The Merry Misogynist - Hardcover

Cotterill, Colin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1569475563 ISBN 13: 9781569475560

Publisher: Soho Crime, 2009

Synopsis

Praise for Colin Cotterill:

“[A] series of terrifically beguiling detective novels steeped in local color and history.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A delightfully fresh and eccentric hero.”—John Burdett

“Unpredictable. . . . Tragically funny and magically sublime.”—Entertainment Weekly

“A crack storyteller and an impressive guide to a little-known culture.”—The Washington Post Book World

“This witty and unusual series just keeps getting better.”—Publishers Weekly

“Delightul. A wry, eccentric addition to the genre.”—Booklist (starred review)

Dr. Siri is confronted with a deadly Casanova targeting lovely young women.

In poverty-stricken 1978 Laos, a man with a truck from the city 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, although her flesh had been torn. And though the victim had clear, pale skin over most of her body, her hands and feet were gnarled, callused, and blistered.

On a trip to the hinterlands, Siri discovers that the beautiful female corpse bound to a tree has already risen to the status of a rural myth. This has happened many times before. 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.

About this title

Review

Many a crime fiction reader sighs with resignation when they encounter something over-familiar in the genre they love 'Oh, no!' is the lament, 'Not that plot again!' Or not that kind of character or even locale. Those individuals suffering from such crime fiction fatigue can happily turn to the eccentric and unusual novels of Colin Cotterill, confident in the knowledge that they won’t encounter anything that is clichéd or shop-worn. As his latest book, The Merry Misogynist, reminds us, one can confidently expect that he is quite unlike any other author in the field, delivering quirky, brilliantly plotted (and often hilarious) filigrees of invention that rejuvenate the tired police investigation novel.

As admirers will know, his investigator, the elderly Dr Siri Paiboun, is a truly memorable creation, a dogged, honest official in the often lunatic world of 1970s Laos who (along with his trusty morgue team) painstakingly uncovers the truths behind some elaborately concealed killings. In the new book, girls from the country are being married and then savagely murdered, their bodies tied to trees. In previous cases, Siri has often taken on his assignments reluctantly, but the thought of this ruthless monster cutting a swathe through his victims inspires him to bring all his unorthodox methods to bear in tracking down the killer. But the investigation is almost derailed by a figure called Crazy Rajid. Rajid, a fey figure on the fringes of society, has been experiencing flashes that warn him he is in considerable danger. A dual investigation -- and a sorting out of some baffling and highly misleading clues -- leads Siri and his team into an encounter with dark secrets of the past and a centuries-old temple in Vientiane.

Readers who have enjoyed such delightful earlier entries from Colin Cotterill as Anarchy and Old Dogs and Curse of the Pogo Stick (Cotterill's titles echoes the surrealistic humour of his books) will know what to expect from this latest entry; it’s quite as bizarrely diverting as its predecessors. --Barry Forshaw

Review

'Cotterill's novels have richer plots than Alexander McCall Smith's African detective stories, but the same comic charm' Sunday Times. (Sunday Times)

'Witty dialogue and engaging characters, especially the irrepressible Siri, who becomes more lovable with each appearance. The combination of humour, social commentary and a clever mystery make this one of the most enjoyable books I've read all year' Sunday Telegraph. (Sunday Telegraph)

About this edition

• Publisher: Soho Crime
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1569475563
• ISBN 13: 9781569475560
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 274