Book Review: The Merry Misogynist

Reviewed By: Lynn Harnett

The Merry Misogynist     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Colin Cotterill
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Forensics   Historical
Series: Dr. Siri Paiboun # 6
Soho, August 2009
Mystery, Laos, historical

Dr. Siri Paiboun, now in his mid-70s in 1978, the third year of the communist Pathet Lao government, is still Laos’ chief and only state coroner in this 6th appearance. Though his desire for retirement remains unfulfilled, he has at long last found wedded bliss.

Noodle seller Madame Daeng, 66, is a partisan comrade from the old days. Both are now a bit disillusioned, with the country suffering shortages of everything except bombast and repression. Madame Daeng enthusiastically joins Siri in his wish for a tranquil life and his unwillingness to suffer officious, puffed-up government bureaucrats, like the housing official standing on Madame Daeng’s doorstep trying to catch Siri in the act of living there.

Various people in need (from previous adventures) occupy Siri’s assigned abode, and the housing man is eager to advance himself by recouping the house for the state and throwing its inhabitants out on the street. Siri, with a spirited mix of cunning and good-natured defiance, born of his years of experience, stays several steps ahead of the housing campaign while investigating a particularly gruesome murder and hunting for Crazy Rajid, a recurring character who is homeless, virtually silent, unpredictable and missing.

This three-pronged plot engages Siri’s professional, private and spiritual sides. As a reincarnated shaman, spirits visit or torment him from time to time and he sees dead people – and animals - their messages frustratingly cryptic.

But the mysteries of the girl in his morgue are chillingly of this world – strangled, violated, tied naked to a tree. The strangulation alone is disturbing as many Lao believe that “if a person was holding a body when the life drained from it, that person was likely to provide a conduit for the spirit of the corpse and be haunted for all eternity.” And then Siri discovers this girl was not the first victim – and will not be the last.

Urgency disrupts Siri’s normal routines. The lives of Rajid and some yet unknown innocent girl depend upon his swift progress, as does the well being of his houseguests, while the paranoia and red-tape of bureaucracy throw roadblocks in his path. But to Siri those very hindrances can be an investigative aid as well.

Cotterill weaves in the killer’s point of view, as is common in thrillers, but doesn’t really seem necessary here. Still, it doesn’t harm the story and does give us a creepy picture of a tormented, misogynist killer.

Fans will find themselves at home with the usual fine cast; newcomers will not feel like strangers for long. Witty, beguiling, spiritual, very funny, and suspenseful, this series continues to occupy a class all its own.

Lynn Harnett

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Lynn Harnett

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