What do you do when you find a severed head on the beach? With her former cop grandfather as back up, crime reporter Jimm Juree sets out to discover how the poor fellow got there. On their journey they uncover gruesome tales of piracy, slavery, violence and murder, yet the authorities show no interest at all. Is it because the victims aren't Thai? Whatever the reason, Jimm and her team are going it alone. Airport hostages and hand grenades, monkeys and naked policemen - once more the sublime and the ridiculous clash in the Gulf of Thailand.

As usual, all is abnormal in Dr Siri Paiboun's morgue in downtown Vientiane. Siri and his team are investigating the case of the Three Epees: three women skewered by a sword through their hearts. A culprit has been apprehended, tried and sentenced to death in a week's time. But Siri isn't sure they have the right man. Unfortunately, the number one, and only, coroner of Laos isn't in a position to help anyone - not even himself. As his 74th birthday dawns, Siri finds himself incarcerated in prison by the Khymer Rouge, facing torture and starvation. As usual, his curiosity is to blame for his predicament, but this time it looks as though his inquisitiveness could be the end of him. Could Dr Siri's next outing be from beyond the grave?

Following a rash moment of insolence, Dr Siri Paiboun, Laos' reluctant national coroner, confused shaman and disheartened communist, is forced to go on a road trip with Judge Haeng and the Justice Department. While newly pregnant Nurse Dtui and Dr Siri's fiance Madame Daeng are left at the morgue to defend the staff against exploding corpses and geriatric gunslingers, Siri has his own problems. On a deserted jungle trail, Siri is kidnapped. His only route to freedom is to exorcise the local village of its demon - but that means lifting the curse of the pogo stick.

Since Jimm Juree moved, under duress, with her family to a rural village on the coast of Southern Thailand, she misses the bright lights of Chiang Mai. Most of all, she's missed her career as a journalist, which was just getting started. In Chiang Mai, she was covering substantial stories and major crimes. But here in Maprao, Jimm has to scrape assignments from the local online journal, the Chumphon Gazette--and be happy about it when she gets one. This time they are sending her out to interview a local "farang" (European) writer, a man in his late fifties, originally from England, who writes award-winning crime novels, one Conrad Coralbank.
At the same time, several local women have left town without a word to anyone, leaving their possessions behind. These include the local doctor, Dr. Sumlak, who never returned from a conference, and the Thai wife of that "farang" writer, the aforementioned Conrad Coralbank. All of which looks a little suspicious, especially to Jimm's grandfather, an ex-cop, who notices Coralbank's interest in Jimm with a very jaundiced eye. With a major storm headed their way and a potential serial killer on the loose, it looks like Jimm Juree, her eccentric family, and the whole town of Maprao is in for some major changes.

"The Axe Factor" is a Jimm Juree mystery from Colin Cotterill.

Intrepid coroner Dr Siri is used to playing the lead in the dramas of his life. But this time his wife is centre stage. Madame Daeng is privy to a secret and it puts her in grave danger. And that's not all. When Siri whisks his wife away for a romantic weekend they walk straight into another mystery, meeting a woman who's been shot twice but is still clinging to life. Who would want to kill her and why? Dr Siri will have his work cut out to unravel this case, while keeping Madame Daeng away from those who want to harm her. But he soon discovers there's much more to his wife than meets the eye...

Praise for the Dr. Siri series: Terrifically beguiling detective novels steeped in local color and history.--The New York Times Book Review Like Dr. Siri, Colin Cotterill has a touch of magic about him.--The Boston Globe A delightfully fresh and eccentric hero.--John Burdett Unpredictable. . . . Tragically funny and magically sublime.--Entertainment Weekly A crack storyteller and an impressive guide to a little-known culture.--The Washington Post Book World In poverty-stricken 1978 Laos, a man from the city with a truck was somebody, a catch for even the prettiest village virgin. The corpse of one of these bucolic beauties turns up in Dr. Siri's morgue and his curiosity is piqued. The victim was tied to a tree and strangled, but she had not, as the doctor had expected, been raped. And though the victim had smooth, pale skin over most of her body, her hands and feet were gnarled, callused, and blistered. On a trip to the hinterlands, Siri discovers that many women have been killed in this way. He sets out to investigate this unprecedented phenomenon--a serial killer in peaceful Buddhist Laos--only to discover when he has identified the murderer that not only pretty maidens are at risk: seventy-three-year-old coroners can be victims too.

