I Shot the Buddha

Starred review from May 30, 2016
In an introductory note, Cotterill warns readers that his highly entertaining 11th novel featuring Laotian coroner Dr. Siri Paiboun (after 2015’s Six and a Half Deadly Sins) is not for those who prefer their “mysteries dull and earthly.” A gripping opening follows, in which three women are murdered in three separate locations over one night in 1979. A flashback to two weeks earlier makes good on Cotterill’s disclaimer. The acerbic Siri and his redoubtable wife, Madam Daeng, who have plenty of experience with the supernatural, attend—and disrupt—a Communist Party seminar condemning spirit worship as part of the regime’s efforts to resolve conflicts between Communism and such faiths as Buddhism and animism. Meanwhile, Noo, a Thai monk whom the doctor has given refuge from the Thai military, vanishes, leaving a note asking Siri to smuggle a fellow monk back to Thailand, a mission that turns out to be connected to the murders of the three women. Cotterill’s subtle humor, coupled with the charm of his leads, will likely trump any discomfort with scenes with supernatural elements, even for readers who disapprove of such in their whodunits.

Starred review from August 1, 2016
Once again, Cotterill plunges readers into the percolating atmosphere of Laos in the 1970s, when communist nation, under the guise of the People's Democratic Republic of Laos, struggled mightily to clamp down on people's beliefs and the increasing tendency of Laotians to flee to Thailand. In this, the eleventh in Cotterill's historical-political-humorous mystery series, Dr. Siri Paiboun, who has been retired twice as the national coroner of Laos, continues to fight his boredom and Party rulers by solving mysteries on his own. Dr. Paiboun is aided and abetted by his wife, Madame Daeng, who operates the best noodle shop in Vientianethis setting alone, where everyone gathers, is key to the couple being in on what's going on and what's being covered up. Cotterill's stunning opening shows three women in separate locations being murdered. The rest of the mystery puts Siri and Madame Daeng on a path to solve crimes that they're not even aware have been committed, but that gradually appear as they transport a monk into Thailand. Cotterill's mysteries are incredibly rich in atmospheric detail and intricate plotting. At times, the narrative can be obscure and meandering, but even off point, Cotterill never fails to engage. This series offers unfailingly satisfying reading, especially so for the glimpses we get into the still-revolutionary characters of Siri and Madame Daeng, both bursting with caustic wit and adventurous spirit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)