The Merry Misogynist - Softcover

Cotterill, Colin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1849160155 ISBN 13: 9781849160155

Publisher: Quercus, 2009

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Somebody in Laos is wooing and wedding country girls - and then killing them on honeymoon and binding their bodies to trees. The horror of what this monster does to his victims leaves a bad taste in the mouths of Dr Siri and his morgue team and they vow revenge. But they're distracted by the disappearance of itinerant Crazy Rajid. Siri has been getting premonitions that he's in danger. A trail of elaborate clues and remarkable disclosures about the Indian's past lead them to Vientiane's most ancient temple - and a terrible discovery. With the reappearance of Dr Siri's four-legged sidekick Saloop, you have to ask, does this series just keep getting better or what?

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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 clich�d 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)

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