Audiobooks by Colin Cotterill

The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot Audiobook

Laos, 1981: When an unofficial mailman drops off a strange bilingual diary, Dr. Siri is intrigued. Half is in Lao, but the other half is in Japanese, which no one Siri knows can read; it appears to have been written during the Second World War. Most mysterious of all, it comes with a note stapled to it: Dr. Siri, we need your help most urgently. But who is we, and why have they left no return address? To the chagrin of his wife and friends, who have to hear him read the diary out loud, Siri embarks on an investigation by examining the text. Though the journal was apparently written by a kamikaze pilot, it is surprisingly dull. Twenty pages in, no one has died, and the pilot never mentions any combat at all. Despite these shortcomings, Siri begins to obsess over the diarys abrupt ending and the riddle of why it found its way into his hands. Did the kamikaze pilot ever manage to get off the ground? To find out, he and Madame Daeng will have to hitch a ride south and uncover some of the darkest secrets of the Second World War.

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafer (Narrator)

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Don't Eat Me

Between getting into a tangle with a corrupt local judge, and discovering a disturbing black-market business, Dr. Siri and his friend Inspector Phosy have their hands full in the thirteenth installment of Colin Cotterill's quirky, critically acclaimed series. Dr. Siri Paiboun, the ex-national coroner of Laos, may have more experience dissecting bodies than making art, but when he manages to smuggle a fancy movie camera into the country he devises a plan to shoot a Lao adaptation of War and Peace with his friend Civilai. The only problem? The Ministry of Culture must approve the script before they can get rolling. That and they can't figure out how to turn on the camera. Meanwhile, the skeleton of a woman has appeared under the Anusawari Arch in the middle of the night. Siri puts his directorial debut on hold and assists his friend, the newly promoted Senior Police Inspector Phosy Vongvichai, with the ensuing investigation. Though the death of the unknown woman seems to be recent, the flesh on her corpse has been picked off in places as if something-or someone-has been gnawing on the bones. The plot Phosy soon uncovers involves much more than single set of skeletal remains.

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafer (Narrator)

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The Rat Catchers' Olympics

1980: The Democratic People's Republic of Laos is proud to be competing in its first-ever Olympics. Of course, half the world is boycotting the Moscow Summer Olympic Games to protest Russia's recent invasion of Afghanistan, but that has made room for athletes from countries that are usually too small or underfunded to be competitive-countries like Laos. Ex-national coroner of Laos Dr. Siri Paiboun may be retired, but he and his wife, Madame Daeng, would do just about anything to have a chance to visit Moscow, so Siri finagles them the job of medical oversight for the Olympians. Most of the athletes are young and innocent village people who have never worn shoes, never mind imagined anything as marvelous as the Moscow Olympic Village. As the competition heats up, however, Siri begins to suspect that one of the athletes is not who he says he is. Fearing a conspiracy, Siri and his friends investigate, liaising in secret with Inspector Phosy back home in Laos to see if the man might be an assassin. But Siri's progress is derailed when another Lao Olympian is accused of murder. Now in the midst of a murky international incident, Dr. Siri must navigate not one but two paranoid and secretive government machines to make sure justice is done

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafer, Clive Chafers (Narrator)

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I Shot the Buddha

A fiendishly clever mystery in which Dr. Siri and his friends investigate three interlocking murders-and the ungodly motives behind them Laos, 1979: Retired coroner Siri Paiboun and his wife, Madame Daeng, have never been able to turn away a misfit. As a result, they share their small Vientiane house with an assortment of homeless people, mendicants, and oddballs. One of these oddballs is Noo, a Buddhist monk, who rides out on his bicycle one day and never comes back, leaving only a cryptic note in the refrigerator: a plea to help a fellow monk escape across the Mekhong River to Thailand. Naturally, Siri can't turn down the adventure, and soon he and his friends find themselves running afoul of Lao secret service officers and famous spiritualists. Buddhism is a powerful influence on both morals and politics in Southeast Asia. In order to exonerate an innocent man, they will have to figure out who is cloaking terrible misdeeds in religiosity.

