Read this for book club - I now understand that this is the last book in the series but it is the first one that I have read. It is possible I would have rated in higher if I had more background on the characters. I did enjoy the characters and liked the writing, I just found parts of the plot confusing and convoluted. I realize that the book is exploring a confusing story, it just made me lose interest at times rather than intriguing me. ( )

historical-fiction, historical-research, historical-setting, historical-places-events, Southeast-Asia, spirits, devils, Japanese-lore, satire, senior-citizens, situational-humor, sly-humor, spiritism, supernatural, superstitions, suspense*****

Once again there are several mysteries to be solved in 1981. Chief Inspector Phosy is tasked with finding out just how a prominent man came to fall off a cliff and gets held hostage for two days along with two of his best men. Dr. Siri and Mme Daeng are off up country to follow a convoluted trail left in a personal journal written half in Japanese and half in Lao. Along the way they come to find out that it is about a Japanese Army pilot during and after WW2 and that it is actually allegorical in nature and reveals the world of Japanese malevolent spirits and devils. This has been a great series and I am sorry to see it end.
I bought the audio and Clive Chafer has been the very adaptable narrator throughout. ( )

Last Case for the Laotian Coroner
Review of the Soho Crime hardcover edition (June 2020)

I'm late to the event here as although this is reported to be the final Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery, it is only the first one that I've read. I only just discovered Thailand based writer Colin Cotterill through his fairly recent series of Jimm Juree Case Files short stories.

Unlike Thailand situated Jimm Juree, the Dr. Siri Paiboun series is based in 1970's - early 1980's Laos, during the years of Pathet Lao Communist Party rule. If that wasn't quirky enough, there is an added magical realism element in that Paiboun interacts with the spirit world and has a guide who helps channel his journeys there through dreams and visions.

Delightful Life has several cases running concurrently. Paiboun and his wife Daeng are tracking down clues from a recovered diary of a World War 2 Japanese pilot who was stationed in Laos as part of a salvage crew. They are also dealing with a mystery of relocating abducted girls to their home villages. Paiboun's friend Inspector Phosy investigates a mysterious death in the hills where his policeman has also gone missing.

This was an entertaining and offbeat mystery with some especially good banter between Dr. Paiboun and his rather formidable wife Paeng. I hope to track down some of the earlier books in the series to get more of the back story. ( )

The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot is being billed as "the last Dr. Siri Mystery." If you aren't familiar with the series that may not mean much to you—but, believe me, the last Dr. Siri is a big deal. Dr. Siri is the retired coroner for Laos, a true believer in socialism, who sees post-war events in his country with a perspective both jaded and hopeful. He also unwillingly travels between our world and the spirit realm,using enigmatic advice from his spiritual guide, a no-longer-living cross-dressing writer of bad verse. All the key characters in this series have similarly unexpected back stories—and all of them have the kind of decency and creativity that leave readers rooting for them.

This series can be read in or out of sequence, but once you start, you'll want to keep going. And you'll be glad there are 15 Dr.Siri mysteries, but sad that apparently there sill be no more.

I received a free electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions are my own. ( )

I was dismayed when I learned that The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot is the last Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery. I love these books, not just for their mysteries, but for the characters, the knowledge I've gained, and their irreverent sense of humor. I do have to be realistic, however. Dr. Siri is in his eighties-- how much longer could we expect him to investigate mysteries?

In this last installment, Inspector Phosy has his own mystery to solve, while their daughter Malee seems to have tied down his wife, Dtui. Another favorite, Mr. Geung, makes an appearance that spotlights one of my favorite things about this series: its respect for all human beings. Geung: "I have ... Down syndrome." Siri: "So? That doesn't make you an idiot." And as all fans of this series know, Geung is not an idiot. Madame Daeng also has time to solve a mystery while Siri works with that diary.

As I followed along with Siri and Daeng, trying my best to figure out what was going on before they did, I enjoyed so many things. The way these two, who have no money, can still afford to travel. The way Cotterill brings 1981 Laos to life for me. (11,000 out of 14,000 motor vehicles in the country had no access to gasoline for instance.) And last but not least, Cotterill's fantastic sense of humor, which can be seen in phrases and sentences like "I hear she has the temper of a rabid Chihuahua" or "...the food was spicy enough to strip the paint off a tank" or even Siri refusing to cooperate with the bad guys by telling them he's suffering from "terminal horripilation".

The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot is a fitting end to this series, but oh, am I going to miss these characters! However, as long as Cotterill keeps on writing, all is not lost. ( )