The second in a series of mysteries set in Laos in the 1970s and featuring the reluctant Laotian chief Coroner, Dr Siri Paiboun.
This time he's called upon to solve a series of vicious killings in his home town of Vientiane and to investigate a mystery in the former royal capital of Luang Prabang.
It's almost impossible not to compare these books to Alexander McCall Smith's No1 Ladies Detective Agency books. Cotterill has rather more in the way of plot and his characters are perhaps slightly less gentle than McCall Smith's, but I suspect that most fans of Mma Ramotswe will like Dr Siri too.
I look forward to getting hold of the third book in this series.