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafer (Narrator)

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Six and a Half Deadly Sins

Laos, 1979: Dr. Siri Paiboun, the twice retired ex-National Coroner of Laos, receives an unmarked package in the mail. Inside is a handwoven pha sin, a colorful traditional skirt worn in northern Laos. A lovely present, but who sent it to him, and why? And, more importantly, why is there a severed human finger stitched into the sin's lining? Siri is convinced someone is trying to send him a message and won't let the matter rest until he's figured it out. He finagles a trip up north to the province where the sin was made, not realizing he is embarking on a deadly scavenger hunt. Meanwhile, the northern Lao border is about to erupt into violence—and Dr. Siri and his entourage are walking right into the heart of the conflict.

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafers (Narrator)

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Six and a Half Deadly Sins

Colin Cotterill, one of Soho's bestselling authors, returns with a signature dark, witty mystery set in 1970s Communist Laos As an escalating war edges into Communist Laos, feisty septugenarian ex-national coroner Dr. Siri Paiboun is preoccupied with another matter: tracing a mysterious message he's received in the form of a severed finger. One of Soho Crime's all-time bestselling series, always widely and well-reviewed (Love Songs from a Shallow Grave was NYTCrime Novel of the Year). Full of dark comedy, offbeat characters, and poignant depiction of Laos at a moment of political upheaval--very different from anything else out there. Follows a paperback repackage of the entire series with a fresh new look, including a $9.99 Passport to Crime edition of The Coroner's Lunch. Colin has a huge fan base--a legitimate cult favorite series. Praise for The Woman Who Wouldn't Die 'Laughter is a subversive weapon when you live under a repressive regime. That's the take-away lesson from Colin Cotterill's gravely funny novels set in Indochina in the 1970s.'--The New York Times Book Review 'The latest Dr. Paiboun novel by Colin Cotterill, showcases both author and detective at the top of their games. It's an entertaining and captivating mystery underpinned by a fascinating exploration of the tangled history of Laos.'--Christian Science Monitor Series Overview: 72-year-old Dr. Siri Paiboun is less than enthusiastic in 1974 when the new Communist government of Laos pulls him out of retirement to become the National Coroner. Siri, who has no forensic background, about this honor. But soon he realizes his new position puts him in the unique position of identifying murder victims. Author Bio:Colin Cotterill is the Dilys Award-winning author of nine other books in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series: The Coroner's Lunch, Thirty-Three Teeth, Disco for the Departed, Anarchy and Old Dogs, Curse of the Pogo Stick, The Merry Misogynist, Love Songs from a Shallow Grave, Slash and Burn, and The Woman Who Wouldn't Die. He lives in Chumphon, Thailand, with his wife and six deranged dogs. Residence: Chumphon, Thailand Hometown: London, England

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafer (Narrator)

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The Axe Factor

Since Jimm Juree moved, under duress, with her family to a rural village on the coast of Southern Thailand, she has missed her career as a journalist. In Chiang Mai, she was covering substantial stories and major crimes. But here in Maprao, Jimm has to scrape assignments from the local online journal, the Chumphon Gazette. This time they are sending her out to interview a local farang (European) writer, Conrad Coralbank, who writes award-winning crime novels. At the same time, several local women have left town without a word to anyone, leaving their possessions behind. These include the local doctor, Dr. Sumlak, who never returned from a conference, and the Thai wife of the aforementioned Conrad Coralbank. All of which looks a little suspicious, especially to Jimm's grandfather, an ex-cop who notices Coralbank's interest in Jimm with a very jaundiced eye. And now a major storm is brewing. Who knows what it will blow in for Jimm and her family?

Colin Cotterill (Author), Kim Mai Guest (Narrator)

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The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die

The long-awaited follow-up to Slash and Burn and the ninth installment in Colin Cotterill’s bestselling mystery series starring the inimitable Lao national coroner, Dr. Siri In a small Lao village, a very strange thing has happened. A woman was shot and killed in her bed during a burglary; she was given a funeral and everyone in the village saw her body burned. Then, three days later, she was back in her house as if she’d never been dead at all. But now she’s clairvoyant and can speak to the dead. That’s why the long-dead brother of a Lao general has enlisted her to help his brother uncover his remains, which have been lost at the bottom of a river for many years. Lao national coroner Dr. Siri Paiboun and his wife, Madame Daeng, are sent along to supervise the excavation. It could be a kind of relaxing vacation for them, maybe, except Siri is obsessed with the pretty, undead medium’s special abilities, and Madame Daeng might be a little jealous. She doesn’t trust the woman for some reason. Is her hunch right? What is the group really digging for at the bottom of this remote river on the Thai border? What war secrets are being covered up? “Laughter is a subversive weapon when you live under a repressive regime. That’s the take-away lesson from Colin Cotterill’s gravely funny novels set in Indochina in the 1970s.”—New York Times Book Review

