroner and one of the more eccentric characters in crime fiction, and Paiboun's clever assistant, Nurse Dtui (after 2006's Disco for the Departed), nicely blends the supernatural, humor and intrigue. This time, their trials and tribulations begin with the death of Dr. Buagaew, a blind dentist hit by a truck. When blank papers are found on the dentist's body, Paiboun quickly discovers encoded writing in invisible ink. Aided by his friends, police officer Phosy and politburo member Civilai, Paiboun follows up on a number of clues and discovers that the code describes a series of chess moves. A trip to the southern Laotian city of Pakse draws him deeper into a complex political intrigue. Adding local color is Auntie Bpoo, a fortune-teller transvestite who predicts Paiboun will soon betray his country. This sometimes slapstick, sometimes serious, but always lively mystery is sure to bring the author many new readers. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Two years after the Pathet Lao takeover, there is already a plot afoot to overthrow the Communist government of Laos. Or at least that's what the death of a blind dentist suggests to national coroner Siri Paiboun. With a fellow old revolutionary in tow, Dr. Siri follows his secret investigation to Pakse, where the coup might be percolating. It's a city even more down-at-the-heels than Vientiane, where "the government was starting to look like a depressingly unloved relative" bogged down in bureaucracy. Although the action is sparse, this ranks as the most thoughtful entry in a fine series. And while the good doctor doesn't encounter as many spirits as usual, he does confront the ghosts of an idealistic movement brought low by incompetence and Vietnamese meddling. Is an imperfect revolution preferable to royalist oppression? How much time should the government have to gets its act together? Siri addresses these questions with aplomb even as he and the delightful Nurse Dtui face such dramatic changes in their love lives that even the transvestite fortune-teller Auntie Bpoo might find them outlandish beyond belief. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soho Crime; First Edition (August 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 156947463X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1569474631
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,018 ratings

About the author

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Colin Cotterill

Colin Cotterill

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Colin Cotterill is the author of the Dr. Siri series of novels. Born in London, he has taught in Australia, the USA and Japan and lived for many years in Laos where he worked for non-governmental social service organizations. He now writes full-time and lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,018 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

L. J. Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars Right up there with "The Coroner's Lunch" in its quality. I highly recommend it
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2012
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First Sentence: The post office box was eighteen across, twelve down, and it had a loop of wool around the door so Dr. Buagaew wouldn't miss it.

A blind man, killed when hit by a bus, is carrying an envelope containing an apparently blank sheet of paper. Not only is it not blank, but it could have dire consequences for the country. Dr. Siri travels to a small village where a governor's deputy died from electrocution in his bath. Was it assassination, suicide, accident or murder? A small boy has apparently drowned, but his body looks unusual. It is up to Siri, and his friends, to resolve these issues.

Anarchy and Old Dogs draws you in from its very compelling opening and never once do you think of stopping. His descriptions are poetic and evocative..."The drought had wrung every last tear of moisture from the sad earth."

His characters are unique and charming. Dr. Siri, the 73-year-old coroner, imagines himself as Georges Simenon's protagonist Inspector Maigret--and is occasionally referred to by others as "Inspector Migraine"--yet when he solves a case in very short order "...he was still a little upset that he hadn't been given the opportunity to eliminate the suspects one by one through the magic of dactyloscopy." Accompanying him on this venture are this friend Civilai and the faithful Nurse Dtui.

One thing that makes this book particularly interesting is that there is very little of the supernatural element, which was part of the previous books. There are fascinating descriptions of Siri's dreams and the delightful character Auntie Bpoo, a transvestite fortune teller. Siri and Civilai, of whose background we finally learn, are much more introspective than in the past.

This is a more serious book dealing with a period of history about which I knew nothing. I very much appreciate that Cotterill doesn't leave his reader floundering but incorporated historic information into the story in a way that added to it, rather than distracted the reader from it.

Colin Cotterill is one of the delights of reading mysteries. The style of his writing charms me, as does his dialogue and philosophies "As our age...you go for the small things and do them as well as you can."

"Anarchy and Old Dogs" is right up there with "The Coroner's Lunch" in its quality. I highly recommend it, but do start at the beginning of the series.

ANARCHY AND OLD DOGS (Mys-Dr. Siri Paiboun-Laos-1977) - Ex
Cotterill, Colin - 4th in series
Soho Crime - ©2007
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meymoon
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written and interesting, but you have to suspend disbelief
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2014
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The entire Dr. Siri series is quite well written. Almost every book has a very good story line. The characters are very well developed and the mysteries are well thought out and fun to read.

Partly because these series take place in an Eastern country (Laos) there is that whole supernatural element to them. The main character (Dr. Siri) hosts a thousand year old Shaman in his body. Now, if you can't get over having to accept that, you should definitely skip reading these books because that part is central to all of them. I thought that it might bother me but the way the author introduces this fact and weaves it into the story, makes you kind of just go with it. I now find that it doesn't bother me at all and in fact, adds to the story.