Against all his expectations, Dr Siri Paiboun has rather enjoyed his first five months in office. Now, as hot-season nights close in, Siri is spirited away from Laos' steamy capital on a Matter of National Security. Arriving in Luang Prabang, he's a busy man, examining carbonized corpses, dining with the deposed king, attending a shamans' conference and being rescued by the ghost of an elephant. Not that Siri's complaining ...Luang Prabang is in mountains and a good fifteen degrees cooler. Meanwhile, back at Vientiane headquarters, it's hot. Bloody hot - savaged bodies are piling up in Siri's absence. Is it the missing black bear from the circus, or could it be a weretiger? Siri's trusty assistant Nurse Dtui goes snooping but, unlike her boss, the spirits aren't looking out for her...And just what creature, if any, has thirty-three teeth?

Dr Siri's bagged himself a holiday: an all-expenses-paid trip to the northern mountains of Laos. What's more, through a bit of skilful bartering (well, blackmail) he has wangled it so that his nearest and dearest may accompany him. They are to assist a US-funded search for a lost CIA pilot - Boyd Bowry - missing since his aircraft was downed in 1968. But Siri's not taking the search too seriously, as he strongly suspects that when the helicopter exploded, the pilot followed suit. However, just hours into the trip, it becomes apparent that ulterior motives are at work within the group. And Siri's suspicions are confirmed when those associated with the airman start dropping like the insects that frequent his country. Siri and co are caught up in something big: something that goes way back, and way over their heads. And, if this wasn't bad enough, a psychic of unquestionable repute then informs Siri that he will shortly die: in 'a day or two', to be precise.

The launch of a brand new series by the internationally bestselling, critically acclaimed author of "The Coroner's Lunch""" With worldwide critical acclaim, Colin Cotterill is one of the most highly regarded "cult favorite" crime writers today. Now, with this new series, Cotterill is poised to break into the mainstream. Set in present day rural Thailand, Cotterill is as sharp and witty, yet more engaging and charming, than ever before.

Jimm Juree was a crime reporter for the "Chiang Mai Daily Mail "with a somewhat eccentric family--a mother who might be drifting mentally; a grandfather--a retired cop--who rarely talks; a younger brother obsessed with body-building, and a transgendered, former beauty pageant queen, former older brother. When Jimm is forced to follow her family to a rural village on the coast of Southern Thailand, she's convinced her career--maybe her life--is over. So when a van containing the skeletal remains of two hippies, one of them wearing a hat, is inexplicably unearthed in a local farmer's field, Jimm is thrilled. Shortly thereafter an abbot at a local Buddhist temple is viciously murdered, with the temple's monk and nun the only suspects.

Suddenly Jimm's new life becomes somewhat more promising--and a lot more deadly. And if Jimm is to make the most of this opportunity, and unravel the mysteries that underlie these inexplicable events, it will take luck, perseverance, and the help of her entire family. One of "Library Journal"'s Best Mystery Books of 2011

When a blind, retired dentist is run down by a logging truck as he crosses the road to post a letter, Dr Siri Paiboun, official and only coroner of Laos, finds himself faced with his most explosive case yet. The dentist's mortal remains aren't nearly as intriguing as the letter in his pocket. Written in invisible ink and encrypted, the letter presents Dr Siri with an irresistible challenge. Enlisting the help of his old friend, Civilai, now a senior member of the Laos politburo; Nurse Dtui ('Fatty'); Phosy, a police officer; and Aunt Bpoo, a transvestite fortune-teller, Dr Siri soon finds himself on the trail of an international plot to overthrow the government of Laos.

Dr Siri Paiboun may be in his seventy-third year, but he's still as sturdy as a jungle boar - and as crafty as one. Reluctant coroner to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, he's been despatched to the country's mountainous north where the sudden appearance of a mummified arm protruding from a concrete path laid in front of the President's new mansion has caused an understandable degree of embarrassment. Dr Siri's disinterment and autopsy of the body attached to the arm provide some grisly surprises but it is his gifts as a shaman that put the septuagenarian doctor on the trail of the killer. As Siri and his team close in, they must tackle a marriage proposal, brave the perils of the life on the open road, and come face-to-face with a horrific sacrificial ritual. Is it any wonder Dr Siri takes up disco dancing?

Laos, 1976. The monarchy has been deposed, the Communist Pathet Lao have taken over. Most of the educated class has fled, but Dr Siri Paiboun, a Paris-trained doctor remains. And so this 72-year-old physician is appointed state coroner, despite having no training, equipment, experience or even inclination for the job. But the job's not that bad and Siri quickly settles into a routine of studying outdated medical texts, scrounging scarce supplies, and circumnavigating bureaucratic red tape to arrive at justice. The fact that the recently departed are prone to pay Siri the odd, unwanted nocturnal visit turns out to be an added bonus in his new line of work. But when the wife of a party leader turns up dead and the bodies of tortured Vietnamese soldiers start bobbing to the surface of a Laotian lake, all eyes turn to Siri. Faced with official cover-ups and an emerging international crisis, the doctor enlists old friends, village shamans, forest spirits, dream visits from the dead - and even the occasional bit of medical deduction - to solve the crimes.