Not what you're expecting!

Set in Laos during their time as a communist nation, the main character is forced to move from being a surgeon to being a coroner. Reluctant, he has little choice. However, what makes it worse is when he starts being visited by the dead in the night. This magic realism is then coupled with a thriller type crime plot when some dead Vietnamese bodies turn up who seem to have been tortured by the Laos state. Unexpected and enjoyable!

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2 people found this helpful

laos 1972

Any additional comments?

dr siri having spent his life healing the sick finds himself at the age of 72 filling the post of coroner dealing with dead people in more ways than one.<br/.
well written with good characterisation and superbly performed by gareth armston I really enjoyed this first book in the series. the humour added to the enjoyment.

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Very interesting and different

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in different cultures and likes a good detective come ghost story. I really liked the characters, too often in a book characters are two dimensional not in this one. I will listen to it again as I am sure I missed some nuances the first time round

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unusual and captivating

a reluctant coroner in the new communist state provides an interesting setting for a good story. excellent listening material.

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I'm not sure when or why I bought this book but...

On the face of it, this is not the sort of book that I would normally buy sonI was surprised to find it in my library.

I started to listen to try to remember what had induced me to buy, certainly the write up did not suggest I would be interested.

Once I stated however I really enjoyed it. The characters were interesting and their interactions realistic. I loved the dry wit and verbal interplay and this made up for the less believable elements of the story.

In all I found it a charming book and an enjoyable read.

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not my usual

i was given this book and plesantly supprised. once i got in to the story i really enjoyed it.

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Lovely!

Funny, varied, well read, a great story line.

I really enjoyed this book.

Its a little unusual, but brilliant all the same.

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Worth a try

Came across this by accident, and enjoyed. Well read by GA, although the Viet voices sounded decidedly scottish. Laos is a place that I had not thought off, except as a footnote to the US / Vietnam situation, and I found the novel thought provoking in regard to the idealogical transfer of power to a communist state. I will try more by this author.

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Bravo! Breath of fresh air!

How refreshing to have something original and new. Crime fiction has mushroomed but so much of it is so similar. This is an exotic setting with a delightfully mature protagonist with a history and much wisdom to bring to bear, and with gentle humour. Talented writer so no need for gratuitous violence which mars so many within this genre. The narrator is superb at bringing this story to life.So delighted to have a new literary friend spend time with. No wonder his audience rating is so high on Amazon and he is up for so many book awards.

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