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach

How do you respond when you wake up to find a severed head on your resort-front beach in the morning? If you're frustrated ex-crime reporter Jimm Juree, you take action. With her former cop grandfather as back up, she sets out to discover how the poor fellow ended up where he did, and why. On their journey, with the rest of their disjointed family in tow, they uncover gruesome tales of piracy and slavery, violence and murder in the Gulf of Thailand. Are the authorities uninterested because they're involved, or because the victims aren't Thai? Whatever the reason, Jimm and her team are going it alone and their lives are under threat. And who exactly are those two elegant women in cabin three and why has the engine number of their car been filed away? Airport hostages and hand grenades, monkeys and naked policemen, once more the sublime and the ridiculous clash at the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant.

Colin Cotterill (Author), Kim Mai Guest (Narrator)

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Slash and Burn: The Dr. Siri Investigations, Book 8

Dr. Siri might finally be allowed to retire (again). Although he loves his two morgue assistants, he's tired of being Laos' national coroner-a job he never wanted in the first place. Plus, he's pushing eighty and wants to spend some time with his wife before his untimely death, which has been predicted by the local transvestite fortune teller. But retirement is not in the cards for Dr. Siri after all. He's dragged into one last job for the Lao government: supervising an excavation for the remains of a US fighter pilot who went down in the remote northern Lao jungle ten years earlier. The presence of American soldiers in Laos is a hot-button issue for both the Americans and the Lao involved, and the search party includes high-level politicians and scientists. When a member of the party is found dead, a chain of accidents that Dr. Siri suspects are not completely accidental is set off. Everyone is trapped in a cabin in the jungle, and the bodies are starting to pile up. Can Dr. Siri get to the bottom of the MIA pilot's mysterious story before the fortune teller's prediction comes true? Praise for the Dr. Siri Paiboun series: "A series of terrifically beguiling detective novels steeped in local color and history."-New York Times Book Review

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafer (Narrator)

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The Merry Misogynist

In 1978 in poverty-stricken Laos, a man from the city with a truck was somebody—a catch for even the prettiest village virgin. The corpse of one of these bucolic beauties turns up in Dr. Siri's morgue, and his curiosity is piqued. The victim was tied to a tree and strangled, but she had not, as the doctor had expected, been raped. And though the victim had smooth, pale skin over most of her body, her hands and feet were gnarled, callused, and blistered. "It is part of Colin Cotterill's skill that he grips the reader by intercutting between the cerebral deductions of Siri and the determined planning of the killer…Tight plotting and a background full of the sounds and color of the Orient make this a fascinating read."—Independent (London) On a trip to the hinterlands, Siri discovers that many women have been killed in this way. He sets out to investigate this unprecedented phenomenon—a serial killer in peaceful Buddhist Laos—only to discover, when he has identified the murderer, that not only pretty maidens are at risk: seventy-three-year-old coroners can be victims too.

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafer (Narrator)

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Curse of the Pogo Stick: The Dr. Siri Investigations, Book 5

In Vientiane, Laos, a booby-trapped corpse intended for Dr. Siri, the national coroner, has been delivered to the morgue. In his absence, only Nurse Dtui's intervention saves the lives of the morgue attendants, visiting doctors, and Madame Daeng, Dr. Siri's fianc'e. On his way back from a Communist Party meeting in the north, Dr. Siri is kidnapped by seven female Hmong villagers under the direction of the village elder so that he will'in the guise of Yeh Ming, the thousand-year-old shaman with whom he shares his body'exorcise the headman's daughter, whose soul is possessed by a demon, and lift the curse of the pogo stick. 'Like Dr. Siri, Colin Cotterill has a touch of magic about him.''Boston Globe

Colin Cotterill (Author), Clive Chafer (Narrator)

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