Colin Cotterill’s
Slash and Burn is the weakest of the
Siri Paiboun books so far.
The story doesn’t
start until about page seventy-five on my electronic reader. Even then, the
story bogs down in detail.
Siri and his crew
join an American team to search for an MIA. The missing man happens to be the
son of a prominent U.S. senator. The senator, who is a horse’s ass, funneled
U.S. aid to Laos to bribe the Laotians to do the mission.
Someone murders a
member of the American team along the way.
Siri and his
group help solve the crime. They work among themselves and with Siri's spirit guides to find the sordid back story.
As always, the
setting and characters are interesting. We as Americans lost sight of Laos by
1978. Many 1978 Laotians hold Americans in contempt. They see them as defeated
fools. And, in a way, they are correct.
Minor characters
often star in these books. In Slash and Burn, Auntie Bpoo steals the show.
So this is the
book I’ve been dreading. It is a weak entry in a strong series.
Of course, these
comments are my opinion. You might disagree.
I will keep
reading Siri Paiboun. The books have been too good not to expect another
powerful book along the way.
2 comments:
It looks as though I enjoyed this book much more than you did. (My review's out on Tuesday.) I may have some bad news for you, Joe. According to the blurb on the back of the book, this is the last we'll see of Dr. Siri. :(
That is bad news. This is a strong series.
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