num_pages: 272
description: Laos, 1978: Dr. Siri Paiboun, a 72-year-old medical doctor, has been unwillingly appointed the national coroner of newly-socialist Laos. Though his lab is underfunded, his boss is incompetent, and his support staff is quirky to say the least, Siri’s sense of humor gets him through his often frustrating days.When the body of the wife of a prominent politician comes through his morgue, Siri has reason to suspect the woman has been murdered. To get to the truth, Siri and his team face government secrets, spying neighbors, victim hauntings, Hmong shamans, botched romances, and other deadly dangers. Somehow, Siri must figure out a way to balance the will of the party and the will of the dead.
language: English
title: The Coroner's Lunch
titlecomplete: The Coroner's Lunch (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #1)
characters: Dr. Siri Paiboun, Chundee Chantavongheuan (Dtui), Civilai, Mr. Geung
genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Historical, Detective, Asia, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Audiobook
ratings_count: 14021
places: Laos, Vientiane
series: Dr. Siri Paiboun
awards: awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Barry Award
category: Best First Novel
publisher: Soho Press