Disco for the Departed

The Dr. Siri Investigations, Book 3

By: Colin Cotterill

Narrated by: Clive Chafer

Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Dr. Siri Paiboun is summoned to the mountains of Huaphan Province, where for years the leaders of the current communist government hid in caves, waiting to assume power. Now a major celebration of the new regime is scheduled to take place, but an arm is found protruding from the concrete walk laid from the president’s former cave hideout to his new house beneath the cliffs. Siri must supervise the disinterment of the body attached to the arm, identify it, and determine the cause of death.

The autopsy provides some surprises, but it is his gifts as a shaman that enable the 73-year-old doctor to discover why the victim was buried alive and to identify the killer.

©2006 Colin Cotterill (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Purely entertaining…Elements of the ritualistic killings are pretty gross and the spooks can be scary; but as the author gently points out, life would be dreary without a few thrills.” ( New York Times Book Review)

Great story telling

This was a fun, story that took you down many avenues. An insight into other cultures.

engrossing, whimsical, funny tale with geographic

Engrossing, whimsical, fun tale with a view of the culture and history of Laos in recent times.

Colin Cotterill the great

I love this series. Each book stands alone, but you'd be best advised to start at the beginning, not here, with book three. Unfortunately, the first, "The Coroner's Lunch," is currently unavailable at Audible. What up with that? I've got it in my Audible library. If I could just give it to everyone, I would.

These stories take place three decades after the communist takeover in Laos, after the disaster of the Vietnam War created the problem it was designed to prevent - the spread of an obsolete and cruel ideology. Operating within it is the wonderful Dr. Siri. He knows communism is a failure, but he does his elderly best to be a good man in a bad system. The writing is wonderful, and the stories - all mysteries - are complex, funny and life affirming. They've made me love Laos and its people.

Mostly Good

Overall, I liked this book. Dr. Siri and Nurse Dtui continue to develop as characters. There were times when I had difficulty following the storyline (and I had a devil of a time keeping the foreign doctors straight), but as I continued to listen, things began to make sense.

Two things bothered me about this book. First, the ending (and solution to the mystery) came out of nowhere. If there was any hints to what happened, I completely missed them. Second, the whole storyline of Sung walking back to the morgue went nowhere. I kept thinking it would eventually lead to something, but it never really did. (Where it did lead was unnecessary and could have been left out as well.) I feel like the author felt he had to include Sung in this book, so just wrote stuff.

Favourite tales

I love this series. The serious aspects and grisly events are coated in the delicious humour of Colin Cotterill.
The characters are believable and all blend together so well.
I’m a huge fan.

can't but love it

loveable characters and a setting that has yet to wear thin. what's not to like about that? and excellent voice acting.

Life goes on

it is hard to explain why a series about a 72-year-old French-trained physician working under repressive conditions for a regime he gave his youth to put in power should be so life-affirming. It is hard to explain why the mysticism that underlies the stories and frequently moves the plot should work so well.

So I won't try.

Just be sure to start at the start of the series,The stories actually get better, but the first book helps ground you in the environment that Mr. Cotterill has created..

imaginative sardonic

This book is full of wit and kindness. it is a political satire, a murder mystery and the wonderful commentary on human nature.

Funny and full of fascinating details

What did you love best about Disco for the Departed?

I really enjoy the mixture of medical detail, shamanism, political information and vivid characters. I have now read three of the series and am putting off the treat of the next one, since I want them to last!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot switches back and forth between two different intersecting stories involving the three most familiar characters. Great for listening - the voices were brilliant.

Have you listened to any of Clive Chafer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not necessarily - too much of a good thing

Laos, Cuba, Vietnam and Communist Propaganda 😜

Book three in the series is the best so far in my opinion. Dr. Siri gets his groove on, as every night he begins to hear disco music around midnight in the mountains of Huaphan Province where he has been summonsed to find out about a dead body whose arm was found protruding from a concrete wall. His shaman powers really get a workout in this one, and I was anxious to hear how he would handle each weird circumstance as it arose. As always, I got a good lesson on the ins and outs of Communism, and got a good many chuckles and Dr. Siri beats the government officials at their own game. Kind, generous and wise, Dr. Siri has no desire to escape his current situation, yet he's able to meet each day with grace and stealth. His encouragement and care for Dtui (a nurse who assists him in dissections and autopsies) and the morgue assistant, Mr. Geung, who has Downs Syndrome are a favorite part the book for me. The strange prejudices that existed back then in the 1970s in Laos are surprising, in a place that claimed equality for all. 🙄 Very eye opening. Excellent listen.