Between getting into a tangle with a corrupt local judge, and
discovering a disturbing black-market business, Dr. Siri and Inspector
Phosy have their hands full in the thirteenth installment of Colin
Cotterill's quirky, critically acclaimed series.
Dr. Siri Paiboun, the 75-year-old ex-national coroner of Laos, may have
more experience dissecting bodies than making art, but now that he's
managed to smuggle a fancy movie camera into the country, he devises a
plan to shoot a Lao adaptation of War and Peace with his friend
Civilai. The only problem? The Ministry of Culture must approve the
script before they can get rolling. That, and they can't figure out how
to turn on the camera.
Meanwhile, the skeleton of a woman has appeared under the Anusawari Arch
in the middle of the night. Siri puts his directorial debut on hold and
assists his friend Phosy, the newly promoted Senior Police Inspector,
with the ensuing investigation. Though the death of the unknown woman
seems to be recent, the flesh on her corpse has been picked off in
places as if something--or someone--has been gnawing on the bones. The
plot Siri and his friends uncover involves much more than a single set
of skeletal remains.