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 The Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Series by Colin Cotterill
Character's Personality: Feisty, sprightly, curious about people, spiritual in a rowdy shamanic way, highly intelligent, and full of fun.
Character's Occupation: Coroner
Character's Culture / Ethnicity: Asian (Laotian)
Character - Other Notable Traits: He's an older gentleman in his 70s who is psychic. Apparently his body houses another spirit besides his own: a reincarnated shaman. So he must grapple throughout the series with his not-yet-fully-understood developing psychic powers.
Location and Time Period: Communist Laos in the late 1970s.
Mystery Subgenre: Cozy
Objectionable Material: Practically nothing. Mild occasional violence if anything.
Series Description: (brought to you by kat impatientreader.com) This is a delightful series. You think it's going to be grim when you hear it's set in Communist Laos – but it's full of whimsical humor, supernatural occurrences, and little or no violence. It offers a vivid, exotic Southeast Asian setting. Among the eccentrics with whom Dr. Paiboun interacts are his brisk, capable nurse Dtui and Geung, an endearing man with Down's Syndrome who serves as his assistant. Often Dr. Paiboun, as the only coroner in Vientiane, must work on several unrelated cases at once, with the emphasis on quirky eccentricities rather than forensic detail. If you liked the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, you will like this highly recommended series: funny, whimsical, and deeply strange!
Series List: Purple date = I've read it. Title links go to Amazon.com product pages.
- The Coroner's Lunch
 (2004)
- Thirty-Three Teeth
 (2005) Dilys Award. Dr. Paiboun pieces together three weird cases: solving a bizarre fatality involving two men and a bicycle, identifying the bodies of some helicopter pilots involved in a hush-hush government project; and tracking down a fanged and possibly supernatural creature preying upon the citizens of Vientiane at night. Detailed review with no plot spoilers here.
- Disco for the Departed
 (2006)
- Anarchy and Old Dogs
 (2007)
- Curse of the Pogo Stick
 (2008)
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