Ironically, what's more unbelievable for me is that a 73 year old can do all the things Dr. Siri does, suffer such horrible injuries and just keep going. Having parents in that age range, it seems to me very unlikely that people of that age could bounce back so quickly from all the various injuries Dr. Siri sustains.

Be that as it may, these books are all definitely worth reading. Not only are they great stories, they have taught me so much about Laos, it's culture and its history, something I knew absolutely nothing about. I read some reviews saying that the books are propaganda or re-writing of history. My thought is that you read historical fiction to get a feel for the country, culture, habits, etc., and if you want an accurate history, you read a few historical books and make up your own mind. This author's portrayal of the US-Laos conflict is not God's word and I don't think he expects it to be!

Overall, I recommend this entire series.
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Happy Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars What Would You Do If You Uncovered a Plot to Overthrow the Government?
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2012
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Best friends, Dr. Siri Paiboun, Laos National Coroner, and Politburo Comrade Civalai, decide to investigate the possible plot on their own. Maybe not totally realistic, but then they are operating under very different circumstances than we'd be. For them, it's Laos in 1977, two years into the newly minted governance of the People's Revolutionary Party. Siri and Civalai are true, albeit realistic, believers in the better world that communism promises, compared to the overlording of the deposed King and his French backers.

And how did they get to the point of putting themselves in danger with their snooping? A blind dentist, on his way to the bus stop from the post office, stepped in front of an out-of-control truck. And Siri is incapable of simply reporting the official cause of death. He has to figure out why the heck this blind dentist took a bus from another town to pick up an envelope with nothing in it but a blank sheet of paper.

I love Colin Cotterill's writing. It's funny and intelligent and enormously descriptive. Here, Siri welcomes the dentist to the morgue: [The accident victim] "was being borne on an old Halls Menthol Cough Drop advertising billboard, used as a litter, by two young policemen. The billboard had also been a victim of the truck. The officers wore unmatching, ill-fitting uniforms. As they entered, Siri looked at their boyish faces and noted how narrow the gap was becoming between puberty and authority."

Two people enter Siri's life in "Anarchy and Old Dogs", one new, one renewed. The new is Auntie Bpoo, a transvestite fortune teller who is even more cryptic than Siri's dreams of the dead.

The renewed is Madame Daeng, owner of a noodle shop renowned for its exquisite entrees. Siri first met Daeng "thirty-seven years years earlier at the southern youth camp where he and his wife, Boua, were serving with the Free Lao movement. Daeng had been their cook. At first that was all the remarkable young woman had done, but she soon demonstrated skills and determination far beyond the wok." Boua has been dead some years now, and seeing their close friend Daeng again, after years of losing touch, makes Siri feel 18 again.

Recommended book in a highly recommended series. If you can, start with the first in the series:
 The Coroner's Lunch
Though each mystery is stand-alone, there is back story that develops over each book, and you may, like me, grow to love the irascible, funny, very human characters.

Happy Reader
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Top reviews from other countries

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Klaus Testman
5.0 out of 5 stars Laos ohne Dr. Siri zu besuchen geht nicht
Reviewed in Germany on December 18, 2019
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Diese Bücher beschreiben auf eine tolle spannende Art das Leben und kulturell-politische Hintergünde von Laos. Aus dem Bucherlös erhalten junge Menschen in Laos Stipendien, mit denen sie verpflichtet werden, in ihren Heimatdörfen als Lehrer zu arbeiten. Super Idee, um Bildung zu fördern.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars funny and well worth reading
Reviewed in Canada on August 13, 2017
Verified Purchase
Im an avid reader of mysteries and literally stumbled on this series while looking for another book. The reviews were positive so i decided to take a chance and im so grateful. This is the third book I've read in the serreies and each have offered unique insight into the country, people and politics of Laos. The books are well written, funny and well worth reading.
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Lois Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasure to read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2018
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The dr Siri books are a pleasure to read and really invoke a picture of Laos 🇱🇦, these always make me really hungry as the descriptions of the food are so inviting.
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Sylvie Dideron
5.0 out of 5 stars Je n'ai encore jamais été déçue par une aventure du Dr Siri
Reviewed in France on November 15, 2016
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Le charme du Laos opère toujours à travers les personnages créés par Colin Cotterill. Je lis toujours un épisode quand je suis au Laos et plus d'un personne que je rencontre pourrait bien faire partie d'une aventure du Dr Siri. L'écriture de Colin Cotterill est riche et précise. C'est un plaisir de lire la version originale.
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Will Kelsall
4.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly good mysteries with a Laotian setting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2021
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I love the Dr Siri mysteries...... if you haven't read one, do so.... and you'll be hooked!!
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