MYSTERY

Six and a Half Deadly Sins: A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery

by Colin Cotterill
Soho Crime. May 2015. 256p. ISBN 9781616955588. $26.95; ebk. ISBN 9781616955595. M
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Cotterill's tenth entry (after The Woman Who Wouldn't Die) in his quirky and always fascinating series opens with the elderly Dr. Siri Paiboun, the former national coroner for Laos, eating lunch with his old friend, Comrade Civilai Songsawat. It is 1978, and Siri has received an unmarked package containing a traditional Laotian pha sin, a skirt woven in a particular pattern, with a finger stitched to the lining. He goes north to the province where the garment was made to investigate. His entourage includes his wife, Daeng, as well as Civilai, and Ugly, the dog. They are given more weavings, each providing extra clues and leading the group on a scavenger hunt of sorts. Murders, drugs, mysticism, thefts, and misdirection soon follow.
VERDICT Besides presenting an intriguing mystery set in an unfamiliar culture, Cotterill compellingly portrays an ancient country in the midst of great transition. Readers who enjoy the Asian mysteries of Eliot Pattinson, Tim Hallinan, and John Burdett will also savor this title.
Reviewed by Viccy Kemp , May 01, 2015
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