Book 3 in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series about a 73 year old National Coroner in 1970s communist Laos, who is also a shaman.

The writing is good, and the books are heart warming, funny and life affirming.

This book is about connections to Siri's past. He and nurse Dtui have been sent to investigate a corpse found in a concrete walkway leading from a war time hide out cave to the President's Villa. In the mountains in Huaphan province the party leaders hid in caves during the war. Once they won they all built fancy houses in front of each of their caves. There is also a hospital cave and a military cave where soldiers were billeted. The military cave has a big open area and a stage.

Laos has signed an agreement with Vietnam and in a week all the high party officials from both countries are coming for a celebration in the military cave. Siri must clear up the strange death before the officials arrive.

Siri ends up dealing with a Cuban doctor he knew during the war, who oversees the hospital, because the dead man appears to be a black Cuban. There is a strong feeling of dark magic, the Cuban version of Voodoo.

They are involved in unraveling events that happened during the war, and other bodies are located. They also have a case of possession among the ethnic minority Hmong.

While Siri and Dtui are away, the judge in charge of the department has Mr. Geung kidnapped. He has soldiers take him and drive 300 miles away to put him to work in a unit doing dangerous work fighting insurgents. The judge hates Mr. Geung and thinks he is a moron and a poor representative of his department.

This book is focused on Mr. Geung and developing his character as he is misplaced by the soldiers and starts back to Vientiane on foot. Although he is limited because of his Down's Syndrome he is very good at specific tasks and knowledge. He cares deeply about his promise to Siri to watch the morgue in his absence. He is motivated by his responsibilities and his deep feeling for his morgue family. We get to follow his journey back to the city and the adventures he has along the way.

Another wonderful entry in the series. I can't wait to finish reading the next ones. ( )

The year is 1977 and Laos is about to sign a big much publicised treaty with Vietnam in just a few days time. Dr Siri Paiboun, Laos' 73 year old rather reluctant coroner, has been summoned to revolutionary headquarters in the north east where the treaty is to be signed because, rather inconveniently, a mummified arm is protruding from a concrete path in the President's compound.

Dr Siri and his assistant Nurse Dtui are normally to be found running the morgue at Mahosot hospital in Vientiane. They have come away leaving their Downs Syndrome assistant Mr Geung in charge of the morgue. Recently Dr Siri has discovered that he hosts the spirit of an ancient Hmong shaman called Yeh Ming. The discovery has helped to explain his ability to communicate with the souls of the departed, but it does mean there are times when Siri has a problem distinguishing the supernatural from reality. On the other hand his supernatural "abilities" often play a far greater role in solving mysteries than his coronial skills do.

DISCO FOR THE DEPARTED is a rather quirky mixture of sleuthing and the supernatural, together with gobbets of Laotian culture and Communist history. Dr Siri's own acceptance of his shamanism means that the Western reader who would perhaps not normally accept this view of the world have no problem in accepting its role. Read more.

This is the third in this delightful but different series, the other two titles being THE CORONER'S LUNCH and THIRTY-THREE TEETH. There is just enough of the back-story from the two earlier novels recounted in DISCO FOR THE DEPARTED, although both of the other titles are also worth looking for.

Titles to look for in the Dr. Siri series
THE CORONER'S LUNCH (2004)
THIRTY THREE TEETH (2005)
DISCO FOR THE DEPARTED (2006)
ANARCHY & OLD DOGS (2007) ( )

Third in the Laotian mystery series featuring 73-year-old national coroner Dr. Siri Paiboun. Dr. Siri and his nurse Dtui travel north to investigate the case of a body trapped in cement for approximately five months. How did it come to be there, and was it murder? They (or rather, the young head of security, Lit, at the compound where they’re headed) need to solve the case before the president arrives there for a concert the following week. The body was that of a Cuban, and it seems he was alive when he went into the cement. Dr. Siri’s mystical bent continues, when he hears and feels a nightly disco dance in the concert hall—when he investigates, he sees it as well, with many spirits participating. Meanwhile, Mr. Geung, Dr. Siri’s morgue assistant who has Down’s Syndrome and was left behind to mind the morgue, is kidnapped by a Communist Party official (“it doesn’t look good having a retard working in such an important post’) and removed to a labor camp. While Siri and Dtui are laboring up north, Mr. Geung escapes his captors makes the 300-kilometer trek back home, quite an interesting feat for someone who can’t read and has limited mental capability. But he promised Dr. Siri to look after the morgue in his absence and he means to keep the promise! What a lovely series and a great way to end the month! ( )

This is the latest in the best mystery series I've read in a long time. The author deftly weaves a story of communism/capitalism, the living/spirits, and one man who must make sense of it all. ( )

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/node/... ( )