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Book Summary and Reviews of Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill

Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill

Thirty-Three Teeth

by Colin Cotterill

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  • Aug 2005, 256 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The national coroner of Laos, Dr. Siri Paiboun, is no respecter of persons or party; at his advanced age he can afford to be independent. With the assistance of his helpers, the mentally retarded Mr. Geung and Nurse Dtui (“Fatty”)—who has dubbed him “Super Spirit Doc”—he elucidates the causes of mysterious deaths. But he also communes with the deposed king, whose special channel to the occult has left him, and attends a conference of shamans called by the Communist government to give the spirits an ultimatum: obey party orders or get out.

Colin Cotterill was born in London in 1952. He has taught in Australia, the United States and Japan and has lived in Thailand, on the Burmese border, and in Laos. For the last several years he has worked for UNICEF and local non-governmental agencies to prevent child prostitution and to rehabilitate abused children. He lives in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Cotterill, who lives in northern Thailand, is a crack storyteller and an impressive guide to a little-known culture." - The Washington Post.

"The elegant, elderly Paiboun seems an unlikely vehicle to carry a series, but he does so with charm and aplomb." - Publishers Weekly.

"Siri's second is as entertaining as his debut. Clever chapter titles put tongue even further in cheek." - Kirkus Reviews.

"... So Siri; his friend, Inspector Phosy; able nurse Dtui; and an old comrade with a high party post must use their considerable wits--and an occasional supernatural assist--to crack the cases. As they do so, readers will crack more than a few smiles." - Booklist.

This information about Thirty-Three Teeth was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Colin Cotterill Author Biography

Photo: Jessica Cotterill

Colin Cotterill was born in London and taught in Australia, the U.S., Laos, and Japan. He works for UNICEF and local nongovernmental agencies to prevent child prostitution and to rehabilitate abused children. He and his wife live in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he teaches at the university.

Cotterill's books include The Coroner’s Lunch, Thirty-Three Teeth, Disco for the Departed, Anarchy and Old Dogs, and Curse of the Pogo Stick, all featuring seventy-three year old Dr. Siri Paiboun, national coroner of Laos. The Dr. Siri series has received a Dilys Award win and a Barry Award nomination. Killed at the Whim of a Hat is the first book in the Jimm Juree Mystery series.

Link to Colin Cotterill's Website

Name Pronunciation
Colin Cotterill: COT-er-ill

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